Deep in the northwest of Cambodia, where red dirt roads cut through rice paddies and palm trees line the horizon, sits Siem Reap. The name means Siam Defeated, a reminder of the ancient battles. But today the town is anything but defeated. It lies just 10 meters above sea level, about 320 km northwest of Phnom Penh and 150 km from the Thai border.

Far away on the flat floodplains of southern Cambodia, where the Mekong, Bassac, and Tonle Sap rivers meet, lies Phnom Penh. The capital sits just 11 meters above sea level, about 230 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City and 320 km southeast of Siem Reap.

Cambodia has long been considered one of the most captivating cultural paradises in Southeast Asia and is home to one of the most magnificent wonders of the world Angkor Wat.