 The chance meeting started a shared future |
They met on the dusty streets of Phnom Penh, where he was sweeping the roads for a living and she zipped by on a motorbike with her older sister.
"You know him?" Chim Kong, now 31, asked her sister.
The chance meeting blossomed into a relationship, then marriage and a daughter. And now, a thriving business in downtown Phnom Penh selling silk handicrafts mainly to tourists.
For Sam Oeurn Ouk, also now 31, peace means a chance to build a life and a business with his wife.
Both are survivors of Cambodia's brutal past. He lost his father to the Khmer Rouge, she a leg to landmines.
But they are determined to succeed in the new Cambodia, where peace has reigned since 1999.
"When I was younger, working as a street sweeper and construction worker, I did not dream I would have all this," Sam says, gesturing to his wife and their boutique, Ta Prohm Silk, located near the National Museum.
"My country is now peaceful, no more war. If we compare now to five, 10 years ago, well that was bad. Now tourists are coming back."
Possible oil reserves
The pair sell handbags and furnishings made from strong, shimmering Cambodian silk. Everything is produced by hand by two dozen workers, most of whom live with the couple in their home. Some are - like Chim Kong - victims of landmines.
Education has to play a role, to provide people with jobs that will move up the ladder of value added export 
Cambodian entrepreneur
Tourism and garment making are the top foreign exchange earners for the country, which according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has a tiny economic output of just $7.3bn (£3.65bn).
The economy grew more than 10% in 2006 and is expected to grow more than 9% this year, according to the Fund.
Growth has been concentrated in the garments and tourism sectors, which employs relatively few people. Agriculture has lagged behind and Cambodia is still one of the world's poorest countries. A third of the people live on the equivalent of less than 25 pence per day.]
Yet foreign investors, scouring the world to make returns on their money, are starting to discover Cambodia.
Here, they are faced with a weak legal system, deep-seated corruption, a lack of basic infrastructure and a poorly educated work force.
Nevertheless, they are coming, especially the Chinese and South Koreans. And the influx has picked up after the global energy giant Chevron recently said it had found deposits off Cambodia's coast.
Tragic history
This week, the heads of the IMF and the World Bank came to Cambodia, both for the first time, to see for themselves what it is like.
We never know the political situation. The country could collapse, so we are still scared
Impressed with the country's rapid growth, outgoing IMF chief Rodrigo de Rato also believes that the government must invest much more on education.
The literacy rate in Cambodia is just 74% - which means one in four Cambodians cannot read - compared with more than 90% in neighbouring Vietnam.
"We see the need for higher employment," Mr de Rato tells BBC News in Phnom Penh. "To do that, education has to play a role, to provide people with jobs that will move up the ladder of value added exports.
Relatively low literacy rates are a consequence of Cambodia's history. Nearly two million people, a quarter of the population, died from mass killings under the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. Decades of war followed.
"Cambodia has a very tragic history, a recent one," Mr de Rato observes. "That makes it more acute."
Uncertain future
For Mr Sam and Mrs Kong in Phnom Penh, the future looks bright but uncertain.
They want to have another child, but plan to wait until elections next year to make sure the country is stable.
With no access to bank loans, it is difficult to expand their business.
"We have the idea to make money, but the money comes slowly," Mr Sam says.
"We never know the political situation. The country could collapse, so we are still scared."
Timeline: Cambodia
A chronology of key events:
1863 - Cambodia becomes a protectorate of France. French colonial rule lasts for 90 years.
|  Almost two million people died under Pol Pot's regime  |
Khmer Rouge radio announces his death 1941 - Prince Norodom Sihanouk becomes king. Cambodia is occupied by Japan during World War II.
1945 - The Japanese occupation ends.
1946 - France re-imposes its protectorate. A new constitution permits Cambodians to form political parties. Communist guerrillas begin an armed campaign against the French.
Independence
1953 - Cambodia wins its independence from France. Under King Sihanouk, it becomes the Kingdom of Cambodia.
