The 5 best museums in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh’s range of museums offers a fascinating insight into Cambodian culture and heritage and its turbulent past. Here are five museums to add to your itinerary of activities in the Cambodian capital.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA

Located next to the Royal Palace, the National Museum of Cambodia is home to more than 5,000 artifacts dating back to the ancient Angkorian period. Various rooms display a range of rare statues, lingas and other items, including the Leper King from Siem Reap and a giant 11th-century bronze Vishnu. It equips visitors with some great knowledge ahead of a trip to Angkor Wat Archaeological Park.

THE ROYAL PALACE AND SILVER PAGODA

The Royal Palace serves as the King’s residence, a venue for court ceremony and a symbol of the Kingdom. Selected areas are open to the public. The palace compound is also home to the Silver Pagoda, a renowned temple that takes a prominent place on the riverside and is named for its gleaming silver floor. Guests can stroll through the manicured gardens and discover the ornate temples, libraries and galleries inside the palace grounds.

CHOEUNG EK GENOCIDAL CENTER

Between 1975 and 1979, the Pol Pot-led Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, with an estimated two million people killed or dying from starvation and exhaustion. Almost 9,000 bodies were discovered at the mass graves of Choeung Ek, more commonly known as the Killing Fields. Now serving as a memorial, the site features a Buddhist stupa filled with human skulls retrieved from the fields. Visitors can walk around the exhumed graves and learn more through a headset-guided walking tour.

TUOL SLENG GENOCIDE MUSEUM

This former high school in central Phnom Penh makes for a sobering visit for the horrific role it played during the Khmer Rouge regime. During that time, the former school was transformed into a political prisoners’ camp known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). Only seven prisoners survived, while many others were tortured and killed, or sent to their deaths at Choeung Ek. Much of the site has been left as it was discovered in 1979 when the Vietnamese army liberated Phnom Penh. The blood-splattered walls, tiny brick cells and abandoned torture tools offer a chilling insight into the brutal regime.

BOPHANA AUDIOVISUAL RESOURCE CENTER

Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center is a cinema and hub for photography, television, film, and sound. As many image and sound archives were destroyed during decades of conflict, Bophana collates and archives surviving material and puts it on display to the public. The center also serves as an educational site where young Cambodians can learn audiovisual techniques, multimedia practices, broadcasting and film production. Visitors can peruse photographs that date back to 1866 and view treasured film footage. Space also regularly hosts exhibitions, workshops and film screenings.

See more: 10 best signature dishes in Cambodia

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What to do in Mandalay, Myanmar

A former capital of Myanmar/Burma, Mandalay is the nation’s second-largest city. Less hectic than Yangon and with a rare sense of peace, here are some of the best things to do in order to get a taste of magical Mandalay’s charm.

1. Marvel at the stunning Mahamuni Pagoda

Officially named Maha Myat Muni Paya, Mahamuni Pagoda is one of the most sacred sites in Mandalay. Many Buddhist pilgrims travel here from far and wide to pay their respects to, and seek blessings from, the Mahamuni—a large golden jewel-encrusted Buddha statue. Although men can approach the statue to pray and make offerings, women must remain some distance away. Flowers, incense, amulets, charms, and other spiritual items can be purchased onsite from several market vendors.

The larger complex has a number of attractive buildings, most of which are adorned with traditional motifs and eye-catching decorative details. Monks wearing burgundy-coloured robes stroll between the buildings, adding vibrant splashes of rich colour to the scene. There are many interesting statues too, including some that were taken from Cambodia.

2. Climb Mandalay Hill

Home to the former Royal Palace, there are many other attractions to enjoy around Mandalay Hill. An important spiritual site, monasteries, temples, statues, pagodas, and shrines are sprinkled up the hill. The climb isn’t so challenging, and there are so many interesting places to take a break on the way up. The four staircases are covered, providing welcome shade from the sun. On the top of the hill, you’ll find Sutaungpyei Pagoda, whose beautifully tiled pillars shimmer and shine in the sunlight. The elevated position also provides awesome views over the surroundings. Do note that if the thought of climbing leaves you feeling a bit unenthusiastic, it is possible to travel most of the way up the hill by road and then take an escalator to the peak. 

3. Discover the marble slabs in Kuthodaw Pagoda

Often said to home to the world’s biggest book, Kuthodaw Pagoda is located at the base of Mandalay Hill. It’s not an actual book, though—huge blocks of marble have been engraved with the entire text of the Tripitaka. If you’re wondering what the Tripitaka is, it’s the most important scriptures for Theravada Buddhists. It is also the oldest collection of Buddhist knowledge. Unless you can read Pali, however, you won’t be able to actually decipher the words. Regardless, it’s an interesting and attractive sight, with 700+ marble slabs located in numerous caves and alcoves. There are supposedly 729 slabs in total. I did try counting them, being the inquisitive soul that I am, but I quickly gave up. The main golden pagoda glistens in the sunlight, standing an impressive 57 metres tall. A large number of white pagodas stand elegantly around the complex too.

4. Walk through the Palace Museum

Located within the grounds of the Royal Palace, the small Palace Museum displays an assortment of historic, cultural, and religious items. Traditional clothing and uniforms hang in glass cases, and there are weapons and suits of armour from times long past. Take a visual journey through the country’s past as you look at the large collection of photographs, and see how important people furnished their homes in times gone by. There are statues of the Lord Buddha in various poses, alms bowls, amulets, royal regalia, and diverse artefacts among the collections as well. 

5. Admire talented locals in small workshops

As you walk around the city centre, you’ll likely spot craftspeople and artisans making an assortment of items in small open-fronted workshops. Workers and their tools sometimes spill out on the pavement, making them impossible to miss. Some workshops are tucked away down slender alleyways, with hammering, whirring, and the clacking of machinery the only clues from the main streets as to their existence. Women spin yarns, operate large weaving looms, and sew ornate small clothes to be worn by traditional wooden puppets, and men carefully chisel stone, cut wood, mould plaster, and spin pottery. 

6. Mandalay Marionette Theatre

Protecting and conserving the now-uncommon theatrical art of marionette puppetry, the large stringed wooden puppets perform enchanting dances and act out folkloric scenes and events from the nation’s past. Puppetry in Myanmar can trace its heritage back some ten centuries, although it is a dying form of entertainment today. The wooden puppets wear exquisite clothes and shows are accompanied by traditional music. If you become truly mesmerized by the figurines, several shops around the city sell puppets made from wood, plaster, and lightweight metal.

See more: Mandalay, a cultural and religious hub in Myanmar

Source: Internet