I would like to travel to Cambodia in December. I have already been to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Are there any other interesting places in the country I can visit?

Tan Chee Kian

Commonwealth Travel advises people against travelling to parts of Cambodia that are near the border. These areas are guarded by the military and are unsafe.

One of the less travelled areas that the Cambodia Tourist Information Centre recommends is the hill tribe areas of Ratanakiri.

Home to 12 Khmer Loeu ethnic minority groups, the heavily jungled province is well known for its natural landscape of waterfalls and mountains.

Visitors can also head to Banttambang province, which has been nicknamed the rice bowl of Cambodia for its padi fields.

The towns there are full of traditional Cambodian and French colonial architecture, and both cars and horse carts are found on the streets.

And in the countryside, there are old pagodas, Angkorian-era ruins and old killing field sites where many people were executed and buried during the Khmer Rouge regime.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on August 12, 2008.