5 best places to visit in Phnom Penh.

Now if you are reading this blog, I'm guessing that you are interested in visiting Cambodia, especially Phnom Penh. For your information, Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia. The busiest capital and also known for many attraction visits too that sits at the junction of the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers. It served as a crossroads for both the Khmer Empire and French colonialists. The beautiful Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, and the National Museum, which display relics from over the nation, are located on its walking riverbank, which is dotted with parks, restaurants, and bars. The large art deco Central Market is located in the city's center.

Here are the 5 best places to visit in Phnom Penh.

1. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

This place used to be a prison and the execution place in Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge. The location is a former secondary school that served as Security Prison 21 under the Khmer Rouge dictatorship from 1975 until its defeat in 1979. From 1976 to 1979, an estimated 20,000 individuals were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng, one of the Khmer Rouge's 150 to 196 torture and death facilities. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia condemned the prison's chief, Kang Kek Iew, on July 26, 2010, for crimes against humanity and grave violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. He passed away on September 2, 2020, while serving a life sentence.

One of the most historic yet traumatizing events of that time.

2. Wat Phnom

Wat Phnom is a Buddhist temple, also known as a pagoda, that represents the name Phnom Penh and is a historical location in the record of Khmer national identity. Wat Phnom towers 46 meters above the ground. The pagoda is named after Lady Penh from the narrative of the five sculptures discovered: one Vishnu figure and four Buddha statues.

3. The Independence Monument

The Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, was constructed in 1958 to commemorate the country's independence from France in 1953. It is located in the city center, at the junction of Norodom Boulevard and Sihanouk Boulevard. It's a lotus-shaped stupa in the style of the Khmer temple at Banteay Srei and other Khmer historical monuments. The Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann was "personally picked and directed" by Prince Norodom Sihanouk on how the Independence Monument should appear, integrating "the holy and the secular." It is 37 meters tall. The Independence Monument is the focal point of national ceremonies. On these occasions, a monarch or senior official would frequently light a ceremonial flame on the inside pedestal, and flower tributes will line the staircase. Every year, both international visitors and locals visit the Independence Monument. The Norodom Sihanouk Memorial, built-in 2013, is located behind the monument.

4. The National Museum of Cambodia

The National Museum of Cambodia is the country's largest cultural history museum as well as its major historical and archaeological museum. It is located in Phnom Penh's Chey Chumneas district.

Most visitors begin on the left and work their way clockwise through the museum. A major chunk – comprising the reasonably undamaged head, shoulders, and two arms – of an enormous bronze reclining Vishnu statue found in the Western Mebon temple at Angkor Wat in 1936 was one of the first notable sculptures to meet tourists. Continue onto the southern pavilion, where the pre-Angkorian collection begins, exhibiting the transition from the human form of Indian sculpture to the more heavenly form of Khmer sculpture between the 5th and 8th centuries. Highlights include an enormous, eight-armed Vishnu statue from the 6th century discovered at Phnom Da, and a gazing Harihara from Prasat Andet in Kompong Thom Province, which combines the qualities of Shiva and Vishnu.

Several striking Shiva statues from the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries can be found in the Angkor collection, as well as a giant pair of wrestling monkeys (Koh Ker, 10th century); a beautiful 12th-century stele (stone) from Oddar Meanchey Province inscribed with scenes from Shiva's life; and the sublime statue of a seated Jayavarman VII (r 1181–1219), his head bowed slightly in a medit (Angkor Thom, late 12th century).

The museum also houses pre-Angkorian ceramics and bronzes from the Funan and Chenla eras (4th to 9th centuries), the Indravarman period (9th and 10th centuries), and the classical Angkorian period (10th to 14th centuries), as well as more current works, such as a gorgeous wooden royal barge.

5. AQUA SPA - Massage and Sauna Phnom Penh

AQUA SPA has been designed to indulge you in Relaxation, Rejuvenation, and Tranquility. We offered a unique blend of Natural and High technology Services and Products that are customized for each guest s concerns and needs. Our goal is to help our guests achieve OUTER and INNER peace, attain their desired physical results, and improve their overall well-being.

AQUA SPA guests will step into an oasis of relaxation. Our SPA is a refuge for healing and for energizing your mind, body, and spirit. Our service assortment ranges from highly advanced Skincare to natural holistic Body & Nail care – All pure and all enhance the body’s natural state of being.

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