13th August 2012
We have been told that this part of Cambodia has three seasons – hot, hotter and very hot. The current season is moving from “very hot” back to “hotter” so are working out how to pace ourselves.
After sleeping with the aircon on all night, we get up at around 5am (or at least one of us does) to enjoy the sunrise over the Mekong and stroll around in front of the hotel on the river bank where many of the locals are doing tai chi or other exercises (or just chatting).
Then we go to breakfast, which begins at 6am, then we go off on our morning activity. Then we come back to the hotel and lie low in the aircon again, or the other one of us may have a swim (on the shady side of the pool, watched over by two benevolent elephants) and sauna. By 4pm it’s still quite hot, but if we go out by tuk tuk there is a nice breeze, and a tuk tuk ride is always very exciting. After our afternoon activity we have drinks and dinner somewhere, then stroll home by the river. I think we are adapting to “hotter” very well!
Our afternoon activity for this particular day was to visit the Wat Phnom Temple, right in the heart of the city.
The sky had filled with black clouds, so we brought our umbrellas. At least it was much cooler than it had been the day before.
You can see that the this entrance to the temple is guarded by two seven-headed Nāga serpents representing the moon and the night, and further up the steps, two lions, representing the sun and the day.
According to legend, in 1372, Lady Daum Penh, a wealthy widow, retrieved a Koki tree from the river, and within the tree were four bronze statues of Buddha. In commemoration of her find she constructed a small shrine on an artificial hill to protect the sacred statues. Eventually this became a sacred site for the temple which still exists today, having been renovated many times over the years.
Phnom is Khmer for 'hill', hence the city is named Phnom Penh, after the hill which Lady Penh built.
At 27 metres above the ground, Wat Phnom is the tallest religious structure in the city.
There is Pat trudging up the hill, in amongst some locals coming down.
Two temple lions, a statue of Lady Penh (I think) and Pat.
Buddha statue inside Wat Phnom.
More images from inside Wat Phnom:
Murals around the walls of the temple depict stories of the Buddha before his enlightenment:
Outside Wat Phnom, you could buy small caged birds to release for good luck. However, it’s not really good luck for the birds, as apparently the same birds are recaptured soon after release.
On the side of the Wat Penh hill was a large working clock. Even the second hand was speeding around.
The largest stupa at Wat Phnom is said to contains the remains of King Ponhea Yat, the last king of the Khmer civilization, who moved his empire from Angkor to the area of Phnom Penh in around 1422. He died in 1463.
As we left, the sky was growing blacker.
We have been told that this part of Cambodia has three seasons – hot, hotter and very hot. The current season is moving from “very hot” back to “hotter” so are working out how to pace ourselves.
After sleeping with the aircon on all night, we get up at around 5am (or at least one of us does) to enjoy the sunrise over the Mekong and stroll around in front of the hotel on the river bank where many of the locals are doing tai chi or other exercises (or just chatting).
Then we go to breakfast, which begins at 6am, then we go off on our morning activity. Then we come back to the hotel and lie low in the aircon again, or the other one of us may have a swim (on the shady side of the pool, watched over by two benevolent elephants) and sauna. By 4pm it’s still quite hot, but if we go out by tuk tuk there is a nice breeze, and a tuk tuk ride is always very exciting. After our afternoon activity we have drinks and dinner somewhere, then stroll home by the river. I think we are adapting to “hotter” very well!
Our afternoon activity for this particular day was to visit the Wat Phnom Temple, right in the heart of the city.
The sky had filled with black clouds, so we brought our umbrellas. At least it was much cooler than it had been the day before.
You can see that the this entrance to the temple is guarded by two seven-headed Nāga serpents representing the moon and the night, and further up the steps, two lions, representing the sun and the day.
According to legend, in 1372, Lady Daum Penh, a wealthy widow, retrieved a Koki tree from the river, and within the tree were four bronze statues of Buddha. In commemoration of her find she constructed a small shrine on an artificial hill to protect the sacred statues. Eventually this became a sacred site for the temple which still exists today, having been renovated many times over the years.
Phnom is Khmer for 'hill', hence the city is named Phnom Penh, after the hill which Lady Penh built.
At 27 metres above the ground, Wat Phnom is the tallest religious structure in the city.
There is Pat trudging up the hill, in amongst some locals coming down.
Two temple lions, a statue of Lady Penh (I think) and Pat.
Buddha statue inside Wat Phnom.
More images from inside Wat Phnom:
Murals around the walls of the temple depict stories of the Buddha before his enlightenment:
Outside Wat Phnom, you could buy small caged birds to release for good luck. However, it’s not really good luck for the birds, as apparently the same birds are recaptured soon after release.
On the side of the Wat Penh hill was a large working clock. Even the second hand was speeding around.
The largest stupa at Wat Phnom is said to contains the remains of King Ponhea Yat, the last king of the Khmer civilization, who moved his empire from Angkor to the area of Phnom Penh in around 1422. He died in 1463.
As we left, the sky was growing blacker.
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