Cambodia 2015

Friday20November

Gentle awakening in Kampot, which we will leave around 10:30 am. This gives me time to go post the postcards. On the way back, I follow these monks who stop right in front of our hotel...

After a quick thank you, someone from the hotel gives them some money. This is the traditional rule of the country; the wealthiest have an implicit obligation to give to monks who are begging.

4 hours of mini-van later, here we are back in Phnom Penh, thus completing our 3-week loop. But it's not over yet, we have one more day to visit the capital a bit...

A naga at the foot of these steps leading to Wat Phnom pagoda, the oldest in the city, over six centuries old. It gave its name to the city. The main building itself was built in 1929.

Inside the pagoda, multiple Buddhas and offerings.

Mural painting relating the story of Preah Vesandor (which means Sacred Exile). A Buddhist, after many reincarnations, became King. In his obsession to achieve enlightenment, he promised his people that he was ready to part with all his possessions. One day a stranger asked him for the kingdom's white elephant, which angered the people because it was a sign of abundance. The king was thus exiled to the jungle. In this difficult life, a man again took advantage of his promise and asked him for his children as slaves, then his wife... I'll let you deduce the Buddhist moral!  

Relics...

Moon above the Stupa.

We descend from the hill. The sun sets over the city and the Vattanac Tower (it's a bank...).

The Russian Market (Toul Tom Poung).

And dinner around a vegetable pierrade (and a little meat).

Saturday21November

Last day of the trip. We start this morning with a visit to the Royal Palace.

Portraits of King Norodom Sihamoni, and his late father, Norodom Sihanouk.

Panorama of the esplanade facing the palace.

Inside the enclosure, right at the entrance, a Cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis), its name comes from its large spherical fruits. The sign on the tree is a mistake, it's not a Pentacme siamensis!  

The Throne Room. A peculiarity for the visit is that most of the buildings have closed doors to visitors. So it's more of a stroll through the palace grounds than a visit to museum rooms.

Detail of the large doors of the Throne Room.

The spire with four faces of Brahma at 59 meters high. The tiles and goddesses supporting the roof.

Small museum. Here, traditional wedding outfits. One for each day of the week...

The Napoleon III Pavilion undergoing restoration, a gift from France to the King in 1870.

Ixora javanica...

We pass into the neighboring enclosure, where the Silver Pagoda is located.

The palace offices seen from the other side of the wall, and detail of the roof.

One of the two large stupas facing the Silver Pagoda.

The library door on the side of the Silver Pagoda.

Inside the library.

The archives in the library.

A murraya paniculata rutaceae serving as a support for this other exotic plant...

Frescoes cover the walls of the terraces surrounding the enclosure.

The fresco tells the Ramakerti, the Khmer version of the Ramayana, somewhat equivalent to the Bible for Hindus.

Detail of King Norodom's stupa with this embedded stone engraved in Khmer or Sanskrit?

Pavilion housing the equestrian statue of King Norodom.

At the foot of Wat Phnom Mondap, some cavities and their statues.

Still within the enclosure of the Silver Pagoda, emerging from nowhere, is the "paradise" of the Buddhas: Wat Phnom Mondap. Amidst vegetation surrounding a small temple, the statues blend completely into a most peaceful setting...

Incense lit in front of the Buddha at Wat Phnom Mondap temple.

We leave this small haven of peace. Next to it, this scale model of Angkor Wat.

End of visit. Again a couroupita guianensis tree but this time with Buddhas.

The tour ends with small museums.

Photos of different sovereigns.

Here Norodom Sihanouk with Charles de Gaulle in 1966.

Lotus flower

And finally, a traditional house.

The rest of the day continues with a completely different atmosphere as we will dedicate it to the country's dark hours, with the sites remaining from the Khmer Rouge period.