Having visited a country should make it easier to remember stuff about it, but battling with the language is no easy fight. At about the tenth attempt, I have finally gotten ‘krama’ right, but that’s a lot easier than some of these…
Questions
Having its westernmost section in Stung Treng province, which Cambodian national park is situated mainly in Ratanakiri, with its fauna and flora threatened by illegal logging?
VIRACHEY NATIONAL PARK
Previous occupations include him having been a classical dance instructor, who is the current Cambodian monarch, coming to the throne in 2004 after the abdication of Norodom Sihanouk?
(NORODOM) SIHAMONI
What five-word term is used for the nine-member council responsible for selecting the Cambodian monarch?
ROYAL COUNCIL OF THE THRONE
Named for a Head of State who broke off diplomatic relations with the US, which Trail extended into Cambodia during the Vietnam War, being lesser known than the Ho Chi Minh trail but built for a similar purpose?
SIHANOUK TRAIL
Accounting for around 30% of the world’s population and the largest trade bloc in history, what free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific nations that includes Cambodia among its 15 member states became effective on 1 January 2022?
RCEP / REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP
What name was given by Chinese cartographers to an ancient Indianised state centered on the Mekong Delta from the 1st to 6th centuries AD? Modern Khmer has it called ‘Nokor Phnom’, meaning ‘mountain kingdom’.
FUNAN
Married to Kaundinya I, which Queen of Funan is widely claimed as the first monarch of Cambodia? She was a daughter of the Naga clan, and was a pirate who attacked Kaundinya’s ship, but being impressed by his bravery proposed marriage instead of continuing to fight.
SOMA
What is the Chinese designation for the successor polity to the Kingdom of Funan that was succeeded by the Khmer empire in 802? Jayavarman II united these warring princes under the name ‘Kambuja’.
CHENLA / ZHENLA
What bovine is the national animal of Cambodia, providing the nickname for the Cambodian football team? Unfortunately, it is possibly extinct.
KOUPREY
Which province in the south-west of Cambodia with a capital of the same name, which lies on the Gulf of Thailand, has some evidence of Pleistocene activity though dating is unreliable?
KAMPOT
Which ‘cave of bridges’, referring to its many limestone arches, is situated in Battambang province and of note for being the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia?
LAANG SPEAN
Taken from a Vietnamese culture, which word is used to describe some archaeological sites in south-east Asia such as Laang Spean? It was first used by French archaeologists working in North Vietnam on Holocene assemblages excavated from rock shelters.
HOABINHIAN
The prehistoric red soil circular earthworks of Memot on the border with Vietnam can be found in which south-eastern province, which has Suong as its capital? The Khmer words combined mean ‘amber’.
TBOUNG KHMUM
Which ‘City of past kings’ was the royal residence and Cambodia’s capital for more than 250 years until 1866? It is about 35km from Phnom Penh in Kandol province.
OUDONG
Which province in the far north-west has had iron weapons excavated at Phum Snay? Its capital is Serei Saophoan, and Poipet is a major border crossing point into Thailand.
BANTEAY MEANCHEY
The Khorat plateau lies on the border with Cambodia in which north-east region of Thailand? Iron was worked here around 500 BC.
ISEN
The narrative of which legendary monarch of Cambodia is known from the “Cambodian Royal Chronicles”, with his epic having a lasting influence on Cambodian culture and politics? His burial site can be found in Angkor Thom with an iron age settlement found beneath it.
BAKSEI CHAMKRONG
Which modern village and archaeological site in Siem Reap province is notable for its two circular embankments or moats that surround a mound, an unusual pattern for Cambodia?
LOVEA
Having 108 avatars with Guanyin being a female depiction, which boddhisattva of compassion is possibly represented in the faces at the Bayon temple, though others think it may be Brahma or Jayavarman VII? A shrine to them lies at the top of the Bulguksa temple in South Korea.
AVALOKITESVARA
Khmer empire founder Jayavarman II stylised himself by what term meaning ‘god-king’, suggesting that they were a manifestation of a divine figure like Shiva or Vishnu? This sort of reverence enabled kings to build complexes like Angkor Wat and the Javan temple of Prambanan.
DEVARAJA
Kublai Khan attacked the Angkor empire in 1283 when it was under the rule of which king, who reverted the state religion to Hinduism and destroyed Buddhist monuments, eventually being overthrown by his Buddhist son-in-law who switched things back? He fended off the Mongols by paying tribute.
JAYAVARMAN VIII
Successor to Jayavarman VIII, which king of the Khmer empire made Theravada buddhism the state religion, also being known in legend for having a special weapon made of ironwood?
INDRAVARMAN III
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