The Royal Palace was one of my favorite buildings. Originally, when King Noromdom first came to Phnom Penh from his previous capital Udong, he lived in a small, simple building made of wood and bamboo. Even though it might have been romantic, by French standards it was hardly a palace for a great lord. That is why, in 1865, they start to build the palace that we can see today. Its style is traditional Khmer, but the architect used modern materials and contemporary methods to build it. In this way, it brought together  the old and the new.           

            At the time that King Norodom (1860-1904) signed the Treaty of Protection with France in 1863, the capital of Cambodia resided at Oudong, about 45 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh. Earlier in 1863 a temporary wooden Palace was constructed a bit north of the current Palace site in Phnom Penh. The first Royal Palace to be built at the present location was designed by architect Neak Okhna Tepnimith Mak and constructed by the French Protectorate in 1866. That same year, King Norodom moved the Royal court from Oudong to the new Royal Palace in Phnom Penh and the city became the official capital of Cambodia the following year. Over the next decade several buildings and houses were added, many of which have since been demolished and replaced, including an early Chanchhaya Pavilion and Throne Hall (1870). The Royal court was installed permanently at the new Royal Palace in 1871 and the walls surrounding the grounds were raised in 1873. Many of the buildings of the Royal Palace, particularly of this period, were constructed using traditional Khmer architectural and artistic style but also incorporating significant European features and design as well. One of the most unique surviving structures from this period is the Napoleon Pavilion which was a gift from France in 1876.

King Sisowath (1904-1927) made several major contributions to the current Royal Palace, adding the Phochani Hall in 1907 (inaugurated in 1912), and from 1913-1919 demolishing several old buildings, and replacing and expanding the old Chanchhaya Pavilion and the Throne Hall with the current structures. These buildings employ traditional Khmer artistic style and Angkorian inspired design, particularly in the Throne Hall, though some European elements remain. The next major construction came in the 1930s under King Monivong with the addition of the Royal Chapel, Vihear Suor (1930), and the demolition and replacement of the old Royal residence with the Khemarin Palace (1931), which serves as the Royal residence to this day. The only other significant additions since have been the 1956 addition of the Villa Kantha Bopha to accommodate foreign guests and the 1953 construction of the Damnak Chan originally installed to house the High Council of the Throne.

            Today  the Royal Palace has had some modifications to its buildings; some have also been demolished completely. The Throne Hall there today is actually not the original one King Norodom would have used when the palace was first built. The Silver Pagoda has undergone a tremendous face-lift with its tiles replaced and buildings given new paint. It has become a popular tourist attraction in Phnom Penh. Visitors are able to wander around the Silver Pagoda compound and the central compound containing the Throne Hall, however, they may not enter the Khemarin Palace compound. The Khemarin Palace compound is where Norodom Sihamoni, the present King of Cambodia currently resides.

Angkor Wat is the most beautiful and famous temple in Cambodia. Everyone always wants to go to Angkor Wat. Last week all the people in my family agreed to go on holiday to Siem Reap. We don’t have a car, therefore we rented a mini bus and prepared everything for our trip. We left home in the early morning at 4 o’clock. It look a long time about 12 hour to get to Siem Reap.

We reached there at 5 o’clock in the evening. We stayed in a guest house in the center of the province, and we had a shower, and then we went to eat in a restaurant near there. In the next morning, we left the guest house to have breakfast near there. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and sky was blue, and we took a lot of photograph there and we met a lot of foreigners.

A Visit to Angkor Wat

Hotel Cambodiana - For many years the only major five star hotel in Phnom Penh, the Cambodiana has kept her age well and is still a favourite of travellers to Phnom Penh. Located along the mammoth Mekong River the Cambodiana offers guests a choice of city view and river views. All rooms offer tea and coffee making facilities, in room electronic safe (on floors 4 and 5), working area with plugs and sockets above the desk for easy access, and feather pillows are available on request. The Executive Floor offers guess benefits such as free soft drinks through the day, free airport pick up, and the option to have breakfast in the lounge area or in the main hotel restaurant at no extra cost, unusually it does not offer the usual benefit of an Happy Hour. The rooms are difficult to describe at this hotel as some are dark and others light in design, they are all spacious and comfortably designed and have large windows from which to enjoy the view.

Sunway Hotel Phnom Penh - The Sunway Hotel Phnom Penh, a popular choice of business and leisure travellers to Phnom Penh. The hotel offers Superior, Deluxe, and Executive Suite Rooms. Unusually at this property, where normally the suites and executive floor rooms are all on the top floor, at the Sunway Phnom Penh they are all on the first floor. Floors 3,4 and 5 house all the Superior Rooms and it is those with odd numbers which are most popular due to a better view. The second floor offers Deluxe Rooms (all odd numbers) and these rooms offer guests nice large balconies to enjoy. All rooms are comfortable and spacious and offer guests, in room safe, tea and coffee making facilities and bathtub with fixed shower head in the bathroom.The Executive Suites have a very large balcony,living / dining area, small kitchenette with cooking facilities and separate shower and bathtub in the bathroom.The hotel also offers guests free access to the gymnasium, sauna and steam room. The gym is open from 6am to midnight.

