Cambodia is one of the most exotic places in the world. Here you will find a mixture of cultures of the Orient. Although Cambodia culture, like any other cultures all around the world is already much affected by Western ideals, the strong influence of Buddhism and Hinduism is still very much evident. For instance, the visual art which is one of the signatures of Cambodia culture is still shows the strong Influence of Buddhism. In fact, many buildings all over Cambodia still have images and statues of Buddha. To understand a few things about Cambodia culture, let us look into the different cultural aspects of the place. Religion as Part of Cambodia Culture
Cambodia will not be complete without its religions and religious practices. Like most parts of Asia, religion in one of the focal points of the lives of the Khmer (Cambodian). If you look at the statistics, about 95% of the people in Cambodia are Theravada Buddhist. The minority of the people are a composed of Islam, Christianity, Animism and Hinduism.
Since Cambodia culture hinge on the ideas of Buddhism, the government of Cambodia supports Khmer Theravada Buddhism. The monks in this place therefore receive some government benefits such as the use of some public infrastructure. Technically, there is no strong separation of the church and the state under the Cambodia culture. Cuisine
Food is one of the hallmarks of Cambodia culture. According to food experts, the Khmer cuisine is a mixture of four fundamental taste namely, sweet, spicy, sour and salty. Most Khmer cooking combine all these four fundamental taste. Aside from combining all four fundamental tastes, Khmer cooking is also known for its hot flavor. Of course their blend of hot flavor is not really as hot as the Thai version but if you are sensitive to chili anything hot on your food, you better take precautions before sampling some types of Khmer food. Customs
The Cambodia culture is filled with distinctive customs and traditions. One of the most popular Khmer Custom is the way which is a form of greeting or acknowledgment. This type of gesture is like the Indian Namaste (a common spoken greeting or salutation used in India and Nepal) gesture, which is characterized by a prayer hand position and the bowing of the head.
Usually, this gesture is used to welcome visitors and friends so if you are planning to go to Cambodia, you need to be familiar with this type of greeting. You don't really want to feel out place when meeting new friends.
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