Kingdom of Cambodia

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia, the commercial and also the political hub. It is the gateway to the temples of Angkor in the west, the beaches of Sihanouk Ville on the southern coast and the hill tribe minority in the northern province. Revitalized capital city with temples and French colonial architecture blended with a cosmopolitan restaurants, hotels, and night life scenes.

* History of Phnom Penh

After a large flood, an old woman named Daun Penh was found the five bronze Buddha statues inside the dead Korki tree that was floating on the Tonle Sap river. Then she had create an 88-foot-mound and then erected a shrine on top to hold the Buddhas. The people who live around the hill called the hill and somewhere around the hill is Phnom Daun Penh by the name of an old woman, after that people was shorted the name from Phnom Daun Penh to Phnom Penh and they've called the hill Wat Phnom.

And another theory states that King Ponhea Yat, the last king of the Khmer civilization, constructed the temple in 1422 after moving his emjpire from Angkor to the area of Phnom Penh. He died in 1463 and the largest stupa at Wat Phnom still contains his remains.

* Resorts in Phnom Penh

When you arrive the Phnom Penh International Airport you'll see a lot of tourists who come to visit Cambodia. A long the road you'll see the views of Phnom Penh which have a lot of hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, resorts and another interesting places to visit.

- Royal Palace and Silver Palace

Royal Palace was built in 1866, the site contains various buildings of interest, including the Khmer-style Throne Hall, now used for special ceremonial occasions. South of the Throne Hall are theRoyal Treasury and the Villa of Napoleon III, built in Egypt in 1866, for the opening of the Suez Canal , and was later presented to the Cambodian king as a gift. The famous Silver Pagoda, originally constructed of wood in 1866, was expanded in 1962 by King Sihanoul who had the floor inlaid with 5329 solid silver tiles, hence its name. The most revered image is Emerald Budda, made of Baccarat crystal and dating back to the 17th century. Behind it, another Buddha statue was cast in 1906, utilizing 90 kg of gold, and decorated with 9,584 diamonds. Cabinets along the perimeter contain gifts presented to royalty and dignitaries. Along the inside of the recently restored 600-metre external wall is a colorful mural depicting scenes from the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana.

- Independence and Liberation memorials

Independence Memorial, commemorating the departure of the French in 1953, dominates the centre of the city. Nearby is the Stalin-style Liberation Memorial, marking the Vietnamese capture of the city in 1979. The area is especially popular for the local and foreign people because there are a lot of parks that they're can exercise and go for a walk with the fresh air there and it's also have a lot of restaurants with cheap price and delicious foods.

- Tuol Sleng museum (S-21)

Tuol Sleng museum (S-21) is the most popular place for foreign people because there was a prison in Pol Pot so that's why foreign people want to know about it. Tuol Sleng museum (S-21) was a school and had converted into prison in 1975. More than 14,000 people were tortured here before being killed at the Killing Fields, only 8 prisoners made it out alive.

- The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

After you visited Tuol Sleng museum, you'll want to see another place that Pol Pot took the prisoners from Tuol Sleng and killed them there. Just only 17 km from south of Phnom Penh and maybe 40 minutes by taxi or tuk tuk you'll see The Killing Fields. The Killing Field is where the Khmer Rouge killed many thousands of their victims during their three years five months and twenty five days reign of terror. Today the site is marked by a Buddhist stupa packed full of human skulls - the sides are made of glass so the visitors can see them up close. There are also pits in the area where mass graves were unearthed, with ominous scraps of clothing still to be found here and there. It is a serene yet somber place. As millions were killed during Pol Pot.

In Phnom Penh also have a lot resorts and shopping malls to visit, not only these 4 places. If you interesting with Cambodia and want to know how wonderful it is, please come and visit Cambodia.

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Post by Ritthisak (Richard)