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Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The Royal Palace

David Murray
2007-03-04 09:50:34

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first bus, but we managed to procure seats on the bus that left 1/2 an hour later. We also managed to get them at even a cheaper price we had been quoted the day before. I think that they realised that I am a Jewboy !!! Later on, we grabbed a moto, gave him our price and he said yes straight away. I think we should have offered him half as much. Fuck it !!! On the way, we saw some kids selling fake books, so I jumped off and did some negotiating for a LP Viet Nam. Yesterday, we were told $10 USD, fuck that, they actually should be starting at $5 USD. I offered $3. They wanted $3.50. I pulled out my $3 and they said no. I upped it to $3.25. They still said no. So I said goodbye and went to jump back on the bike. As I went to jump, they agreed on my price. I still feel I was ripped off as it is only a photocopy. And then we arrived at the palace, but it was closed as it was lunch. We sat there being hassled by the beggars, and after India, this was so easy !!! Then the gates opened and we went in.

Price to enter - $3 USD and $2 USD for a camera. We paid for two people and was asked about the camera. We told the seller we did not have one. We handed over the tickets and was asked about a camera, once again we told them we did not have one. Then we went in.

First building was the Throne Hall. When it was built, it was meant to have been inspired by the Bayon. Why, because there are four heads on the tower on the roof !!! There are loads of gold items, but they are all repro's as the Khmer Rouge destroyed everything in here. Outside, is a little iron building which looks like a Indian birdcage. It was given to Cambodia by Napoleon III. As there were no guards around, Lucy pulled the camera out, hence the shots we have !!! We moved onto the Silver Pagoda, where the whole floor is made of over 5000 1kg silver tiles. The Khmer Rouge saved this to prove to the world that they could save Cambodia's history, even though, over 60% of the contents inside were destroyed. There is however, a life size gold statue of the Buddha with a shit load of diamonds attached to it. There were loads of other little Buddhas with historical content about them that managed to survive the revolution. Out the back was a replica of Angkor Wat, just proving that this is a copy of the Royal Palace in Bangkok, just not as good !!! Finally, there was a stupa that was built to represent Mt Kailasa in Tibet. Considering that this is a Theravadan Buddhist country and Mt Kailasa is Mahayana Buddhist territory, I was kind of at a loss to explain why it was here. Upon further reading, I discovered that Mahayana Buddhism was the first Buddhism introduced to this country in the 10th century, and Theravada took over three centuries later. There was a room with a load of elephant platforms in, but after India, they were a big let down. So we left

After walking out, we took a walk and found the Independence Monument. Built in Angkor style and placed in the middle of a round-a-bout. Some people call it victory monument and others use it to remember the dead. Whatever they call it, it is pretty impressive and not an eye sore.

And with that, that was Phnom Penh finished for the moment. We never made it to the National Museum as we are now running out of time. Laos is calling us, so it is time to move on.