Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh is a large compound containing some extrodinarily beautiful buildings. It was built in 1866 by King Norodom. I got there late in the day after a rain storm and had to rush through some of it. In one of the sections they had some Cambodian cultural displays, crafts and a group of four musicians playing traditional Cambodian music. The main guy was playing a roneat, a Cambodian (Khmer) xylophone in the shape of a boat. There was another roneat next to him that some of the visitors would sit behind to have their picture taken. He gestured to me to sit and showed me the scale they were playing and I joined in. The music is hypnotic and chaotic. I am sure I hit a few bad notes, but it was really amazing to play with these guys. The passers by kept looking at the silly white guy playing their traditional music.

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