Cambodia's Constitution Day marks the promulgation of the 1993 constitution on September 24 - the legal foundation of the modern Kingdom of Cambodia. The document was signed after UNTAC-supervised elections brought two decades of civil war to a formal close, restoring constitutional monarchy under Norodom Sihanouk and embedding democratic rights in law for the first time since the Khmer Rouge erased the previous constitutional order. For Western visitors, the day is quiet rather than spectacular: government offices close, schools shut, and official ceremonies take place in Phnom Penh. In Siem Reap, Angkor Wat sees slightly fewer visitors than usual. A good morning to visit the temples early and reflect on the distance between the civilization that built them and the near-total destruction Cambodia survived in the late twentieth century - and how deliberately this small country rebuilt itself.
- Location
- Siem Reap Province-wide