South East Asia trip 2014: JANUARY 26, 2014: NATIONAL MUSEUM, WAT BOTUM, LUNCH-BURGER KING, DRINKS-SKY BAR, DINNER-FRIENDS

January 26, 2014

Breakfast-I try Option 2 and husband sticks with Option 5 again. We meet up with tuk tuk #006 (I've kidded him about too bad not having #007 but he says that belongs to his brother!) promptly at 9:00 am.

First stop-the NATIONAL MUSEUM. Fee $10 for the 2 of us. No pictures allowed inside. No large bags or cameras allowed either. I do take some pictures of the building itself-very ornate, lovely and the grounds that have some interesting statues. As you enter the souvenir shop is to the right. Guides are available. A huge garuda is the first thing to welcome you and points to the right to give you the direction you should take. Museum Galleries: East-bronzes; South-sandstone statues 6th-11th century, Baphuon style; West-works in the Angkor Wat & Bayon styles-I especially liked the statue of Jayavarman VII and the kneeling Prajnaparamita; North-dedicated to ethnology, ceramics; Portico galleries-lintels, bas-reliefs and of course Yama or the Leper King. This museum is very well laid out and provides good labeling with lots of info. Plan to spend at least 1 hour here and even then you won't be able to really see/read/study everything. On the way out I buy a soft cover book on the museum with lots of pictures for $15.

National Museum

Next we stop at the statue of LADY PENH. Amazing what she did and she looks so ordinary but she's not.

Lady Penh

Driving over the bridge road to WAT BOTUM I notice lots of people sitting and lining up on either side. I ask Ray and he says there's going to be a demonstration there. Wat Botum-donation $2. Inside we see a very old monk being helped up and away by 2 young monks. We're told that the beautiful wood carved funeral box is for him. A young monk approaches and wants to practice his English with us. He has keys and opens the monks' prayer temple for us which has very ornate paintings of the life of Buddha. We notice lots of police vehicles parked here and are told they're here in case the demonstration gets out of hand and they have to respond.

Bridge with demonstrators

Wat Botum

We want to have lunch at TAQUERIA CORONA for lunch but it's closed so where do we end up-BURGER KING!! Chicken sandwiches and cokes taste like back home. Bill $6.90 We return to the hotel around 12:30 pm as we've decided to take things slow and easy. Tuk tuk $15. Pool time 1-4 pm.

Vietnam/Cambodia Friendship Monument

A busy place

We have a reservation for dinner FRIENDS 7:00 pm so we decide to stop first at the SKY BAR at 5:00 pm for drinks and the view. Zoombie, Tequila Sunrise-$7. FRIENDS-a tapas place that teaches former street youth cooking and service skills. Fried zucchini & cheese fritters with a spicy sauce, shitake/mozzarella/herb risotto cheese balls in tomato/basil sauce. I wish we hadn't stopped for lunch as I'm full but there are so many more things I would have liked to try. Cost for our tapas and drinks $12.25. Service and food excellent!! Back to the hotel 9:00 pm. Tuk tuk $15.