Sunday in Phnom Penh

Sunday 14th March

After a very good breakfast at our hotel, the Bougainvillier on the riverfront, we walked half a kilometre to the Royal Palace which is a delight. Although mostly of modern construction, it has been faithful to tradition and especially the soaring roofs of ochre coloured tiles edged with red and green are really graceful.

Then wandered around the Silver Pagoda, so named because the floor is covered with engraved silver panels, and a motley collection of royal paraphanalia mostly to do with coronation pageantry and elephants. Amongst the ceremonial objects solemnly carried by royal retainers on such occasions are a melon and a multi-coloured cat!

Back to the hotel to cool down, it's about 35C at the moment, then off to the Wat Penh, where the city started. It's a hillock with a shrine on top and a popular spot for the locals to congregate, together with a troupe of unconcerned monkeys and an old elephant ( see later).

Up an old French boulevard to discover the Raffles hotel here is just a modern block with a nod to Cambodian design. Down to the market where the French art deco hall has been restored although half submerged in a litter of external stalls, but bought some shoes.

Another rest at the hotel, then off again in the other direction, passing the Vietnamese friendship monument set in a spacious park, and up another wide boulevard to the rather stark independence monument.

After a couple of beers, retraced our steps back to the waterfront at nightfall. As we approached, we saw the old elephant nonchalently traversing a traffic roundabout, leading his mahout through the masses of cars and motorbikes.

Then watched some amazing exponents of kick-shuttlecock, a popular game in these parts, and many impromptu synchronised dance groups dancing on the promenade in sequence to popular local melodies.

Passed the spectacularly illuminated royal palace, pure Disney, and returned to the same restaurant for dinner.

We like this city, it may have begging women carrying hydrocephalous babies, war cripples and street children selling books, but it has style and purpose about it and there are signs everywhere of investment and progress.

P.S. Also unlike most of Vietnam, horn hooting is not obligatory and it doesn't smell of drains.