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A royal visit
It’s not every day that you gets to visit a palace. So, when you visit Phnom Penh in Cambodia, a tour of the Royal Palace is an absolute must. Oudong, about 40 kilometers from Phnom Penh used to be the capital of Cambodia. It was here that the kings had their royal residence, for more than 250 years. However, in 1865, King Narodam I decided that Phnom Penh would be the capital of the country. He relocated in 1865 and went about recruiting the best to construct the Royal Palace. Among them was the architect Neak Okhna Tepnimith Mak whose brief was simple – design a palace that was, well,…
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S-21
One would think Chao Ponhea Yat High School is just another regular school. On entering the gates, it looks like any high school, with five buildings that face the well-maintained lawns. Note: viewer discretion is advised as some of you may find the contents and images distressing. It is now called Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. However, between 1976 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge, who had overrun Phnom Penh had named it S-21, or Security Prison 21. They immediately set about converting it into a prison that would hold an estimated 20,000 inmates, including men, women, children and infants. The adults and children were photographed and then interrogated and tortured until…
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The Killing Fields
A lot of travellers who visit Cambodia head to Siem Reap and its iconic Angkor Wat for its culture, while those who love the sea and the sand head to the seaside town of Sihanoukville, a new discovery. In the process, they either give the capital city Phnom Penh a complete miss or use it as a transit point to get in and out of Cambodia. Which is a shame unfortunately. Agreed, Phnom Penh may not have what either Siem Reap or Sihanoukville has to offer. What it does have though, is a reminder of Cambodia’s turbulent history, especially that of the latter part of the 1970s. Note: viewer discretion…
