Phnom Penh

We departed for Phnom Penh via a hired cab for USD 50-60. It was about a 4-5 hour journey including the time we stopped by Kampung Thom for lunch. I initially wanted to head towards Sambor Prei Kuk but we already overshot the place when we arrived in Kampung Thom *due to language barriers* and our driver wanted another USD 30 to take us to that particular temple, so we decided against it.

Reception

The guesthouse we stayed in was the Blue Lime, which was a really nice place. I was initially worried when we first got there as the place was located in an alley that looked a bit dodgy. Plus the outside was packed with tuktuk drivers that it was a little daunting. But once you open the door to the guesthouse, it's a totally different feel inside.

Pool

To the left of the picture were a few cabanas for us to lounge beside the pool. A really nice touch I have to say.

Being tired and hungry, it was only natural that we went out looking for food. There was quite a few stalls that sold fried noodles, similiar to char kuay teow but they looked like they were a recipe for food poisoning. Until we saw a shop that sold the same thing. In a much less risky environment :).

Tea time

Before I came to Phnom Penh, I've read about this pizza place, Happy Pizza. Apparently they put some weed in their pizza which makes it really yum. Plus another friend who's been there before have had it before and recommended it to us. Well, he did say that it was quite 'safe' :). So Happy Pizza we tried.

The infamous pizza

Frankly, it tasted like any normal pizza. There were bits of.. eerrmm.. herby looking things, but I doubt that they were weed. If anything, I think Pizza Hut serves better pizza :P. Maybe it's just a rumour that they put weed in their pizza :).

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Commonest mode of transport

We started our second day walking towards the Royal Palace which was pretty near to where we stayed. But we forgot that it was the King's Birthday Celebration that day, so we had to come back to the palace at a later time. But not before we caught the large crowds of uniformed people marching in the field.

Seeing that the Palace was only to be reopened to public in the afternoon, we decided to head towards the infamous Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

Formerly a high school, the place was converted into prison, also known as the S-21 Prison. The place was used as a main prison and interrogation place during the Khmer Rouge regime. There were thousands of people who went through this gate, and an estimation of at least 17000 were imprisoned in this place.

The former high school turned prison

We had trouble getting an english speaking guide but fortunately for us, there was an either American or British group that was also visiting the place and kindly allowed us to join in their group to listen to the explanations :).

I don't really know how to explain it, but it was an overwhelming sense of sadness and despair that I felt when we were there. The amount of horror that has happened in the place, the sadness and pain that the prisoners had to endure was ... beyond description. I still get a little goosebumps when I think about it. And definitely when I was there.

:( - Dominatrix is what comes to mind

One of the torture rooms

Upper level prison

One of the buildings, on the higher floor had barbed wires at the balconies. According to the guide, the wires were placed to prevent suicides from female prisoners on that floor (the floor housed only female prisoners if I remember correctly), who had enough of how cruel life was to them.

We spent a fair bit of time in the place, as there was many things on display - posters, poems, pictures, even skulls of victims tortured and killed. It was a very overwhelming experience and I would suggest one be really prepared before visiting the place.

After the museum, we headed off to one of the more famed markets, Russian Market in Phnom Penh. Markets - as I have said countless of times before - my favourite place to observe the daily lives of the locals :).

An advert for guaranteed lung cancer

Handicrafts :)

We couldn't deal with anymore healthy food, so we went and got ourselves this! :D

*Our 2nd KFC meal in the trip btw :P*

We went to Wat Phnom next, which is tallest Wat in the city, as it is located on a small hill. The place is visited by many locals and tourist but tourist are charged USD 1 per person to visit the place. Not that it would deter me :P.

Wat Phnom

:)

Deity in the temple/shrine

There was an elephant in the grounds, which I assumed was for hire for walks around the place. LP says that there was an elephant called Sam Bo when they were there, and seeing that there was only ONE elephant there then, I wondered if it was Sam Bo :).

Sam Bo?

