Samdach Sothearos Boulevard 3, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Daily: 8.00am - 11.00am, 2.00pm - 5.00pm
We were supposed to visit the Royal Palace to learn about the Cambodian history on the day of arrival. However, due to the cancellation of the morning flight as mentioned previously, we had not choice but to postpone the visit all the way close to the end of the trip. The full name of the royal residence of the king is Preah Barum Reachea Veang Chaktomuk Serei Mongkol.
The admission fee for foreigner as per last year was
US$6.25 (~S$8.80), but I've just read a piece of news published in September last year that it'd be increased to
US$10.00 (~S$14.10) from 2017 onwards.
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| A zoomed-in snapshot of the gate from which we entered the palace complex. |
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| A map of the palace complex is printed behind this colourful leaflet. |
After getting our tickets checked, we walked through a pathway lined up with statues.
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| That huge tree instantly reminded me of a particular Digimon: Cherrymon! :P |
The pathway opens into a spacious and serene complex of buildings. Our tour guide first brought us to the Phhochani Pavilion before giving us time to explore the area.
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| Such a symmetrical Phocchani Pavilion~ |
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| Seven-headed naga! |
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| Seeing something like this has always calmed my soul~ |
Following which, I walked to the the Throne Hall. As expected, no photography is allowed inside the building
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| That's the Throne Hall with glaring sun in the backdrop. |
I also saw the residence of the kings. It has been occupied since its completion in the 1860s, save for the time when the country came into turmoil during and after the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Besides that, there's another open-air pavilion that serves as the stage for Khmer classical dance.
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| The king was in as his car was there, although it can't be seen in this picture. |
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| The Moonlight Pavilion with a flock of birds ~ |
The tour guide then brought us all to the treasury that stores clothings and other artifacts.
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| Nope, not rainbow collours... |
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| The Royal Regalia! :) |
We moved on to the next section where the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which is also known as the Silver Pagoda, is standing.
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| Such a beautiful stupa! |
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| The statue of His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk riding a white horse~ |
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| I think I've seen a similar painting in Bangkok, Thailand before. |
Dark clouds were accumulating above the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, but it didn't rain when we were there. Besides the small crystal Buddha, there's an almost life-sized statue of Maitreya Buddha encrusted with a total of 9,584 diamonds inside the temple. As you'd have expected, I can't show any pictures here.
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| Only a small area of the silver tiles are available for viewing upon entering the pagoda. |
There's a temple on top of the small hill called the Kailassa Mountain that's wrapped with greenery, providing a respite from the hot sun.
We saw a group of musicians who were victims of landmines near the refreshment and souvenir shops. Be allured by the lull of the music and give a donation to them.
There's a small exhibition hall near the exit.
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| Is that a deer next to the elephant? |
Finally, we walked past a hallway with various pictures hanged on the wall, depicting the history of the kingdom.
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| Yeah, after the Khmer Rouge regime... |
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| I suppose such a vehicle was used in the past? |
That was a quick history lesson in about two hours.
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