Tag Phnom Penh
Having seen all there is to see in Kampong Thom, we headed back to Phnom Penh right after breakfast. We arrived at our hostel around lunch and, since we weren’t able to access the room for about two hours, we decided to kill the time by going to the nearby Wat Phnom which is one of the main temples in the city.
I feel a bit templed out so I didn’t take as many photos as normal but it’s nice all the same. The inside especially has some nice paintings depicting scenes from the Buddha’s life.
Temple selfie 
Inside of
Though I know it’s only a .22, I hug the rifle tightly to my shoulder and peer down the scope. It’s harder than I remember to see clearly but after a few sweaps left to right I find the target, a white piece of paper against the orange brown wall. I center the crosshair right between the eyes of the printed figure, hold my breath then squeeze the trigger…… Read the rest
For some reason, the name Sambor Prei Kuk has stuck in my mind after flipping through the guidebook countless times. When I looked up the details I realized it’s only about 200 kilometers from Phnom Penh which is suitable for an overnight trip.
We got on the bus in the morning, and sadly the aircon wasn’t quite as good as advertised so it wasn’t a very pleasant ride. A little worse for wear, we arrived in Kampong Thom (the closest city to Sambor Prei Kuk) in the early afternoon. We checked in to a surprisingly nice hotel, rented a motorbike … Read the rest
After the harrowing journey here it has felt really good to not have to travel for a few days, just stay in one hotel. I came down with a case of traveler’s diarrhea so I’ve been cooped up in the hotel for a day but other than that we’ve been out exploring the city.
Right around the corner from our hotel is the National Museum of Cambodia. It houses quite a collection of ancient statues from all around the country. The building itself is pretty nice too.
The front of the museum 
Museum courtyard 
The most famous statue 
Some of
This used to be a classroom, white concrete walls, yellow and white tiled floor, even an old black board at one end. A hole has been knocked though the back wall, a rough opening connecting this room with the next like a long corridor. The walls on both sides are lined with cells, doors that swing open on rusty hinges. Simple wooden partitions that have been installed for separating the inmates from each other, each cell about two meters long and no wider than I can touch both walls simultaneously with my elbows. I can but imaging being locked in … Read the rest
In the room there are four large, freestanding notice boards, two on each side. Both the front and back of these are covered in photographs, all black and white, all the same size, neatly organized in a grid pattern. The photos all depict the same thing, faces, people looking straight into the camera, not a single smile among them. All the people have number tags hung around their necks, a few of them have fresh bruises on their face and a large amount hold their arms behind their backs, their shoulders twisted backwards. These are pictures of prisoners, brought here … Read the rest
We’re on a sort of raised, circular platform, the circumference of which is planted with trees that obscure the view from the outside. It’s like being in a clearing in the forest only it’s in the middle of the palace grounds. The edge of the circle is lined with Buddha statues and in the middle a stupa with white walls and golden spire. On one side there is an open door leading in to a small shrine. The stupa and shrine are nothing compared to the splendor of the surrounding palaces and temples but with all the trees it feels … Read the rest
After many trials and tribulations I’m finally in Phnom Penh. I started at eight in the morning at the travel agent where I left the motorbike, with a large tourist bus. The air con was cranked all the way to eleven, some of the airvents even had curtains stuffed in them to stem the flow. Since I was in sneakers and long trousers it was ok though.
We took off about twenty minutes after schedule and stopped a few times along the way so when we reached Nakasong ferry terminal it was already eleven. I thought the people headed for … Read the rest