ABSTRACT
Taken from the opening page of the Introduction to the 1992 Cambodia Lonely Planet, this excerpt provides some indication of what a visitor to Cambodia might find. These few lines also reveal why the publisher of what has become the bible of contemporary travel waited until then to publish a guide dedicated to the country. Indeed, in many respects, the publication of this first edition marked the beginning of Cambodia’s return as a major destination of international tourism; a turbulent journey which would bring numerous contradictions, paradoxes and dilemmas. By the late 1960s Cambodia had become increasingly familiar with the challenges and opportunities presented by tourism. Two and a half decades of war and intense social turmoil virtually erased that familiarity. In the early 1990s the country would be starting again, and, as such, totally unprepared for the frenzy of international attention – and millions of visitors – which would arrive over the coming years.
