- National Museum - the building itself, historic ethnic groups (note no Tai's - they came down from China after attacks from the Mongols) , Ganesha - the Hindu elephant god and a Hindu fertility symbol in the garden, transport Cambodian style.
- Like Vietnam when Madeline and I were there, cafes / restaurants often seem to be the province of men - women are too busy working...
- Transport Cambodian style, the roof is a reasonable place to travel - probably cooler there too.
Today was lazy but grueling it its own way.
I got up not so late, read a bit more about Pol Pot.
Had some breakfast nearby - pork and rice and vegies and egg - enough to get the National Heart Foundation frothing at the mouth.
(It confounds me that people eat at the hostel which is about 4x more expensive than outside that has picture menus and internet that is 4000riel/hour ($1/h) vs 1500riel/ hour outside - but each to their own, they evidently aren't earning baht! )
I wandered around the water front area and went to the National museum. It irritates me when places are no photo based on no sensible reason at all... with some artwork paintings etc I can understand repetitive flashes might be bad but metal and stone statues....if the temples at Angkor can survive monsoons for 1000 years, I am not sure how taking a photo of the statues will harm them...
Museums internationally frequently have the flaw that they are good for showing things but poor for creating any kind of understanding of the broader relevance of what they are showing... Phnom Penh's is no different. Lots of Shivas and Vishnus (Hindu gods) and Buddha;s but not much understanding of how Hindu and Buddhism spread or why there was a change from stone statues in the angkor era to wooden statues in the 17 century. Or why the capital changed from Angkor to Phonm Penh, or who were the Khmers, the Chams, the Mons and what made them different from each other. or where did the THai come from and when. And why if the whole of Thailand was under the influence of the Khmer did that situation change etc etc etc.
I think perhaps there aren't very good answers to my questions, and if there were the museum staff didnt seem to know them.
From there I went to the Silver Pagoda, I waited 30 mins or more since it shuts for lunch. Pres Abhisit from Thailand is in town at the moment though and the Royal Palace, which usually is part of the entry fee was shut. I decided to leave it till tomorrow and went to take a seat, read a book and make notes for my History of SE Asia course that starts Mon. (There is no textbook so it's all up to me.... positives and negatives of that/)
My peaceful afternoon on the river front was thwarted by a stream of booksellers, some of whom get aggressive or put out if you dont buy something. There is a limit to how much you can buy and a limit to how many undernourished children you can buy meals for. They see foreigners as a source of cash, not as people, in much the same way that many foreigners see them as irritations not people. It is tiring to buy someone noodles and instead of any appreciation irritation that it's not accompanied by a glass of coke. Not that the point of buying noodles is being appreciated, it's just the dehumanized aspect of it that is sad.
I had toyed with going to Kampot, as I would really like to go to the beach. I've decided though that the 4 hour journey doesnt merit the trip and that instead tomorrow I will go to a swimming pool at a hotel and just chill - maybe go to the silver pagoda on the way.
I got up not so late, read a bit more about Pol Pot.
Had some breakfast nearby - pork and rice and vegies and egg - enough to get the National Heart Foundation frothing at the mouth.
(It confounds me that people eat at the hostel which is about 4x more expensive than outside that has picture menus and internet that is 4000riel/hour ($1/h) vs 1500riel/ hour outside - but each to their own, they evidently aren't earning baht! )
I wandered around the water front area and went to the National museum. It irritates me when places are no photo based on no sensible reason at all... with some artwork paintings etc I can understand repetitive flashes might be bad but metal and stone statues....if the temples at Angkor can survive monsoons for 1000 years, I am not sure how taking a photo of the statues will harm them...
Museums internationally frequently have the flaw that they are good for showing things but poor for creating any kind of understanding of the broader relevance of what they are showing... Phnom Penh's is no different. Lots of Shivas and Vishnus (Hindu gods) and Buddha;s but not much understanding of how Hindu and Buddhism spread or why there was a change from stone statues in the angkor era to wooden statues in the 17 century. Or why the capital changed from Angkor to Phonm Penh, or who were the Khmers, the Chams, the Mons and what made them different from each other. or where did the THai come from and when. And why if the whole of Thailand was under the influence of the Khmer did that situation change etc etc etc.
I think perhaps there aren't very good answers to my questions, and if there were the museum staff didnt seem to know them.
From there I went to the Silver Pagoda, I waited 30 mins or more since it shuts for lunch. Pres Abhisit from Thailand is in town at the moment though and the Royal Palace, which usually is part of the entry fee was shut. I decided to leave it till tomorrow and went to take a seat, read a book and make notes for my History of SE Asia course that starts Mon. (There is no textbook so it's all up to me.... positives and negatives of that/)
My peaceful afternoon on the river front was thwarted by a stream of booksellers, some of whom get aggressive or put out if you dont buy something. There is a limit to how much you can buy and a limit to how many undernourished children you can buy meals for. They see foreigners as a source of cash, not as people, in much the same way that many foreigners see them as irritations not people. It is tiring to buy someone noodles and instead of any appreciation irritation that it's not accompanied by a glass of coke. Not that the point of buying noodles is being appreciated, it's just the dehumanized aspect of it that is sad.
I had toyed with going to Kampot, as I would really like to go to the beach. I've decided though that the 4 hour journey doesnt merit the trip and that instead tomorrow I will go to a swimming pool at a hotel and just chill - maybe go to the silver pagoda on the way.
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