Finally, we have reached the Royal Palace! Especially after walking one HUGE round around the compound in the morning, we are just raring to go IN!
BUT...what! so many tourists!!! So wj and I had to queue to get our tickets under the hot sun...and I had to borrow a pair of sarong as my shorts are too short for modesty. *bleah* Anyway i enjoyed wearing it cos it makes me feel more "traditional" at the Royal Palace! Cost 1000riel and US$5 for a deposit. You can claim the $5 when u return the sarong.
Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (Wat Preah Keo)
Both are situated inside the yellow mustard walls of the palace compound.
Opening Hours: Open daily 730am-11am, 2pm-5pm US$3
The palace was built in 1866 by His Majesty Preah Bat Norodom, great grandfather to the current King. The Royal Palace contains some spectacular buildings. Not least of which is the Throne Hall, situated to the left of the main entrance. It boasts a 59-meter tower. The tower roof is beautiful, having been decoratively tiered with golden coloured tiles. This building is used for high official celebrations, coronations and audiences with foreign dignitaries and government officials.
The Royal Treasury and the Napoleon III villa lie south to the Royal Throne Hall. North to this stands the Silver pagoda enclosure, otherwise known as the Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha. The Pagoda’s steps are crafted from Italian marble, and within the throne room the regal floor consists of more than 500 solid silver blocks. If calculated together, they weigh nearly six tones. The magnificent 17th century emerald Buddha statue is made of Baccarat crystal and solid gold. It weighs 90 kilograms and is adorned with 9,584 diamonds. Bronze statues stand to it’s left and right sides. Next to these, encased under a glass cover, resides a golden locus. Within this area other ancient treasures include a large Buddha’s footprint, representing the 108 past lives of the Buddha before he was re-incarnated as Prince Siddharta, who subsequently gained enlightenment. On the wall, surrounding the Pagoda compound, (the oldest par of the palace) are hundreds of meters of frescos depicting an episode of the Indian epic Ramayana. These are the biggest mural frescos in South East Asia.
3rd photo on the right: the silver pagoda is termed silver for its silver tiled flooring and not its pagoda.
*** Below are a series of photos of me!!! by wj***
that's me holding my brolly cos it was such a blazing sunny afternoon! And yes we were perspiring like mad.
Picture PERFECT! i told wj that the above photo is good enough as an advertising POSTcard to send home!
On the left is the brillant golden yellow tiled "Temple of the Emerald Buddha"; on the left is white-ish"The Pavilion of Napoleon III" - very different in style!
They look as if they weren't in the same compound at all!
me: taking a break from walking around the Palace grounds. Truly, under the scorching sun, half an hour's walk seems like a whole afternoon! Makes me so tired. My dad was mentioning that I have extensive eye-bags here...
"whoa girl...your eye-bags very dark hor...never sleep ah?"
The talented and budding Photographer - wj (very concentrated indeed)
*** S e r i e s o f R o y a l P a l a c e a n d S i l v e r P a g o d a ***
Most of the Cambodians are still living in slum housing. There isn't any high-rise buildings here yet but I'm sure in time to come, Phnom Penh will be very developed when the waterworks at the Sisowath Quay is done and up running as it will bring in tourism and of cos money. Hopefully the government will do something for their own people in terms of their housing quarters.
The roads along Norodom Blvd are paved very nicely as most of the foreign Embassies are located here. For example - The Singapore Embassy! Also along here you can find Monument Books too.
1600: Started to make our way to the Russian Market. Took a tuk-tuk there for US$1.
Sisters 98 Street 450
Although the décor is not memorable, the food certainly is. An all day breakfast with pancakes, or crepes is available with no attempt to masquerade one as the other. For children and children at heart, there is something called a “Toasty dog” which is two hot dogs with cheese in grilled bread. The chocolate chip cookies are some of the best in Phnom Penh and, along with the equally scrumptious brownies, pies or cinnamon rolls can be ordered by the pan. A mere US$6 will get you a delectable treat to share. If DIY is your desire, they also sell cake and pancake mixes. Be sure not to miss the pampering room upstairs where you can get a manicure, pedicure, braids or a shoulder massage, each under US$3.
Russian Market (Psar Toul Tom Pong) 7am-5pm
Address: Corner of Street 163 and Street 444 Phnom Penh Cambodia
Buy: Silk and cashmere pashminas $3, silk bags $5-7, krama cambo scarf $1.50 or $1 (depends on your bargaining skills!!!)
Note: Stop and sample ice coffee Stall 543.
banana vendors!
2000: Dinner time!!!
Happy Herb Pizza
Address: 223 Sisowath Quay
Opening hours: 10am-11pm Daily (they do free delivery as well!)
This riverfront mainstay offers a pleasant view of the Mekong and is a good place to kick back in a bamboo chair and watch the evening pedestrian traffic. The strange decor--ukuleles mounted beside Cambodian landscape paintings--makes this a novel place to enjoy this treat. At USD5 for a pizza, salad, and drink, this is perhaps the cheapest of the pizzerias. For those looking for less other fare in this strange environment, Happy Pizza offers Thai soups at about USD2.50, and pasta dishes for USD4. The usual selection of local brews is offered as well.
me: writing down my journal of the day before i forget all the timing of the sightseeing.
F o r d r i n k s
me: coke (chilled) wj: Soda water + red bull (his favourite combi)
F o r f o o d :
me: Vegetable noodle soup with chicken, $2
wj: Bacon pizza, $4.50
To share: Tom Yum Goong, $4.50
I love my noodle soup as it had loads of veggies! and it was savoury with enough pieces of chicken meat which i gladly gave them to wj when i couldnt finish them. The noodles were rice vermicelli by default as most cambodians here eat alot of that. I had a slice of the pizza too. Fine crusted with bacon, tomatoes and cheese. Simple and no fuss. Good enough for me and it was reasonably priced considering the rest of the outlets which we visited in subsequent days. The soup to share was sedap....sour and not too spicy. Clear broth, not the milky type. (which we had at Lemongrass...) Again the contents were aplenty with tomatoes, straw mushrooms and fish slices. Tangy taste, very refreshing and appetising!
