Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda

Address: Sothearos Blvd | Opening hours: 7:30-11am & 2-5pm | Price: Admission incl camera 25,000r, guide per hr US$ 10

The Royal Palace is the jewel of the crown of Phnom Penh’s numerous landmarks: an enormous complex with classic Khmer roofs and ornate gilding that dominates the small skyline of the city. Built in Khmer classical architecture with a slight French touch, it bears a generous resemblance to its counterpart in Bangkok.

                Built during the mid-19^th century – after King Norodom relocated the royal capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh – the palace has always been a major tourist draw.

                Within the Royal Palace compound you’ll find the

extravagant Silver Pagoda, the floor of which is covered with 5,000 silver tiles. Rivalling the floor, a staircase made of Italian marble leads the way to the innards of the pagoda. Inside the temple, you’ll admire the star of the show: the Emerald Buddha, a small, glimmering statue – said to be made of Baccarat crystal-that sits atop an impressive gilt pedestal. Adding to the mix in spectacular fashion, a near-life-sized, solid-gold Maitreya Buddha – encrusted with thousands of diamonds and dressed in royal regalia - sits in front the pedestal.

                To enter, you need to wear shorts that reach to the knee, and T-shirts or blouses that reach to the elbow. Note also that the palace gets very busy on Sundays, when Khmers come to pay their respects – although being in the midst of the thronging locals can be a fun way to experience the place.

Tuol Sleng Museum | Phnom Penh Cambodia

Address: Cnr St 113 & St 350 | Opening hours: 8am-5pm | Price: Admission 5$

A trip to Phnom Penh is not complete without paying a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a blood-curling remainder of the horrors that took place under the Khmer Rouge, and an excellent exposition of the genocide that shook Cambodia during the 70s.

Formerly a high school, the site was eventually turned into a detention and interrogation center by the Khmer Rouge and code-named Security Prison 21 (S-21), the building were enclosed in electrified barbed wire, and the classrooms transformed into tiny prison and torture chambers.

S-21 was operational from the regime’s rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979, witnessing the deaths of between 16,000 to 20,000 peoples. At any one time, the prison held between 1,000 – 1,500 prisoners, who were repeatedly tortured and coerced into naming family members and close associates. Initially most of the victims were from the previous regime and included soldiers and government officials, as well as academics, doctors, teachers, students, factory workers, monks and engineers. With time the party leadership’s paranoia grew stronger and turned on its own ranks, engendering purges throughout the country that saw thousands of party activists and their families brought to Tuol Sleng and slaughtered.

In 1979, the invading Vietnamese army, following the smell of rotting corpses, discovered the prison. Only twelve peoples are known to have survived. In 1980, the prison was reopened by the government of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea as a historical museum memorializing the actions of the Khmer Rouge regime.