“Wat Phnom/Hill Temple and Lady Penh“

Around Phnom Penh many destinations offer a relaxing day trip range. You may find time to visit some of these during your extra stay in Cambodia.

Explore the authentic shopping experience at the Russian Market. This popular market is offers a wide range of Cambodia’s finest hand crafts, silks, paintings and antiquities. You will also find a wide variety of reasonably priced clothes, shoes and accessories.

The Royal palace was built in 1866. A visit to the palace is an excursion into Cambodia’s Royal history.

Preah Sihanouk Boulevard some of the best-preserved colonial mansions and gardens in Phnom Penh line this

and Norodom Boulevard just around the corner. To the west stands the Independence Monument, erected by the famous Cambodian architect Van Molyvann after independence from French colonial rule. This Khmer-style prasat (tower) was built in 1958, and has since assumed the role of a war memorial. Like the towers of Angkor Wat and the four-headed spires of the Bayon, the monument is a national symbol. From Independence Monument detour about 300 meters south to the Prayuvong Buddha factory.

Wat Botum is known as the “Temple of the Lotus Blossoms”. The original site was a small island surrounded by a lotus-filled pond. This temple is the centre of the Thammayut (royalist) sect of Buddhism in Cambodia. This royalist sect has been revived since the return of King father Sihanouk after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime; about 85 monks reside at Wat Botum. In July 1992, more than 150 monks were ordained here. At the front entrance to the temple is a cluster of ceremonial stupas which hold the ashes of members of the royal family. Wat Ounalom is a Mahanikai Buddhist temple and a highly respected institute of learning, with 50 monks in residence; before 1975, more than 500 monks lived here. It is the residence of the supreme Patriarch of the Mahanikai sect. The temple was founded in the 15th century, but a large number of its buildings were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge regime, including its library. The temple has since been partially restored. The compound contains two residences and a three floor building which functions as the main temple; the interior is stark and bare.