At Your Feet
The most famous landmark of the city is possibly the Silver Pagoda and the Royal Palace. Through the palace compound gates we found a glorious courtyard bedecked with stone stupas and golden pagodas of all shapes and sizes. This was Phnom Penh at its proudest.
The pagoda was built in 1892 by King Norodom, Sihanouk's great grandfather, as the eternal residence of Cambodia's Emerald Buddha, a Baccarat crystal statue modelled after the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.
We circled the Silver Pagoda, marvelling at its size and glistening panels.
Rather annoyingly there are extra entrance fees for cameras and camcorders upon arrival at the royal compounds, but once inside you find photography is not allowed in the best areas. Hence we have no images to help illustrate this part of the visit.
There are so many valuable relics to draw away a visitor's attention in this hall. At the centre of the temple was a golden shrine for the Emerald Buddha. And in front of Emerald Buddha stood a solid gold, life-sized Buddha statue weighing nearly 200 pounds.
As impressive is the Emerald Buddha is, more memorable is the silver-tiled floor. The floor was constructed entirely of solid silver tiles, over 5000 of them, each weighing more than a kilogram. However as rugs cover most of the tiles to protect them from wear, (and it is so easy to be distracted with other items on show in glass cabinets) you need to be alert and remember to look at the samples on display in an exposed, roped-off area near the entrance.
The pagoda was built in 1892 by King Norodom, Sihanouk's great grandfather, as the eternal residence of Cambodia's Emerald Buddha, a Baccarat crystal statue modelled after the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.
We circled the Silver Pagoda, marvelling at its size and glistening panels.
Rather annoyingly there are extra entrance fees for cameras and camcorders upon arrival at the royal compounds, but once inside you find photography is not allowed in the best areas. Hence we have no images to help illustrate this part of the visit.
There are so many valuable relics to draw away a visitor's attention in this hall. At the centre of the temple was a golden shrine for the Emerald Buddha. And in front of Emerald Buddha stood a solid gold, life-sized Buddha statue weighing nearly 200 pounds.
As impressive is the Emerald Buddha is, more memorable is the silver-tiled floor. The floor was constructed entirely of solid silver tiles, over 5000 of them, each weighing more than a kilogram. However as rugs cover most of the tiles to protect them from wear, (and it is so easy to be distracted with other items on show in glass cabinets) you need to be alert and remember to look at the samples on display in an exposed, roped-off area near the entrance.
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