Tag Archives: royal palace

King Father Norodom Sihanouk

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I wrote a post last month about the Thai King. Cambodia is also a Kingdom, and it has a King as well. The King’s role is mostly ceremonial, but similar to the Thai people, the Cambodians also revere their King. Their current King is King Norodom Sihamoni, who became King in 2004 replacing his father King Father Norodom Sihanouk who abdicated his Throne due to health reasons. If King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand is the longest reigning monarch in the world, King Father Norodom Sihanouk held the world record for the number of positions that he held during his lifetime. The Guinness Book of World Records identifies him as the politician who has served the world’s greatest variety of political offices. These included two terms as King, two as Sovereign Prince, one as president, two as prime minister, and one as Cambodia’s non-titled head of state, as well as numerous positions as leader of various governments-in-exile.

When Kristi and I visited the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, we saw an exhibit at the museum dedicated to the life of the King Father Norodom Sihanouk. He was born in 1922 (so he’s 90 years old this year) and first became King in 1941. At the exhibit, there was a photo of him with the first Indonesian President, Soekarno, not long after Indonesia gained its independence. That’s how long he’s been around. People in Cambodia revered him, as evident to him being restored to his position as the King of Cambodia in 1993 after years of being in exile during the Khmer Rouge era.

The photo below was taken when we visited the Banteay Srei temple near Siem Reap. It was the photos of the current King Norodom Sihamoni on the left, the King Father Norodom Sihanouk in the middle, and Queen Monique on the right.

Cambodian Royal Family

Khmer Empire

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The most popular place to visit in Cambodia is the Angkor Wat. While in itself it’s already quite impressive being the largest religious structure in the world, it’s even more impressive to learn that it was only one of many temples in an area called Angkor that at one time was the largest pre-industrial city in the world (about 1,000 square kilometres in area — more than 10 times the size of Manhattan). This was during the heights of the Khmer Empire, between the 9th and 15th centuries. The Khmer Empire at its height spans all the way to modern day Thailand in the west, the modern day Laos in the north, and the modern day Vietnam in the east.

During our visit to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, we also saw some museum display that showed artifacts from the Khmer Empire era, and particularly interesting to me was seeing a map of the Khmer Empire superimposed on the geographical map of the modern world — clearly showing how vast that empire was. I couldn’t help to think of the contrast between seeing this map that in a subtle way saying the Khmer culture is more superior than its neighbors the Thai and the Vietnamese, and seeing the model of Angkor Wat at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, which was built to commemorate the time when the Thai conquered the Angkor area. It’s interesting to think of these two cultures that are both deeply rooted in Buddhism (thus advocating peace and not being confrontational), but they still have the nationalistic pride when comparing themselves with their neighboring countries.

The photo below was taken at the museum in the Royal Palace. It was the Khmer Empire map I mentioned above.

Khmer Empire map

Cambodian Traditional Music

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When you’re visiting a foreign country, one way to appreciate the local culture is by by listening or watching traditional performing arts like dances and music. Some cultures have traditional music instruments that might be unique only to their culture, while others may have traditional instruments that are similar to other cultures in the same geographic region. Some of the music pieces are performed among the common people, while others are more for formal, royal functions.

When we were visiting the Royal Palace complex in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, while walking around the Silver Pagoda we heard some sound of music playing in a distance. We walked towards the sound source, and found a pavilion where several people were playing traditional musical instruments as an ensemble. Later on I learned it’s called the pinpeat ensemble, which plays music during ceremonies at the royal court or the temples. The ensemble includes wooden xylophones, a circle of small gongs, and a couple of drums. The music sounded similar to the gamelan ensemble from Indonesia.

As we stood near the pavilion and listened to the group performing, several more tourists came to join us enjoying the performance. Then one of the performers looked at the crowd, and motioned to one of the visitors to come over, and he let her played the instruments for a little bit. I thought that was a wonderful way of letting visitors learn and appreciate your culture.

