The spectres of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge still haunt Cambodia, but peace and optimism are slowly returning and there’s a frontier-style excitement and entrepreneurial Zing to the place. Take saffron-robed monks, lichen-covered ruins, hard-core moto traffic and clouds of dragonflies, and mix with jasmine-scented sunsets, gracious colonial boulevards, gorgeous silks and rioting bougainvilleas, garnish with the zest of Buddhism and serve at steaming temperatures.

November to January, when humidity levels are low

Gliding down the Mekong River past houseboats and villages Gazing at the mysteriously beautiful temples of Angkor, among the foremost architectural wonders of the world, at sunset or sunrise Trekking through Bokor National Park and swimming in its waterfall Joining in the mayhem of the Water Festival in Phnom Penh Taking a moto trip through the capital in the jasmine-and-pepper scented air of sunset, taking you past the Royal Palace and down to the waterfront

Read The of Time, by John Swain-a journalistic memoir of the Khmer Rouge and the tragedy of people who find themselves in situations beyond their control

Listen to the unmistakable sound of monks chanting

Watch The Killing Fields-the gut-wrenching account of the reign of the Khmer Rouge, and of ordinary Cambodians caught in the madness

Eat sticky banana-a baked banana wrapped in rice, inside a banana leaf; fish amok-a coconut fish curry, served in a coconut; fried spiders-by all accounts they taste like… chicken

Drink soda and fresh and fresh lime-nothing beats the quite as well; Angkor beer, the award -winning local beer

Niak teuv naa? (where are you going)

Monks in saffron robes with yellow umberllas; manic traffic; classic Apsara dancers; street urchins; ceiling fans; meticulously cyclos; beautiful silks; the Mekong; trucks crowded with people from the provinces; rice paddies; coconut palms; the smell of jasmine

Cambodia is not as cheap as other destinations in the region; the sun goes down between 5 and 6pm regardless of the time of year; luxury items such as French wines are available in supermarkets

The Bayon was especially enchanting right after dawn, when the rainforest was shrouded in mist and the air was filled with the songs of invisible birds and the sound of giant dew drops bursting on the vegetation of the jungle floor. The only other people around were a few monks in light yellow robes-survivors of Pol Pot’s concerted effort to exterminate the Buddhist clergy…