Final full day in Phnom Penh
Having been emotionally drained by our visit to the Genocide Musem yesterday, I decided that I didn’t want to spend a bone shaking hour in a tuk tuk to visit the Killing Fields.
Instead we decided on a visit to the Royal Palace. It is a fairly massive complex with about 25 significant buildings or monuments. It is more or less divided into 2 separate areas. Entering first into the eastern section, the Throne Hall is the most significant building and features ornate roof lines typical of the Khmer style of architecture. Many of the other buildings were off limits- apparently in preparation for some official ceremonies scheduled more tomorrow.Moving into the western section, the main focal point was the Silver Pagoda, also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The main feature of the building was a life size solid gold Buddha adorned with over 2000 diamonds.
Other things of note in the same area were a giant mural covering the inner surface of the outer wall. As well as 5 of 6 stupas (chambers holding the remains of Former Kings and family members) Intricately carved they were significantly larger than any of the ones I had seen in temples in Siem Reap. ( For the info of anyone reading this, I will resize and add new images when I get home- internet speeds make this difficult while travelling)
After a $10 all you can eat dim sum lunch at a riverside restaurant we spent a couple of hours touring the National Museum. Home to a massive collection of Khmer sculpture dating back as far as the fifth century, I found it interesting but required the use of an audio guide that described pieces in a manner that made watching paint dry an exciting event. More modern pieces including cannons and, supposedly the Longest hand woven scarf ever made provided a bit of respite from the other collections. A central courtyard featuring a beautiful garden was an added bonus.
With the afternoon heat hovering around the mid thirties we decided that out time would be better spent hiding in the comfort of our air conditioned hotel room.
Instead we decided on a visit to the Royal Palace. It is a fairly massive complex with about 25 significant buildings or monuments. It is more or less divided into 2 separate areas. Entering first into the eastern section, the Throne Hall is the most significant building and features ornate roof lines typical of the Khmer style of architecture. Many of the other buildings were off limits- apparently in preparation for some official ceremonies scheduled more tomorrow.Moving into the western section, the main focal point was the Silver Pagoda, also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The main feature of the building was a life size solid gold Buddha adorned with over 2000 diamonds.
Other things of note in the same area were a giant mural covering the inner surface of the outer wall. As well as 5 of 6 stupas (chambers holding the remains of Former Kings and family members) Intricately carved they were significantly larger than any of the ones I had seen in temples in Siem Reap. ( For the info of anyone reading this, I will resize and add new images when I get home- internet speeds make this difficult while travelling)
With the afternoon heat hovering around the mid thirties we decided that out time would be better spent hiding in the comfort of our air conditioned hotel room.
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