1955 - Sihanouk abdicates to pursue a political career. His father becomes king and Sihanouk becomes prime minister.
1960 - Sihanouk's father dies. Sihanouk becomes head of state.
1965 - Sihanouk breaks off relations with the US and allows North Vietnamese guerrillas to set up bases in Cambodia in pursuance of their campaign against the US-backed government in South Vietnam.
1969 - The US begins a secret bombing campaign against North Vietnamese forces on Cambodian soil.
|  Skulls at Choeung Ek, one of the main Khmer Rouge killing fields |
1970 - Sihanouk is deposed in a coup while abroad. The prime minister, General Lon Nol, assumes power. He proclaims the Khmer Republic and sends the army to fight the North Vietnamese in Cambodia. Sihanouk - in exile in China - forms a guerrilla movement.
Early 1970s - Cambodian army faces two enemies: the North Vietnamese and communist Khmer Rouge guerriillas. Gradually, the army loses territory.
Cambodia Year Zero
1975 - Lon Nol is overthrown as the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot occupy Phnom Penh. Sihanouk briefly becomes head of state, the country is re-named Kampuchea.
All urban dwellers are forcibly evacuated to the countryside to become agricultural workers. Money becomes worthless, basic freedoms are curtailed and religion is banned. The Khmer Rouge coin the phrase "Year Zero".
Hundreds of thousands of the educated middle-classes are tortured and executed in special centres. Others starve, or die from disease or exhaustion. The total death toll during the next three years is estimated to be at least 1.7 million.
1976 - The country is re-named Democratic Kampuchea. Sihanouk resigns, Khieu Samphan becomes head of state, Pol Pot is prime minister.
1977 - Fighting breaks out with Vietnam.
1978 - Vietnamese forces invade in a lightning assault.
|  Angkor Wat, thought to be the world's largest religious structure |
1979 January - The Vietnamese take Phnom Penh. Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge forces flee to the border region with Thailand. The People's Republic of Kampuchea is established. Many elements of life before the Khmer Rouge take-over are re-established.
1981 - The pro-Vietnamese Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party wins the elections to the National Assembly. The international community refuses to recognise the new government. The government-in-exile, which includes the Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk, retains its seat at the United Nations.
1985 - Hun Sen becomes prime minister. Cambodia is plagued by guerrilla warfare. Hundreds of thousands become refugees.
1989 - Vietnamese troops withdraw. Hun Sen tries to attract foreign investment by abandoning socialism. The country is re-named the State of Cambodia. Buddhism is re-established as the state religion.
An uneasy peace
1991 - A peace agreement is signed in Paris. A UN transitional authority shares power temporarily with representatives of the various factions in Cambodia. Sihanouk becomes head of state.
|  Norodom Sihanouk campaigned for independence |
1993 - General election sees the royalist Funcinpec party win the most seats followed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP). A three-party coalition is formed with Funcinpec's Prince Norodom Ranariddh as prime minister and Hun Sen as deputy prime minister. The monarchy is restored, Sihanouk becomes king again. The country is re-named the Kingdom of Cambodia. The government-in-exile loses its seat at the UN.
1994 - Thousands of Khmer Rouge guerrillas surrender in government amnesty.
1996 - Deputy leader of Khmer Rouge Ieng Sary forms a new party and is granted amnesty by Sihanouk.
Coup
1997 - Hun Sen stages a coup against the prime minister, Prince Ranariddh, and replaces him with Ung Huot. The coup attracts international condemnation and Cambodia's membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is delayed. The Khmer Rouge put Pol Pot on trial and sentence him to life imprisonment. Pol Pot is filmed and interviewed by a western journalist.
 Royal palace, Phnom Penh: Monarch's position is largely symbolic |
1998 - Ranariddh is tried in his absence and found guilty of arms smuggling, but is then pardoned by the king. Pol Pot dies in his jungle hideout. Elections in July are won by Hun Sen's CPP, amid allegations of harassment. A coalition is formed between the CPP and Funcinpec. Hun Sen becomes prime minister, Ranariddh is president of the National Assembly.