The photo below was taken as we listened to the group performing. I thought it was great that one of the guys actually looked at us while playing and smiled — showing that it’s not all about being serious and the music was meant to be enjoyed.

Pinpeat ensemble

Silver Pagoda

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The Silver Pagoda is a temple within the Royal Palace complex in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I first learned about the Silver Pagoda as it was one of the places in Cambodia included in the popular travel book ‘1,000 Places to See Before You Die’ by Patricia Schultz. The building was known as the Silver Pagoda because its floor was covered with more than 5,000 silver tiles (though except a small area that was exposed for visitors to see, most of the floor was covered with thick carpet to protect the silver tiles). The Silver Pagoda was no longer used for worship. Instead, it’s used to house some of the Cambodian’s national treasures, such as the gold Buddha statues of many sizes. Most notable was the ‘Emerald Buddha’ and a large, life-sized Buddha that was covered with more than 9,000 diamonds.

Though the purpose was probably similar to Wat Phra Kaeo within the complex of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, one notable difference between my visits to these two temples was the current function of the temple. Wat Phra Kaeo is still actively being used for worship, with the Emerald Buddha statue housed there. The Silver Pagoda on the other hand is now used as museum; I don’t think it’s used for worship anymore. For reading about it what’s remarkable was the fact that the Khmer Rouge spared the temple and its content, even though they pretty much ransacked everything else (you could tell how bad it was left with the Ramaketi frescoes on the wall outside the temple that is currently still being restored — it’s a long ways to go before it could be to the level of the frescoes at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. From what I read, it seemed that the Khmer Rouge left the Silver Pagoda alone in a way as a PR statement to the outside world that they still valued some of the Khmer heritage. Regardless, I think we’re fortunate that these treasures remained preserved that now the world can get a glimpse of the richness of the Khmer culture and history.

The photo below was taken outside the Silver Pagoda. It was a wonderful, cloudy morning. Not too hot and the sunlight was not harsh; perfect for photography.

Silver Pagoda

Royal Palace

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The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, has been the residence of the king of Cambodia since 1866, with a period of absence during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. One prominent building in the complex was the Throne Hall. This building was used only for important ceremonies like the king’s coronation or royal weddings. Behind the Throne Hall, there was a building behind a closed off and guarded gate. The building was the Khemarin Palace, the official residence of the king of Cambodia, King Norodom Sihamoni. Aside from these two buildings, there were a couple of buildings that were open air pavilions where traditional dance performances were performed, and there were several other closed-off buildings that seemed to be used for offices. On the south side of the Royal Palace complex, there was a long wall decorated with Ramaketi (the Khmer version of the Hindu epic Ramayana) frescoes, several large stupas commemorating past Cambodian royalties, and the royal temple known as the Silver Pagoda. The whole set up was very much similar to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand.

We visited the Royal Palace as our first destination during our full day visit to Phnom Penh. When we arrived there, we just had to purchase the entrance ticket, and then just walked into the complex to visit areas that are open for the public. It wasn’t as crowded as the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Inside the complex we could walk around and check out the interior of some of the buildings, but many were closed off. Unlike the Grand Palace in Bangkok that is used for ceremonies but is not the actual residence of the King of Siam anymore, the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh is actually the residence of the King of Cambodia, King Norodom Sihamoni. So we could observe a closed area with armed guards watching the entrance gate. Many visitors came with tour guides (they are easily recognizable because official tour guides in Cambodia had to wear uniforms when they’re on duty). We didn’t have one, so we just had to rely on our own guidebooks and the pamphlet handed out at the ticket booth. The palace is not as glitzy as the Grand Palace in Bangkok, but it’s still showing the dignity of the people of Cambodia, and provided some reminder of the past glory of the Khmer Empire.

The photo below was taken inside the complex. This was the Moonlight Pavilion that can also be seen from outside the complex. This particular pavilion has a balcony where the King can stand and watch One of the most notable buildings in the palace complex as it’s easily seen from outside. This pavilion had a balcony where the king could see parade passing by the boulevard outside the palace.

Moonlight Pavilion