what travelers and tourists need to know about arts and entertainment in Cambodia.

Arts and performances show perception of people towards nature as well as the social life around them. Through arts and performances we understand the life and culture of a community at present as well as many years ago. The Vietnamese has been cultivating their agrarian life starting in the Red River Delta for thousands of years. They have been in close touch with nature and they have passed on a rich culture from the ancient times.

One of the highlights of the trip to Lao for many foreign tourists is probably to experience the rich arts of the country which are quite different from those of other countries. Lao arts have been mostly found in religious architecture, in religious sculpture and traditional handicrafts.

Traditionally the Cambodia's economy has been based on agriculture. Most of the cultivated land is reserved for growing rice and the rest is for rubber. Besides cultivation, Tonle Sap Lake has provided an important amount of fish to the Cambodia's economy and diet. Cattle raising also supplement to the country's economy.

Rising from its troubled past, Cambodia is back on the map for travellers. This is just the right moment to come and visit the country before everything is totally changed.

Public holidays mean a lot of governmental offices, shops, banks, embassies closed which may affect your travel in Cambodia. Some hotels require compulsory dinner on certain occasions. Some public holidays in Cambodia are based on the Gregorian Calendar and most based on the Lunar Calendar.

Laos is country of multi-ethnic nature and each community has a lot of festivals all year round. Some festivals may affect your tour itinerary in the country and/or your travel interests. It's always good to know the main ones that are more likely encountered on your holiday in Laos. Many other festivals held in different regions are not mentioned here. If you plan to travel thoroughly through Laos or if you plan to have an adventure tour in remote regions of the country, please consult our travel experts for further information.

A guide to food and drink while traveling in Cambodia.

Lao food and drink: Laos is a country of multi-ethnic group and each group has its own version of traditional cuisine. On the general level, Lao cuisine is fresh and spicy. The country's cuisine can be best described as blend of more Thai cuisine, Vietnamese cuisine and Chinese cuisine.

Local open-air markets sell a variety of fresh meat, poultry, fish and seafood. If cooked properly there should be no health problems. Open-air markets also sell a variety of fresh fruits and produce either grown locally or imported from the cooler mountain regions in the far-north, near Da Lat or from Ho Chi Minh City/SaiGon, China or Thailand.

Cambodia covers an area of 181,035 square kilometers with the maximum extents of 600km east-west and 450km north-south.

Laos, a landlocked country, shares its borders with Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The country is bounded between the latitudes 14 -23 degrees North and the longitudes 100-108 degrees East; the whole country is within the tropic region.

Very little is known about prehistoric Cambodia, although archeological evence has established that prior to 1000 BC Cambodians subsisted on a diet of fish and rice and lived in houses on stilts, as they still do today.

Most parts of Laos, Cambodia and Thailand were inhabited as early as 10,000 years ago. Many of the ethnic groups in this area belonged to the Austro-Asiatic ethno-linguistic family.

Legend of Kinh Duong Vuong and Hong Bang Thi (2879-258 BC)

According to the legend, the Vietnamese ancestor was Kinh Duong Vuong whose grave now is in An Lu village, Thuan Thanh district, Bac Ninh province.

With a constant influx of tourists to the country, travel to Cambodia is easier than ever before. Below you can find different ways to get to Cambodia by air, by land and by waterway.

As Laos is growing more and more popular as a travel destination, it is more convenient and cost-saving to travel to the country. Below you can find the means of transport to get to Laos that suits you the most.

The Cambodian language is Khmer which has been influenced considerably by Pali and Sangkrit from India. Also, the Khmer language is influenced by spoken and written Thai. Some technical terms are borrowed from French. Khmer is different from those in the neighboring countries that it is not a tonal language. Khmer is very similar to that in the neighboring countries that it can be very precise in expressing matters related to agriculture, nature, sentiment while not very conveniently expressing scientific definitions.

Laos is a multi-ethinic country and each ethnic group has their own their language or dialect. But the official language of Laos is the Lao language as spoken and written in Vientiane. Standard Lao and standard Thai belong to the same linguistic group of the Thai-Kadai language family. The native speakers of Lao standard language and Thai standard language can mutually understand one another thanks to the similarity.