National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh

The museum is housed in a graceful terra cotta structure of traditional design built in 1917-1920, with a beautiful courtyard garden. It is home of the finest collection of Khmer sculpture. It comprises of 4 pavilions. The renowned immense bronze reclining Vishnu statue (considered the holy god) is housed here as well as several striking statues of Shiva from 9th - 11th centuries. Unfortunately, no photo is allowed in the museum.  We were surprised to learn that Cambodia used to be a much bigger country during the Angkor era but had subsequently been taken by its neighbouring countries after the post Angkor times. The museum is rather simple and without air con.

After the museum, we visited the Royal Palace. It closes during mid-day from 11:00 - 2:00 pm.  By the time it reopened at 2:00 pm, there were so many tour buses and school children all rushed in. The ground is quite impressive but having to walk in the blazing sun at close to 40 degrees is challenging for us. We skipped most of the ground and went to the main attraction to see the golden and emerald Buddhas on the silver tile floor. The golden Buddha was very impressive with so many diamonds decorated the body, the largest is 25 carats and total of over 90 kg of gold. The silver tile floor covers the entire room and to preserve them, most of the tiles are covered with only a small section to show and tell. 

I find Phnom Penh hotter than Siem Reap, most likely being in a big city with lots of buildings, traffic and little vegetations. The sun actually burns your skin. But unfortunately, most the attractions are outdoor and without air con. So hot, dusty, noisy and smelly but that did not deter us from walking on the street like a local and brazing the sun just to experience the local life. Richard willingly accepted the poor conditions and I, on the other hand, came along with him half-heartedly :)

We took the Tuk Tuk back to the hotel and enjoyed a refreshing local beer. A well deserved break!!