Breakfast in the hotel’s café/bakery was a little chaotic with everything (fresh bread, fruits, muesli, eggs, toast and coffee) being delivered all at the same time. It was nutritious and sufficient to mean that we didn’t need a mid-day meal.
We then visited the Royal Palace with its gilded pitched roofs framed by nagas.
The palace was built with French assistance in the mid-19th century in the classic Khmer style. Its location on the western bank of the Tonlé Sap River was the former site of a temple. It is the official residence of the reigning Cambodian monarch, King Sihamoni.
The very impressive Throne Hall was only observed from the open door but it certainly looked grand. The façade is intricately detailed and the roof is adorned with garudas as well as the mystical naga serpents. The central spire with four faces is 59 m high.
The surrounding gardens are beautifully manicured and apart from the crowds that gather the atmosphere was serene.
The Silver Pagoda was very impressive with its name derived from the 5 tonnes of silver used to tile the floor. The surrounding galleries are ornamented with interesting murals depicting scenes from the Hindu epic, Ramayana.
King Norodom who reigned from 1860 -1904 was a firm friend of Napoleon III and the pavilion in the Royal Palace ground was originally built in Egypt for the French to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. Napoleon III then had it demolished and transferred to Phnom Penh and reconstructed. At present it is undergoing further restoration but we could take a peek through the surrounding barriers.
The next part of the day entailed a necessary but depressing reminder of the atrocities perpetrated during the Khmer Rouge time under the leadership of the tyrant Pol Pot. We visited the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek some eight kilometres south of Phnom Penh.
This deceptively peaceful orchard setting was the scene of one of the most disturbing acts of human violence in modern history.
Some 17 000 humans perished here between 1975 and 1979 and were buried in 129 mass graves of which 49 have been left in tact. Fragments of human bone and clothes are visible and the whole experience is utterly devastating emotionally.
In 1988 a fittingly dignified tower building was erected to commemorate the 9000 people whose bodies were uncovered here. Inside the pavilion there were 8000 human skulls arranged by age and gender behind glass panels. All the time visitors are subjected to haunting and mournful music that leaves all dumbfounded and in shock.
The information about the treatment of the victims, including the tiny children is
graphically displayed around the Killing Field and is totally horrifying!
To make the impact even worse if that’s possible, we were later informed that this was just one of an estimated 430 similar killing field sites of atrocities in Cambodia.
To add to the day of horrors we then went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in central Phnom Penh.
This museum was originally a school but under Pol Pot it became a prison called S 21 and a holding point for trucking humans out the Killing Field at Choeung Ek. Within the prison there thousands of photographs of victims and paintings of people being tortured plus scenes of unspeakable abuse.
We met briefly with an elderly man who was one of only seven people to have been detained in this prison and survived the holocaust mainly because he was needed for his skills as a painter. He, Bou Meng, was liberated by the Vietnamese in 1979.
Later in the day we visited the National Museum of Cambodia which is housed in four majestic terra-cotta pavilions around a central courtyard. The exhibits uncovered by archaeologists in Cambodia ranged from pre-historic to 12th century Buddhist sculptures, plus ancient pottery and bronze statues from over two thousand years ago.
Our final site was at Wat Phnom, a modest Buddhist temple at the highest point in the city which is a mere 27 m above the river level. The main reason for visiting is to see the shrine dedicated to Duan Penh as she is regarded as the founder of this city.
The evening concluded with a dinner at a nearby French restaurant to celebrate Chris and Diana’s 40th (ruby) wedding anniversary. This was to be special night with a sumptuous meal and wines to match.
