Sharky's
Phnom Penh, 6th & 7th
June 2002
As Amy felt like having a lazy day today (a long lie in then trying
to find a swimming pool to relax in) I set out to explore Phnom Penh
on my own.
Walking around the city, I noticed the huge number of Buddhist monks
in the city. They were dressed in the typical robes, but in a
variety of colours. Some wore orange, some red & some yellow.
Walking inside the serene green parks in their bright robes, monks
always seem to be very photogenic!
Over the course of the next few days visited most of the Phnom Penh
attractions.
The national museum is a huge building displaying stunning, Khmer
architecture. Never mind the collection inside, I was fascinated by
the building! It did have quite an expansive collection of Khmer
carvings, pottery, statues and other relics from throughout the
Khmer history. For anyone who plans to visit here, there is one
important piece of information you should know. In each of the rooms
in the museum there is a person who will try to sell you incense
sticks in order to pray to Buddha and then expect you to make a
monetary donation. You do NOT have to participate in this ritual or
money-giving. At first I thought it would be rude not to acknowledge
their deity, but I soon realised they aren't really bothered if you
refuse their offer. Which is good, because if you had to do the
ritual in every room, you'd leave considerably poorer than you were
when you entered!
Phnom Penh also has a huge palace complex. I believe the king is
sometimes is residence here, but when he isn't, parts of it are open
to the public. It's a hugely impressive building, both inside and
out. Rather than try to explain everything, I've taken some photos
that will be added later.
I also paid a number of visits to the huge main market. Housed in
a large, distinctive building, there are 1000s of stalls selling
everything imaginable. From clothes, to jewellery, to fresh food, to
bags, even obscure, very technical, English textbooks!
As the World Cup was going on while I was in Phnom Penh, I spent a
lot of time watching the games in a bar called `Sharky's'. Although
sometimes a little seedy, it's usually packed and full of vibrant
locals, expats and tourists alike. In fact, I even bumped into Andy
again here (although I did know beforehand that this was one of his
favourite watering holes!
The rest of my time over these days was just spent pootling around
and taking in the atmosphere of this great Asian city.
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