We left for the Royal Palace after that, and even then we had to wait for a bit under the hot sun. Luckily, there wasn't a long queue for the place.

The throne hall

The Royal Palace was built in 1866, and was occupied by the Kings of Cambodia since then with exception to the time when Khmer Rouge was in power.

Moonlight Pavilion aka Chan Chhaya Pavilion

The pavilion located opposite the throne hall, is an open air structure which is also serves as a stage for traditional Khmer dance shows. Nowadays, it is also used as a balcony from where the king addresses the public/citizens.

French-styled building

The building looked a little out of place in the palace due to it's architecture style. After all, it is located within an area where old traditional Khmer designs dominates the structures around. According to our guide, it was a gift from the French and the building wasn't constructed on site. It was moved from ... hhmm.. I can't remember where :S.

Silver Pagoda

The Silver Pagoda is located within the Royal Palace complex, and is famous for it's silver tiles on the floor - 5000+ tiles, with each weighting ~1.25kg. The floors aren't the only thing famous in this pagoda, there are several statues as well. Of note is the 90kg golden Buddha which also had 2086 diamonds encrusted with a 25 carat diamond on the crown.

One of the many stupas

Outside the Pagodas were several stupas which kept the ashes of the Royal Family. Each royal had their own stupa.

Random picture

There were several other exhibition rooms where our guide took us to, but I can barely remember any of it now :S.

Moscow Day 2

Started off the day with the best breakfast in the whole trip at the hotel :D. My energy boost for the day!

View from our room

The sightseeing kicked off with a visit to the famous Kremlin, which is a political and cultural centre of Moscow. The place is still used by the government officials, so security is fairly tight and moderate-to-big sized bags are generally disallowed. In a way, The Kremlin to Russia is like the White House to America. The Kremlin was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990s.

Tourist entrance to Kremlin

The security is really tight that we could only walk on the pavements on one side of the area, and not allowed to step on the road itself. But I suppose, it is only necessary as after all, it is their government house in a way.

A performance hall *I think* opposite the Military Army House or something

Yellow House

This is the yellow house of Russia, like the White House of America. If my memory serves me correctly, this is where the President does his work :).

The Tsar Cannon

The Tsar Cannon cannot possibly be missed due to it's large size. Located next to the Observatory Tower, the cannon was made in 1586 and is the world's biggest cannon as it had a 89cm caliber. It however, was never used.

The Annunciation Cathedral

We didn't actually enter the cathedral, but it looked absolutely gorgeous on the outside under the sun. The gleaming golden domes with white walls against the blue skies were to die for! The cathedral used to be a home church for the royal family in the past, and currently functions as a event house in entertaining special guests to the country, or at special events.

The Tsar Bell

The Tsar Bell had a rather sad history. At the time that it was made, before it was lifted out of it's moulding pit, a fire broke out at the place and cold waters made it's way to the pit causing the bell to crack. After about 100 years later, the bell was finally lifted off the pit and is displayed, but never used. The broken piece weighs about 11 ton if I remember correctly. Such a waste :(.

Ivan-the-Great Bell Tower

This bell tower used to be the tallest observatory place in Moscow at 81 metres. At those times, no buildings are allowed to be taller than this tower as it would defeats it purpose as being Moscow's observatory tower.

Assumption Cathedral

Let's see if I can remember this correctly.
The Assumption Cathedral was built in the 15th century by an Italian architect but had no italian influences in it. The cathedral served as Russia's main cathedral for a few centuries, even for the royal family. Now, the church functions as a museum displaying mural arts for tourist. In there was also a 'throne-seat' of Ivan-the-Terrible. *I think in Russia, he was actually known as Ivan-the-awesome and Ivan-the-Terrible was like a ... misnomer*

The other feature of another building.. or maybe this one - was the 5 domes at the top of the churches. Our guide explained to us that the numbers are not random but instead, the 4 represents the 4 corners of the world, and the centre is of Jesus Christ. Interesting fact of the day :).

