The Ninth Sense: Phnom Penh Part 1

Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, also the largest city of the country. Its location is just beside the famous Mekong River (used to hear alot during history lessons, and geography I think~). Its history started around 14th century when the great Angkor (Khmer Empire) falls to the hand of the Siamese troops~ The last King of Khmer Empire then flee Angkor and set up a whole new empire here in Phnom Penh(and few other relocation of capital then after). Since then, Cambodia was no longer like it used to be, being colonized thrice by different forces in different ways, and the civil war that follows all resulted in great toll to both the Nation and future.

Most of the tourist attractions are just nearby within 5-15 minutes driving distance. In short they are located in city center. Exception would be the killing field which is around 30 minutes from the center of the city. So, you could easily book a van for whole day from any of the Hotel reception and travel around. Make sure you study the place, then it would mean alot more than just travel blindly~

The Royal Palace
It was built in the 19th century when the Khmer Court returned to Phnom Penh after few times of relocating their capital. Hence, kinda recent but still worth a visit~

Wall of the Palace

Saw this lady infront of the Palace square~

Totally impressive!

25 000 Riels per ticket~ Looks scary right?~ Only because their currency is way too low~ The common currency being used here is US Dollar. 1 USD = 4200 Riels...Don't bother, even the locals use USD~

The current King and the royal family no longer lives here...The King is currently staying in Beijing~

To be Honest, 25 000 Riels (6.15 USD) was totally not worth it.....no doubt the palace is very large...but most are restricted areas

A legendary animals called Naga. Was actually a 5 headed snake~ Almost every single ancient building was built with this structure....as a guardian~

A model of Angkor Wat~

Silver Pagoda...used to be covered by silver tiles~ but now this was what remains~

National Museum

Largest Museum in Cambodia with alot of prehistoric relics from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam~

3 Dollar per entry......Without an understanding of the Khmer history and culture, 3 USD means wasted~

Was built in the early 20th century

We visited this place before going Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, generally everything just seems boring as most of the relics came from Angkor~

Wat Phnom

After fleeing Angkor, the last King of Khmer Empire built his capital here in Phnom Penh. Wat Phnom was the Royal Temple and the final resting place of his remains~