Kingdom come
Cambodia often conjures images of the crumbling Khmer city of Angkor. It’s a heady 12th-century complex with over a thousand stone temples, some featuring intricate basrelief figures, others enveloped in ancient tree roots. But there are also bundles of sandy beaches, idyllic islands, dense stretches of rainforest and French colonial piles in Phnom Penh, a capital clutching the Mekong’s banks. Backpackers on the banana pancake trail have long known about the kingdom’s charms. However, a spate of luxury openings this year mean the country is starting to shake off its shoestring reputation by enticing deeppocketed visitors to lesser-known corners.