Vietnam was the land of conical hats and vibrant colored clothing with small Sampan boats floating along the Mekong. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into Cambodia but I wasn’t disappointed. Although the garb wasn’t quite as colorful as Vietnam, the buildings and Temples more than made up for it. We made our entrance in to Phnom Penh just after dawn while doing Tai Chi on the deck.
Along the waterway we could see Temples rising in the sky flashing sparkling gold over the waterways.
We pulled into the Titanic Pier which was relatively close to everything. There was a large boat like structure, obviously a restaurant at the pier.
For our first excursion we each rode our own private cyclo through the bustling city streets.
My driver thought he was in a race. I started out with Bruce near the back of the pack and ended up in fourth place.
Here’s a few of our shipboard friends getting ready to enjoy the ride.
The traffic was a bit dodgy, people driving every which way.
We drove past Temples, parks, street vendors and Buddhist Monks.
The Royal Palace was made up of several buildings, all very ornate with gold trimmings and carvings.
Inside one of the buildings bridal dresses were displayed. The colors of the dresses reflected the day of the week. If a bride was married on a Tuesday she would wear the Tuesday color. These dresses are very expensive and are one of the garments worn by the bride. A Cambodian wedding spans three days.
Bruce loves taking pictures of the little children. This little girl was so precious.
Inside the Royal Palace was a banyan tree also called a cannonball tree. Our guide told us that the juice in the cannonball is used to make birthing easier.
We also entered the silver pagoda where the floors were made of silver. There were many Buddha statues in the pagoda but photography was not allowed.
The tall gray pagoda is the urn for kings. Each king had his own pagoda.
After spending some time at the Royal Palace we rode the cycles to the National Museum. There we saw the statues and antiquities which seemed to be mostly from Angkor Wat.
After lunch Keith, Terri, Bruce and I took a tuk tuk tour of Phnom Penh. The streets have that pungent smell, a mixture of foods, exhaust and humans that is prevalent in most cities. The traffic is heavy but people seem polite. I never noticed anyone yelling at another motorist or being openly hostile.
We drove past many government buildings. The Cambodian flag stands tall with a picture of Angkor Wat in the Center. We also saw more Temples.
There was a tree that had what seemed like a thousand bats hanging from it. Our tuk tuk driver said they fly at night.
We ended our ride at a market and then walked back to the ship, stopping for refreshments on the way.
In the evening they had some young people from a local orphanage come and perform traditional Cambodian dance.
It was a wonderful evening of entertainment.
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