A typical street scene in Phnom Penh, with apartments built over shops and a traditional cyclo (pedal rickshaw)
Power lines converging on a corner near our hotel
Men seems to spend a lot of time in coffee shops
Getting steamed rice-flour buns for breakfast
An outdoor barber's stall next to a produce market
This wide promenade along the Mekong River is the perfect place for a stroll
Fancy bars and expensive hotels have river rivews
The National Museum, which houses beautiful states, bronzes, and ceramics from the Angkor Wat period and more recent royal treasures
This style of roof finial is typical of Cambodia
The fabled Foreign Correspondents' Club
Chris enjoying a drink at the club's bar while pretending to be an old-fashioned journalist
The view from the bar over the Mekong River
A decaying French-style building seen from a window at the Foreign Correspondent's Club
The throne hall at the royal palace (the king was in residence, but we didn't see him)
Note the faces on the tower, reminiscent of temples at Angkor Wat
This balcony was where kings mounted their royal elephants (the poles in front are scratching posts for the elephants)
The palace's Silver Pagoda (so-called for the floor tiles of solid silver) houses Cambodia's prized emerald Buddha (no photos allowed)
The tomb of the king's late sister
The tomb of an earlier king
A huge arcade around part of the palace grounds is decorated with murals from 1903 depicting scenes from the Hindu epic the Ramayana
Stilt houses like the ones we saw in the Cambodian countryside
Musicians playing traditional instruments at the palace (with help from one's daughter)
The king's sedan chair (and a photograph of him being carried in it)
The queen's elephant howdah is covered, while the king's is open (but with a parasol)
One of Phnom Penh's landmarks, the Independence Monument (marking Cambodia's independence from French rule in 1953)
Big gaudy jewlery stores
The city's central market, built by the French
The 1930s Art Deco train station
Wat Phnom, the 80-foot "hill" from which the city takes its name, is a popular park
A memorial to Duan Penh, the widow who founded the sanctuary at Wat Phnom
A depiction of Duan Penh's story: She reportedly found a hollow log floating in the river that contained six Buddha statues. She had a sanctuary built for them on the hill, and the city grew up around it.
The finest French colonial building in Phnom Penh: the main post office
A building in the old French Quarter by the post office
Jazzercise classes are held nightly on the riverfront
A bakery chain called Blue Pumpkin was a favorite hangout of ours in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh for its comfy couches and good pastries
This branch of Blue Pumpkin was our favorite place to work in Phnom Penh, with wifi, AC, and a great river view