We started our day off as we have all become very quickly accustomed, whichever way felt best—doing Tai Chi on the top deck or relaxing with a coffee in hand watching the new day begin! Today was even more visually stimulating than others as we watched the sun light up the city of Phnom Penh, watching it slowly come alive!
Not long after breakfast it seemed we were already off the ship and sitting in cyclos! The cyclos are pushbikes converted to have a seat on the front that allows one to sit surprisingly comfortably while being peddled through the city. The silence of the “engine free” cyclo, combined with the surprising willingness of other drivers to allow us to flow through the traffic safely gave us the feeling of truly being in the “midst of things” and getting an open air view of the city at the same time. It didn’t take long before we reached our destination of the Royal Palace.
We were taken through the palace by our guides and were able to go through the different buildings throughout the massive compound. We were given quite some time, but every minute was certainly needed as the beauty in the structures was hidden in the detail, and we were able to hear about the history associated with the palace as we took it all in. When we were finished we were met by our coach, which took us to the National Museum, where we were able to find out about the amazing history of the displays, many of the pieces from varied temples dating back to the 8th century. Some of the pieces had taken very interesting journeys around the world before being returned to Cambodia.
After a quick trip via coach we found ourselves at the prestigious Topaz restaurant where we had a fantastic lunch and then broke off to do various things. Most of us chose to visit the S-21 Genocide Museum and continue on to the killing fields in Choeung Ek. I will not write of the feelings I or others felt here as we learned of what happened, I can openly hope that nothing like this ever happens again and the Cambodian people can continue to muster the strength to heal as they bravely have so far. There won’t be any photos to share from either of the museums we visited as there were strict rules that there to be no photography. If you have been here, hopefully my writing this conjures great memories, if you have not visited, well, there’s only one way to see what’s inside.
The night was capped off with traditional Aspara dancers visiting the Jahan and finally a night photography workshop was held by none other than Adam Britton, our photo instructor.