2001 - Senate approves a law to create a tribunal to bring genocide charges against Khmer Rouge leaders.
2001 June - International donors, encouraged by Cambodia's reform efforts, pledge $560 million in aid at a donor conference in Tokyo.
2001 June - Five Cambodians, three of them US citizens, are sentenced to life for involvement in armed attack by US-based Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) on government buildings in Phnom Penh in 2000. CFF says it will continue campaign to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen.
2001 December - First bridge across the Mekong River opens, linking the east and west of the country. The 1.36km bridge cost $56 million.
| 2003: THAI TENSIONS  Resentments over the Angkor temples spilled over into violence |
2002 February - First multi-party local elections; ruling Cambodian People's Party wins in all but 23 out of 1,620 communes.
2002 May - Prince Norodom Chakrapong sets up his own Norodom Chakrapong Khmer Soul Party; his half-brother Prince Norodom Ranariddh heads the Funcinpec party, part of the ruling coalition.
2003 January - Serious diplomatic upset with Thailand over comments attributed to a Thai TV star that the Angkor Wat temple complex was stolen from Thailand. Angry crowds attack the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. More than 500 Thai nationals are evacuated by military aircraft.
2003 July - Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party wins general elections but fails to secure sufficient majority to govern alone.
Hun Sen re-elected
2004 July - After nearly a year of political deadlock, Prime Minister Hun Sen is re-elected after his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) strikes a deal with the royalist Funcinpec party.
2004 August - Parliament ratifies kingdom's entry into World Trade Organisation (WTO).
2004 October - King Sihanouk abdicates and is succeeded by his son Norodom Sihamoni.
|  Sam Rainsy - outspoken opposition leader |
2005 February - Opposition leader Sam Rainsy leaves Cambodia after parliament strips him of his immunity from prosecution, leaving him open to defamation charges brought by the ruling coalition.
2005 April - Tribunal to try surviving Khmer Rouge leaders gets green light from UN after years of debate about funding.
2005 October - Prime minister signs a controversial border agreement with Vietnam. Legal action is taken against some critics of the deal, prompting international concern.
2005 December - Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, in exile in France, is convicted by a Cambodian court of defaming PM Hun Sen and is sentenced to nine months in prison.
2006 February - Sam Rainsy receives a royal pardon and comes home after a year in exile.
2006 May - Parliament votes to abolish prison terms for defamation. The legislation had been used to jail some government critics.
2006 July - Ta Mok, one of the top leaders of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, dies aged 80.
2006 October - Royalist Funcinpec party, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, drops Prince Norodom Ranariddh as its leader.
2007 March - Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who now lives abroad, is sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for selling the headquarters of the Funcinpec party. He was accused of earning $3.6m on the deal but denies the charge.
|  Preah Vihear temple sparks border standoff with Thailand |
2007 September - Most senior surviving member of Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea - "Brother Number Two" - is arrested and charged with crimes against humanity.
2007 November - Genocide tribunal holds first public hearing - a bail plea from a former prison chief, Khang Khek Ieu, who was better known as Comrade Duch.
2008 February - Cambodian court sentences 20 member of small Cambodian Freedom Fighters group to prison for attack on prime minister's office in November 2000.
2008 March - Genocide tribunal refuses bail plea of Nuon Chea.
2008 April - US court convicts Cambodian-born Cambodian Freedom Fighters leader Chhun Yasith of masterminding 2000 attack.
2008 July - PM Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) claims victory in parliamentary elections. EU monitors say the vote fell short of international standards.
2008 July - Cambodia and Thailand move troops to disputed land near ancient Preah Vihear temple after decision to list it as UN World Heritage Site fans nationalist emotions on both sides. Officials from both states start talks to resolve standoff.
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