Cambodia, Thailand’s neighbor in Southeast Asia, was a colony of France until 1953. After the Vietnam War expanded into the country, a coup established the Khmer Rouge into power in 1970. That led to one of the largest genocides of the 20th century, in which nearly a quarter of Cambodia’s population were killed, as the Khmer Rouge sought to establish an agrarian republic and arrested professionals, intellectuals and even people with intellectual qualities like wearing glasses or speaking a foreign language. Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader, even recruited children to commit the mass murders. Today, the wounds of the Khmer Rouge are still seen around the country, but the country has one of the fastest-growing economies in the region and tourism is starting to grow.

Cambodia is home to many famous Buddhist temples, including Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious structure by land area. The beach town of Kep is home to spectacular abandoned villas left behind by the French. The Kampot region is home to large pepper farms exporting Kampot peppers to the world. And the capital, Phnom Penh, still has a number of colonial buildings in it, but maintains its status as a world-class city.