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Phnom Penh : Phnom Penh is the capital city as well as the wealthiest and most populous city in Cambodia. In Phnom Penh we visited the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda and strolled through the well kept grounds admiring the architecture. The Silver Pagoda (as its name implies) has an interior that was all silver, including the floors and walls. One building was quite out of place in the surrounding colorful Cambodian architecture. It was a small grey Victorian house that was a gift from Napoleon III. We then drove to National Museum which holds one of the most extensive collections of Khmer artifacts in the world. The Khmer empire (not to be confused with the notorious Khmer Rouge) started around 9th century and lasted into the 14th century. One interesting fact about the national museum is it holds the record for the largest collection of living bats in a structure. As you look at the exhibits you can hear the rustling and occasional squeak of the bats overhead. In fact the Australians built a second ceiling in the museum because the bat droppings were destroying the exhibits! At night I would suggest going to the Foreign Correspondents Club across from the museum and watch the bats fly out from the museum. It was truly an amazing sight to watch over a beer. Although you have to watch carefully or you might miss it. A visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (formerly S-21) or the Killing Fields is required but depressing stop. We chose S-21, which was originally a high school before the Khmer Rouge took over in April 1975. The Khmer Rouge took methodical notes on their victims, so we know more than 17,000 people were tortured and killed at S-21 over 4 years. Prisoners were tortured to get them to confess to crimes against the state. Killing them was discouraged, at least until they had their written confessions. Most of rooms were left as found when the Vietnamese army took Phnom Penh from the Khmer Rouge in 1979. But one set of rooms is dedicated to the people who where tortured and died at S-21and their small pictures line the wall, a sobering reminder of man’s inhumanity to man. These photos from my 2001 trip to Cambodia.

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital city as well as the wealthiest and most popu ...

Updated: Jan 12, 2008 1:16pm PST

Rural Scenes : As we drove from Siem Rep to Tonle Sap Lake we saw the traditional Cambodian houses on stilts as well as the rice fields they tended.

Rural Scenes

As we drove from Siem Rep to Tonle Sap Lake we saw the traditional Cam ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 9:39am PST

Siem Reap : Seim Rep is home to Angkor Wat and is the closest modern city to the other temples and cities of the Khmer empire.

Siem Reap

Seim Rep is home to Angkor Wat and is the closest modern city to the ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:01am PST

Angkor Thom : The fortified city of Angkor Thom, this 10 square km area was built by Jayavarman VII (consider the greatest Khmer King) in the 12th century. The Terrace of Elephants sits in front of the Royal Enclosure and the King would be entertained from this 350 meter long pavilion by musicians and acrobats. It is called the Terrace of Elephants because the center section is supported by carved elephants and the outer sections are supported by elephants, demons, and mythical creatures. At the exact center of this ancient city sits Bayon.

Angkor Thom

The fortified city of Angkor Thom, this 10 square km area was built by ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:02am PST

Angkor Wat : Angkor Wat was built at the height of the Khmer empire in 1100’s by Suryavarman II. This temple is a representation of the Hindu universe with the central tower representing Mount Meru, the home of the gods, surrounded by 4 smaller peaks. The outer walls represent the mountains enclosing the world and the moat represents the oceans beyond. Around the main temple are engravings of many stories of Hindu and Khmer legends. Such as Churning the Ocean of Milk; Vishnu conquering the demons; Battle of Kurukshetra; depictions of Hindu Heaven & Hell; Krishna & the Demon King; and others. Since most people could not read, pictorial representations of stories were critical. The temple is still used to worship Buddha and statues of Buddha are found through out the temple.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat was built at the height of the Khmer empire in 1100’s by ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:04am PST

Banteay Srei : Banteay Srei is a 10th century Hundu temple dedicated to the god Shiva and is the only major temple at Angkor not built by a monarch. It was built by Yajnyavahara, a counselor to king Rajendravarman. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale (unusual when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction) and built of red sandstone with elaborate decorative wall carvings that are still observable today.

Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei is a 10th century Hundu temple dedicated to the god Shiva ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:03am PST

Bayon : Bayon is built with the traditional levels of a Hindu temple but oddly has 54 stone towers with 4 gargantuan smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara (one of the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion) on each tower, 1 face at each cardinal direction, for a total of 216 faces. Like Angkor Wat it has pictorial battles and legends carved into its walls. However unlike Angkor Wat it also has scenes of daily life including people playing chess, a cockfight, women selling fish at the market, etc. There is also a panel of the Khmer circus with a strong man holding 3 dwarves, tightrope walkers, and a man on his back spinning a heel with his feet. This temple is another place held in great reverence to the Buddhists. There is a sizable contingent of monks throughout the complex and their orange robes are in stark contrast to the grey of the stone. A word on the differences between the Khmer Buddhist and Hindu temples. The Hindu temples are built with several layers & towers while the Buddhist temples are built with only one layer and 1000’s of images of Buddha engraved throughout the temple walls. As the religion of Cambodia swung from Hindu to Buddhist and back, the temples were converted back and forth. Where this is really noticeable is where a Buddhist temple was converted to Hindu. The Hindu’s would remove all the images of Buddha which could mean chipping away thousands of small images that were carved into the walls, but whenever they missed one, it is now pointed out by the guides.

Bayon

Bayon is built with the traditional levels of a Hindu temple but oddly ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:05am PST

Phnom Bakheng : Phnom Bakheng is a Hindu temple built on a man made mountain. Built at the end of the 9th century during the reign of King Yasovarman, it was dedicated to Shiva. It was the principal temple of the Angkor region until the constructed Angkor Wat more than two centuries later. Its location atop a hill makes it a popular tourist spot for sunset views of Angkor Wat, which lies amid the jungle about ¾ of a mile to the southeast. However for our visit we were treated with a rainstorm rather than a clear sunset.

Phnom Bakheng

Phnom Bakheng is a Hindu temple built on a man made mountain. Built a ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:00am PST

Preah Khan : Preah Khan was a Khmer Buddhist temple that was converted to a Hindu Templer. A word on the differences between the Khmer Buddhist and Hindu temples. The Hindu temples are built with several layers & towers while the Buddhist temples are built with only one layer and 1000’s of images of Buddha engraved throughout the temple walls. As the religion of Cambodia swung from Hindu to Buddhist and back, the temples were converted back and forth. Where this is really noticeable is where a Buddhist temple was converted to Hindu. The Hindu’s would remove all the images of Buddha which could mean chipping away thousands of small images that were carved into the walls, but whenever they missed one, it is now pointed out by the guides.

Preah Khan

Preah Khan was a Khmer Buddhist temple that was converted to a Hindu T ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:05am PST

Ta Prohm : A distance from Angkor Thom is the temple complex of Ta Prohm, which was left in a natural state (with the exceptions of some brush clearing) giving the best idea of how these temples first looked to European explorers. Huge trees grow around and on top of the structures cloaking them in speckled shadow. Their roots are all that hold some of the buildings together while conversely trying to tear them apart. Small children run thought the ruins selling postcards for $1, while older children sell T-shirts for $5, their mothers in the shadows looking out for their children (or the dollars they make). If you want to get a feeling of being the first to find one of these temples or of time standing still, this is the place to come.

Ta Prohm

A distance from Angkor Thom is the temple complex of Ta Prohm, which w ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:02am PST

Tonle Sap Lake - Vietnamese Floating Village : The Vietnamese floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake. This is the largest lake in Cambodia and the water rise and fall over 20 feet annually. This is caused by the Mekong River “backing up” in the rainy season. The village must move when the waters rise. While the more “affluent” live on house boats, others live in small thatch “shacks” only large enough to sleep in. These sit on bamboo stilts on the shore and are light enough that 4 men can literally pick them up and easily move them as the waters rise and fall. There are schools and stores on larger boats which are mooring at the shore. We traveled through their aquatic town by power boat, but there was plenty of traffic by canoe with enterprising individuals selling vegetables or firewood by canoe or dugout. There were several fish farms which like the schools were built to be moved with the rising water.

Tonle Sap Lake - Vietnamese Floating Village

The Vietnamese floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake. This is the la ...

Updated: Dec 15, 2007 10:06am PST