Little is known of the early history of Cambodia, although there is evidence of habitation in parts of the country as far back as 4000BC. Much of Cambodia is strewn with staggering artefacts of the dynasty that ruled throughout the 12th and early 13th centuries, based at the famous temple complex of Angkor Wat. These temples are regarded as some of the most astounding architectural creations worldwide. Large and intricate balustrades, pillars and causeways loom out of surrounding jungle. Yet these monuments are also a wistful chronicle of Cambodia's comparable fall into ruin: by the end of the 15th century, Angkor had been abandoned.

Likewise, the magnificence of Cambodia is now marred by unexploded landmines and dangerous roads, largely abandoned by tourists until quite recently. Khmer Rouge Communist guerrillas took control of Cambodia in 1975 with Prime Minister Pol Pot at the helm. Pol Pot manufactured a unique ideology based on elements of Maoist thought and Medieval quasi-mysticism, rooted in the history of the Angkor state. 'Year Zero' was established in 1975, under which Cambodia was to be converted into a pure Communist state centred on basic agricultural production. Currency was abolished, intellectuals purged, churches and temples destroyed and thousands of urban dwellers driven into the countryside for 're-education' and primitive labour. The outcome was a regime of horrific brutality, which was responsible for another of the 20th century's genocides – it is estimated that one third of the population died during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule.

Following the overthrow of the Khmers by the Vietnamese army, Phnom Penh, a ghost city under the Khmer Rouge, was re-populated by 1982. Although Cambodia drifted in and out of penury and semi-chaos during the 1980s, in 1998 Cambodia finally complied with the international community and was reinstated as a member of ASEAN. Pol Pot died of natural causes in the same year and his death seemed to symbolise a collective 'moving on'.

Tourists are now beginning to return. Cambodians have also regained pride in their country, which is as beautiful as it ever was: for the traveller who seeks it, there is sprawling jungle, verdant fields, snaking rivers and golden beaches. Cambodia remains afflicted by poverty and authoritarian regimes that hide behind the veneer of democratic practice but for those who dare believe in it, there is also hope.