Day 6: 16 April -- Phnom Penh to Saigon

Another scorcher of a morning.  We checked out of hotel at 8am after another tasty buffet breakfast.  First stop for the day was the Royal Palace.  This is a complex of several buildings, pagoda and burial stupas, as well as the actual royal residence -- all set in spacious and beautifully kept garden grounds.

Noradom Sihamoni is the present king -- 61 and unmarried because he is a monk also.  This apparently is causing much concern as regards royal succession.  Other close family members are ineligible because they have participated in political activity in the past.  He is dubbed the "unsmiling king" because he has to win back popular approval after the failures of his father during the troubled times.  He is a constitutional monarch, and so simply a figurehead with no real power.

The two main buildings we viewed were the Throne Room and the Silver Pagoda.  No photos allowed in either!  There are 2 thrones in the throne room:  the coronation throne which is used only once in the king's lifetime (and it must be a king - no female head of state possible); and the audience throne where he presides over receptions and meets with foreign dignitaries.  Quite sumptuous with extraordinary amounts of gold used.

The Silver Pagoda is so called because the floor is made of beaten silver -- covered with richly woven carpets.  Official royal worship occurs here.  There are literally hundreds of Buddha statues within the shrine. 95% of Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists.  The Buddha in this branch is always depicted as slim, often standing, serene of countenance, and with hands in one of several gestures all of which have symbolic meaning.  I have been unable to work out the complicated relationship the Cambodians also have with Hinduism.  It was the state religion for 3 or 4 centuries way back.  Now Hindu statues will be found in most Buddhist pagodas in places of honour.  Our guide did try to explain the common moral values of both religions, but he lost me.  Must get onto Wikipedia sometime!  By the way, the Vietnamese and Chinese favour the other strain of Buddhism characterised by the fat and jolly Buddha statues.

We moved on to visit another pagoda on a hill in the city -- steep steps to get there.  Large crowds were there today to burn incense, leave money donations in the lap of the Buddhas, and to have themselves sprinkled with purifying water by the monks.  Many very elderly people were helped up there by younger family members.

An early buffet lunch gave us a chance to rest weary legs.  Then on to the airport for our flight to Saigon.  A short trip only, taking 35 minutes on a very crowded A321.  Once through immigration and customs we were met by our new tour guide, John -- a delightful fellow of 35, married with 2 young children.  We were greeted by a tropical downpour that lasted over an hour and had the streets completely awash.  The motorcycle riders had a hard job of it in the traffic.  45 minutes to our hotel: The Asian Ruby Luxury Hotel!  Quite nice, but not luxury.  My aircon wasn't working and the room was stifling:  a few taps on the keyboard at reception and they had it fixed.  Technology!  We have just enjoyed a delightful dinner together, and plan on an early night.  Tomorrow is a walking tour day around town.

Again today the photo collection is limited.  What I have can be seen here.