14.10. The Cambodian Culture

Today, our plan included a visit to the National Museum and the Royal Palace of Phnom Penh.

We started at the National Museum, which impressed us with its red facade and was unique to this city from an architectural standpoint.

After a short break in the museum courtyard, we continued on to the Royal Palace. As always with important buildings here, this too is a display of wealth and power, showing another side of this poorer and simpler country. Nevertheless, it was incredibly impressive to see how detailed the work was and how much the architecture differs from our own. There was also a temple here, which contained luxurious decorations and furniture from the King's private collection.

The King is highly respected in Cambodia, even though he no longer holds actual power. That lies with the Cambodian government, but according to a local resident we spoke with, they are also not there for the population. He said that he is not allowed to express his opinion or contradict them, otherwise he would end up in prison. Unimaginable for us in Europe and emphasizing once again how good it is to live in Germany.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Killing Fields and a Memorial Museum of the Khmer Rouge genocide, which will surely be a troubling experience.