City Villa - The City Villa is an appartment style condotel. Built in 1995 the City Villa has only recently began to offer its rooms out for short term stays, and because of this is only just beginning to understand the needs of such guests. This said, the staff and management are very courteous and go out of there way to be of assistance. The City Villa, offers 44 two bedroom appartments, 6 one bedroom appartments and 4 Penthouses each of which has two bedrooms in each. Every room is very spacious and each offers guests a small kitchen area with cooking facilities, balcony, TV with nearly every possible international channel, large living area that doubles up as a dining area bedroom and bathroom with bathtub. The City Villa does not offer in room safes automatically but a safe can be requested and brought to your room. The rooms even though only 7 years old are quite aged and not what one would describe as luxurious but they are clean, comfortable and spacious The City Villa has a small restaurant that serves mainly Chinese food with some International dishes at excellent prices and the quality is very good.

Raffles Hotel Le Royal - The Raffles Hotel Le Royal would probably claim to be the best in Phnom Penh, after all it carries the Raffles name and is housed in a beautiful French style, and fully refurbished, colonial building. Whether it lives up to this accolade is another thing entirely. It cannot be argued that the building alone could win awards, it is stunning to look at, and the ambience within the hotel is typically 'Raffles'. The rooms however are smaller than one would expect and more than half the ones we visited were not as clean as one would expect either (even though we were told they had just been cleaned as the guests had just checked out), one staff we spoke to at the hotel nervously joked that it was because it was an old building it is difficult to maintain. Whether it was a bad day for the hotel who knows, but the building and nostalgia associated with the Le Royal can alone win hearts. The hotel offers 137 State Rooms, 32 Landmark Rooms and numerous suites and these are housed in three buildings namely A, B, C (no we are not joking!). Building A is the oldest building and B, C built in 1979 are the most recent additions. One of the most beautiful parts of the hotel is the pool area and due to the design of the building we would recommend to guests staying here that they request a pool view room. The State rooms it has to be said are very small, some have a balcony which is also very small but just adequate to sit on. The Landmark rooms are larger and offer guests a nice working area and the ability of two lines (if you need the second line opening just contact the reception), and the benefit of a separate shower and bathtub in the bathroom. Tea and coffee making facilities are in every room, as is an in room safe, and international cable TV. The hotel does not offer duvets in any of its rooms. The beautiful outdoor swimming pool is open from 6am to 10pm as is the small gym that offers steam room, sauna, and massage treatments.

InterContinental - Without a doubt one of the finest and most luxurious hotels in Phnom Penh, and is one of the few hotels to have duvets and feather pillows in every room. The hotel is all you would expect of an InterContinental Hotel and makes for a perfect escape from all the hustle and bustle outside. The rooms are all spacious and well equipped if perhaps a little dark compared to some of the newer designed hotels in Asia. The hotel does not offer tea and coffee making facilities in every room although it can be requested. Officially the hotel is supposed to ask you what time you would like your complimentary coffee delivered to your room after your wake up call, although some other hoteliers in the city claimed that this was more myth than fact. Every room offers guests 2 different telephone lines, which makes it ideal for business travellers needing to stay connected. Fax machines for the room can also be requested at a charge. Each is highly comfortable furnished with working desk, International cable TV, in-room safe, bathroom with separate shower cubicle and bathtub (with hand held shower). The InterContinental is also the only hotel in Phnom Penh to offer a true Executive Floor. The lounge is open from 6am to 10pm and offers guests Happy Hour from 6 - 8pm where house brands are offered with hot canapes to accompany them. Guests on the Club Floors also can choose between having breakfast in the lounge or in the main restaurant at no extra cost. Fitness lovers will like the InterContinental as it offers guests an attractive outdoor swimming pool open from 7am - 10pm and gym facilities with sauna and steam room. The gym officially is open from 8am - 8pm but in endeavor to please guests the hotel have organised that the gym can be opened outside these hours if a guest requires.

Imperial Garden Villa & Hotel - Located along the Mekong River and adjacent to the Cambodiana this little hotel cum villas is a gem of a property and utterly unique. The property comprises of some 44 villas made up of two, three and four bedrooms plus some 72 more standard 'hotel style' rooms, and 10 executive rooms. 28 of the Standard rooms all look out over the river, and have small balconies from where you can enjoy the life and river below. It has to be said that the room categories here are all a little confusing but basically if you are looking to stay in Phnom Penh for a short trip and do not need any more room than a standard hotel room provides then the river view rooms will be your best option. Alternatively if you need more space or are travelling with your family then a villa may be better. Every room has remote controlled air conditioning, tea and coffee making facilities and an in room safe. The villas all have security video phone, and are very spacious. This small property offers guests an International Buffet restaurant, a Japanese restaurant and a bar. For fitness enthusiasts the hotel offers 2 tennis courts, a salt water swimming pool and gym which is open from 6am to 10pm.