"Phnom Penh" a Phnom Penh Travel Page by Penelope4

My primary objective of visiting Cambodia is to learn what happened to the country after its Khmer Rouge period which took place from 1975 to 1979. It is said that more than 1 million Cambodians passed away either through sickness, hard forced labor, starvation or execution as they were forced to work in the fields and were separated from their loved ones. Those who were able to stay with their families in the rural areas struggled to have something in their stomachs and managed to suppress their affections towards their loved ones. I will leave the facts to the historians but I'll mention some details in my Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum page.

When I arrived in Phnom Penh, I just freshened up a bit and off I went to Wat Phnom, the tallest religious building in the city with its height of 27 metres. It was built in 1372/3 to house the four Buddha statues found on the banks of the Mekong. A kind caretaker welcomed me inside the temple. It was so peaceful inside, you must believe me. Beneath the temple are a countless sellers - but they are not too insistent.

It is known that the building has been designed by a French archeologist and painter, George Groslier, in Khmer style in 1920. It is so beautiful from the outside that you can't help but to look at it for a while before deciding to get inside. It is located to the North of the palace grounds, on the opposite side of 184th street. The museum is open daily from 7 to 11:30 am and 2 to 5 pm, except on Mondays. They were renovating a room when I visited it but that didn't bother me at all because when I went out of the inner building, I enjoyed looking at its beautiful garden and ponds! You'll have to pay extra though for taking pictures of these. Entrance fee by the way is around two US Dollars.

I will write something about the Choeung Ek Memorial and the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum under "Things to do". In here, I will simply recommend to ask your Tuk-tuk driver to park when you see the farms. It is so refreshing to see greenery (and to take a break during the long journey) and bring your ear plugs or MP3 or iPODs because the Tuk-tuk can be too noisy. I must say that the pajama-like clothings of the Cambodian women who I saw along the way made me wonder why they don't change during the day. Later, I realized it is normal for them to wear such clothes outside the streets.