Sightseeing in Cambodia

During your sightseeing tour in Cambodia you will notice that it doesn’t have very much in the way of urban settlements- most of the population lives in rural, agricultural areas. All the provinces have their capitals, eight of the provincial capitals are large enough to have their own airports and some cities, like Battambang and Sihanoukville, are also growing by leaps and bounds. Most tourists for the time being confine themselves to Phnom Penh or to Siem Reap, which is the main base for visiting Angkor Wat.

The main city, in terms of administration, government, and socio-economic life is Phnom Penh, the capital of the country. Phnom is the hub of Cambodia: the most developed city, and the most tourist-friendly one too.

The Royal Palace is a museum that houses a number of priceless objects and artefacts from Cambodian past. Many statues from Angkor are preserved here. Located just next to the palace, Wat Preah Keo is the most famous pagoda in Phnom Penh. It was built in 1962 to replace a wooden temple from 1900. The name comes from 5281 tiles of silver, each weighing a little above 1 kg that covers the floor. The reigning deity is an image of Buddha, made of 90 kg of gold and studded with diamonds. The pagoda is open to visitor’s everyday except Mondays.

North of the Royal Palace is the National Museum that was restored a few years back. It houses the best of Phnom Penh‘s art and crafts; and on display are more than 5.000 works of art, ranging from the 6th to the 13th century. Its collection includes sculptures, Royal barges and palanquins.

Angor Wat is easily the Cambodian sight to see - one of the most magnificent temple complexes in this part of the world. Hidden away from the rest of the world for centuries altogether, the temples of Angkor were over run by creepers and tree roots after being abandoned in the 15th century. The temples, numbering about a hundred in all, comprised, at one time, a huge complex of great religious and administrative significance. They were built between the 7th and the 11th centuries when Khmer civilisation was at its height.

From the Angkor complex, the Khmer kings ruled over a vast empire that stretched from South Vietnam to Yunan in China and encompassed west Vietnam right up to the Bay of Bengal. The Khmer kings were considered to be incarnations of Hindu gods and were immortalised in the Angkor sculptures as such. The Angkor complex was occupied for only about two centuries before it was abandoned sometime in the 1400s. The temples came to light as a result of the explorations of French naturalist Henri Mouhot. Today the temples have been cleared of the surrounding forest and can be seen in their full glory- a spectacular sight indeed. Siem Reap is the town closest to Angkor Wat. It has an airport and a few hotels and guesthouses to cater to travellers and serves as base for the trip to the Angkor Wat temples.