The Royal Palace Of Phnom Penh (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1

After visiting the Throne Hall, Jam, his friend and I proceeded to visit the Silver Pagoda. We had to walk through a walled walkway to get there.



It was at this walkway that we came across some naughty monkeys. Luckily these aggressive monkeys did not trouble us. I quickly snapped a photo of two monkeys on top of the wall and walked away.



As we entered the Silver Pagoda compound, we could see the compound walls covered with murals depicting stories from the Reamker, which is the Khmer version of the classic Indian epic, the Ramayana.



However, we could see that certain parts of the murals were ravaged by time. This is not surprising since the murals were first painted more than a century ago, although renovations were carried out between the year 1985 and 1987.

The Silver Pagoda compound contains several structures and gardens, but the main building is Wat Preah Keo Morokat which means 'Temple Of The Emerald Buddha'. It is also known as Silver Pagoda, so-called because the floor of the temple is covered with 5,329 silver tiles!

I was attracted to the rows of kneeling Buddha statues adorning the walls of the Library next to the temple.



It was quite a sight to behold!



The Silver Pagoda temple looked rather majestic from where I stood.



Near the temple were several stupas. I captured one of the stupas from this angle.



I took another photo of the Buddha statues lining the walls of the library buillding. There must have been at least two dozens of them!



A view of the Silver Pagoda from another angle.




The Silver Pagoda or Wat Preah Keo Morokat is unique in that it is a pagoda where the King meets with the monks to listen to their sermons and where some Royal ceremonies are performed. But unlike most pagodas, no monks live here.

The Silver Pagoda also houses a small 17th century Emerald Buddha (thus the name 'Temple Of The Emerald Buddha') and a life sized gold Maitreya Buddha decorated with 9,584 diamonds dressed in royal regalia commissioned by King Sisowath.

Unfortunately, I could not show you the photos of these two priceless treasures as photography was not allowed inside the temple.



Beautiful view of the Silver Pagoda from another side.



Not far away from the temple building is the Equestrian statue of King Norodom (1834 -1904).


Front view


Side view

Completed by French artist Eude in Paris in 1875, the statue was placed on the pagoda grounds in 1892. The canopy was added by King Sihanouk in 1953 to honour King Norodom in light of Cambodia's new independence.



There were several stupas of different Kings, but I am afraid I did not note down which stupa belongs to which King! Some of these stupas contain ashes of the Kings.



Close shot of one of the stupas.



Amazing carvings on the stupa.



An elephant carving on the stupa.



More detailed carvings.






I took several more pictures of the beautiful stupas.






Can you see the Equestrian statue of King Norodom below?



I like this picture of the man who appears so tiny compared with the towering heights of the stupas.



Below is the Stupa of Princess Kantha Bopha, the daughter of former King Sihanouk. I remember this well as it looks different from all the other stupas.



Surrounding the Silver Pagoda temple and all the stupas and monuments is a beautiful garden with plants that were cleverly cut into various animals shapes. Not sure what animal this is though. What do you think it is?



But this one is definitely an elephant!



I remember there was a plant that shaped like a deer but could not find the photo! Oh well, maybe I accidentally deleted it.

On our way out of the Royal Palace, we came across the Sleeping Buddha.



There was an amazing carving near it.



The tree which the Sleeping Buddha slept under was rather strange looking. Have you seen such a tree before?



OK, I really did not know what this was but I took a photo of it anyway. Some kind of plants grown in a boat-like structure.



A nice carriage-like structure at the exit of the Royal Palace. By the way, do you think those elephants next to the carriage are real?



If you ever go to Phnom Penh, do drop by the Royal Palace. It is opened to public 7 days a week from 8am - 11am and 2pm - 5pm. Admission fee is only USD 3 per person which is pretty reasonable to me!

Coming Up Next : Exploring Phnom Penh City

FIRST COMMENTER

The Royal Palace Of Phnom Penh (Part 1)

On our first morning in Phnom Penh, Jam, his friend and I visited the Royal Palace. A good friend in Cambodia who had paid for our 2 nights stay in Asia Hotel had arranged a tuk tuk driver to take us there.

Although we had some phobia sitting in a tuk tuk after that accident in Siem Reap, we simply could not turn down our good friend's hospitality. Fortunately we arrived safely at the Royal Palace at about 9.15 am. We paid USD3 each for the entrance fee.

This is the pathway leading to the entrance of the palace complex. It is flanked by nicely carved Buddha statues on one side.



The Royal Palace is a complex of buildings which serves as the royal residence of the King of Cambodia. The palace was constructed after King Norodom relocated the royal capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh in the mid-19th century.

Covering a total area of 174,870 square meters, the Royal Palace faces east and is situated at the western bank of the cross division of the Tonle Sap River and Mekong River.


A row of Buddha statues along the pathway


A nicely carved stone statue

The palace complex is divided by walls into 3 main compounds. On the north side is the Silver Pagoda, to the south side is the Khemarin Palace and the central compound contains the Throne Hall.

We visited the Throne Hall first.



The Throne Hall (or Preah Thineang Dheva Vinnichay) was where the king's confidants, generals and royal officials once carried out their duties. Today, it is used as a place for religious and royal ceremonies as well as a meeting place for guests of the King.



The main staircase leading into the Throne Hall is flanked by naga railings on both sides.



A close shot of the naga (7 headed serpent) and a "lion" statue guarding one side of the entrance.



Walking up the stairs, we could see statues of Garudas and Apsaras on the ceilings and columns of the building.




An Apsara statue

I thought the Garudas and Apsaras statues on the columns made the Throne Hall building look really special and magnificent!



Photography was not allowed inside the Throne Hall so I have no pictures to show you. We had to take off our shoes and hats before entering the hall.



Coming out of the Throne Hall, I captured a photo of the long naga railing leading down the stairs.



On the right side of Throne Hall from where I stood, there is another building called the Phochani Pavilion.



Phochani Pavilion was originally constructed as a classical dance theater. However, it is currently used for royal receptions and meetings and thus is closed to the public.



Since we could not go in, I took a few more shots of this building.






Next, we went into this building called Hor Samrith Phimean also known as the Bronze Palace.



There were some royal regalias displayed in the Bronze Palace, like bronze bowls, lacquer plates and traditional costumes. I did not take any pictures except for these traditional costumes for Khmer ladies.



There is also another building near the Throne Hall called Moonlight Pavilion (or Preah Thineang Chan Chhaya). It is an open-air pavilion that serves as stage for Khmer classical dance. It is also one of the most notable buildings of the palace as it can be easily seen from the outside as it was built alongside a section of the palace walls.



However, the Moonlight Pavilion was closed to the public that day and we did not get a chance to visit it.

As mentioned earlier, the Royal Palace is divided into three compounds - Throne Hall, Khemarin Palace and Silver Pagoda. We were done with Throne Hall. Since Khemarin Palace was off limits to visitors, we visited Silver Pagoda next.

To be continued ....