Backdoor to Wat Phnom
Having entertained ourselves by watching the antics of the monkeys in puddles, we then head up the man-made hill in a failed bid to see the five statues of Wat Phnom.
Wat Phnom is a revered place of worship for all Khmers and is the namesake of the capital. The temple is the focal point for many Buddhist ceremonies and his highly revered by Phompenh residents.
Alerted through Tan's diligent research of guidebooks, we knew our first stop would be needed to be at a ticket booth. But where is it? It was suppose to be at the foot of the hill.
We looked left. We looked right. No luck. So we head up the hill to get a better vantage point. Perhaps with a little elevation we'll see the booth, or maybe find it at gate nearer to the temple.
As all good Victorian's would know, Mount Wycheproof holds claim to being the smallest registered mountain in the world. This fact is celebrated annually with the 'King of the Mountain' foot-race up the mountain with each contestant carrying a sack of wheat weighing 60kg up 43m from the surrounding plains.
At about two-thirds the distance, Cambodia's hill poses no real problem. At blinding speed, we found ourself top-side and without a ticket.
We look around again for the booth, but instead make eye contact with a uniformed guard. ``You'll need a ticket.'' he cautions.
``We know. Where do we buy one?"
He pauses to give the question thought - possibly to find the right words in an unfamiliar language. "Pay me," he said, pushing forward an open palm.
We laughed at the audacity, took our leave and went searching for the ticket booth. Apparently we had entered from the back and tickets were available back down the other side of the hill.
Being a hot and muggy day, we didn't feel like climbing the hill twice.
Others in the tour party would later tell us that scenes inside Wat Phnom could easily have been skipped.
Wat Phnom is a revered place of worship for all Khmers and is the namesake of the capital. The temple is the focal point for many Buddhist ceremonies and his highly revered by Phompenh residents.
Alerted through Tan's diligent research of guidebooks, we knew our first stop would be needed to be at a ticket booth. But where is it? It was suppose to be at the foot of the hill.
We looked left. We looked right. No luck. So we head up the hill to get a better vantage point. Perhaps with a little elevation we'll see the booth, or maybe find it at gate nearer to the temple.
As all good Victorian's would know, Mount Wycheproof holds claim to being the smallest registered mountain in the world. This fact is celebrated annually with the 'King of the Mountain' foot-race up the mountain with each contestant carrying a sack of wheat weighing 60kg up 43m from the surrounding plains.
At about two-thirds the distance, Cambodia's hill poses no real problem. At blinding speed, we found ourself top-side and without a ticket.
We look around again for the booth, but instead make eye contact with a uniformed guard. ``You'll need a ticket.'' he cautions.
``We know. Where do we buy one?"
He pauses to give the question thought - possibly to find the right words in an unfamiliar language. "Pay me," he said, pushing forward an open palm.
We laughed at the audacity, took our leave and went searching for the ticket booth. Apparently we had entered from the back and tickets were available back down the other side of the hill.
Being a hot and muggy day, we didn't feel like climbing the hill twice.
Others in the tour party would later tell us that scenes inside Wat Phnom could easily have been skipped.
posted by Unknown at 8:44 AM
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