Phnom Pehn - in pictures

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Indigestion.

Experience overload.

Hey, I'm not not complaining! My three weeks in south-east Asia - Cambodia and Laos, with overnight stops in Kuala Lumpur - earlier this month were simply stunning. It's a while since I've been somewhere that seemed initially so "foreign", so different. That has so much history, both ancient and remarkable, and recent and horrific. Where the people are so charming, and still seemingly a little naive about the tourists who are becoming the mainstay of their economies. Where there is so much to see and to do, yet where internal transport is still geared to the local way of life rather than to catering for the full tourist-itinerary. Where the food deliciously combines the Orient with a strong French colonial legacy, and the beer, wine and cocktails flow generously.

As I now do my washing, catch up on email and pack my bags for a trip of a completely different kind, I'm wondering quite how best to convey, before I set off again, a flavour of some of the variety of things that I have seen and done this month, without inundating you with too much verbiage. For this reason, I've decided to break you all in gently for what may be a number of blogs this week with a largely pictorial blog about Phnom Penh.

Enjoy...

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Photos

street scene outside Wat Ounalom
This Wat (temple) is believed to contain a hair from Buddha's eyebrow, hence its nickname, not surprisingly, of the Eyebrow Temple.

National Museum
...with queue of waiting tuktuks

French colonial house
Oh for a Serious Amount Of Money to do this place up....

silks on sale at the Russian market
(so called, in the 1980s apparently, because of the dominant foreigners in town at the time)

statue at the Royal Palace
Entertainly, this statue came from Napoleon III. It appears that the French had a spare horse-and-king statue lying around, so gave it to Cambodia after removing the French king's head and putting on the Cambodian king's instead.

the Silver Pagoda
And, in case you're wondering, the Pagoda gets its name from the silver of its floor.

petrol stand
Yup, this isn't liquid for humans, but for their vehicles. Tuktuk drivers can top up their moped/motorbike engines from these stalls.

grilled bugs, anyone?
I have to confess that I did NOT try the tarantula-lookalikes, nor the cockroaches. Must be going soft in my old age....

Comments

[Rhonda]

Hi Gorgeous - love the photos. You've really captured Cambodia in a few words and photos. Isn't it wonderful...and wierd, too? If you get a chance, read the book, "Pol Pot, Anatomy of a Nightmare" by Philip Short. Wish we were with you. Warmest hugs, Rhonda

[Nikki]

wonderful shots
The pictures, and all the beautiful colors, are wonderful and just the thing to brighten up a chilly gray New York day! Hope you'll have a chance to get to Indonesia, too (a favorite country of mine). Nikki

[penny]

what stunning photographs
You may definitely give up your day job - what beautiful photographs!!!!! So sorry you did not try the bugs etc.....maybe next time? Hope you are having fun and lots of love from us all in Cape town xxx