Today marks the beginning of my journey through Indochina, a region once ruled by France and now encompassing Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. While each country has its own distinct culture and history, they share a common legacy of colonialism, war, and a long struggle for independence. France’s foothold in the region began with 19th-century military campaigns in Vietnam and gradually expanded into broader colonial rule.

Over the decades, the French reshaped the region through economic exploitation, cultural suppression, and a system of indirect rule that often pitted local groups against one another. That legacy still lingers, visible in everything from political systems to architecture and language. It’s a complicated story, and one I’ll be tracing day by day. My first stop: Cambodia.

Cambodia is a country of striking contrasts: ancient temples, bustling modern streets, and the enduring weight of a traumatic past. Most people know it for Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious monument and the crown jewel of Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire. At its height, the empire’s influence extended across present-day Cambodia and into large parts of Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, leaving behind a legacy of monumental architecture. Yet Cambodia’s story runs deeper than its ruins.

Centuries later, Cambodia found itself in a far more precarious position. Bit by bit, it was being swallowed by its now more powerful neighbors: Thailand to the west and Vietnam to the east. In a desperate bid for survival, the kingdom turned to France. In 1863, it signed a protectorate agreement that placed the country under French control, eventually making it one of the three territories that would form French Indochina. What followed was nearly a century of colonial rule.