Archangel Church - the burial places of the royal family

Most of the churches and tourist attractions are located within the Cathedral Square in Kremlin. Actually, come to think of it - they form the square.

We went to Sparrow's Hill next for a lookout of Moscow city. Located just opposite one of Moscow University's campus, the place really did give a pretty good view of Moscow.

View 1

View 2 - see the tall buildings? They are some of the 7 Stalin Sisters

Moscow University

One thing about souvenirs in Russia is the colours. I absolutely love colours, so you can imagine my joy looking at stuffs on display. Especially the Matroshka dolls.

Souvenir stalls at Sparrow's Hill

Our next stop was going on the metro, which I really looked forward to. The places I feel that one can get immersed in the local life would be the market and the subway :). We bypassed Victory Park which is a park built to remember the Russian victory against Germany in World War II.

The 3 statues

If I remember correctly, the 3 statues are from 3 different times - and one of them is Napolean. The others, let's just say I wasn't concentrating on what the tour guide was saying :P.

Moscow :)

Arc de Triomphe of Moscow

While the arc in Paris honours the soldiers who fought for France in the Napoleonic War, the Triumphal Arc in Moscow is built to remember the vicotory over Napoleon in 1812. The one in Paris is much larger and prettier I have to say. I remember that we were able to go up to the top to enjoy the view there too. I wonder if it's possible in this Arc. The metro that we were going to take is located just below the park - Park Pobedy Metro Station.

Before I forget, the garden is not your usual garden. There were tanks and cannons in the place, where children are allowed to play, there was also a statue of Nike that one could see from afar. Sadly for me, we did not actually visit the garden.

Park Pobedy Station
*look at how modern this looks*

It was surprisingly empty while we were there, which wasn't a bad thing. It allowed me time and space to take heaps of pictures, and of course - less pressure of being pickpocketed. *we did have a few incidents by the time we finished our trip :( *

Painting in the metro station
*there is a significance to this painting but I forgot what*

Park Pobedy *I think*

This metro station is the deepest metro station in Moscow at 84 metres underground and has one of the longest escalators in Europe.

Modern subway

Inside modern subway

There is a reason to why I have placed that many pictures of the subway :). While this station, the first one that we went to is all modern and new, the next stop we got off, which is just one stop away - had a totally different feel. The building was old, the architecture quaint. Even the trains looked different!!

Kiyevskaya Station

The station was built in 1950s and hence the older traditional architecture. A stark contrast to the station we were in before. But not any less beautiful. Once again we were shown paintings and mosaics of the station which were really pretty.

Depicting Ukraine May Day Celebration

Even the trains were 'old'

Next stop : Red Square

Red square is probably one of the most famous squares in the world, located next to the Kremlin. Not only that, it is where St Basil Cathedral and Lenin Mausoleum is.

Historical Museum

:)

Lenin Mausoleum

Lenin here is Vladimir Lenin, the first head of the Soviet Union. After his death in 1924, his body was preserved for the benefit of the future generation. It is argued to be one of the best preserved bodies requiring daily work to maintain it. Unfortunately again (!!!) I did not get the chance to visit the tomb itself to see the body :(. *Damn tour groups time restrictions!!*

And now, my love :)

St Basil Cathedral

St Basil's is arguably one of the most famous cathedrals in the world, with it's colourful onion domes. The only other cathedral that looks similiar would be the Church of Spilled Blood in St Petersburg (which we also visited). Built in 1955, the building is also dedicated to the victory over the Mongolian Tartar. Legend has it that Ivan VI had the architect blinded after the completion of this cathedral in order to prevent the architect from building a cathedral more enchanting than this one.

Undoubtedly gorgeous!! :)

View from the Red Square - ( L - R) Lenin's Tomb, Nikolskaya Tower, Historical Museum, the Voskresenky Gate and the GUM (shopping mall)

Our next stop for the day was the circus, which is a common activity in Russia as we were told. Frankly, the circus wasn't anything to shout about but it was fairly enjoyable I suppose. Maybe it was the crappy seats we had. *sigh*

Circus Hall :)