Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
HORROR IN THE EMBASSY
Screened by high white walls, the
French Embassy
sits on the western side of Monivong
Boulevard, just south of the tra
c island. In April 1975, eight hundred foreigners and six
hundred Cambodians took refuge here from the Khmer Rouge, whereupon they were held
hostage and denied diplomatic privileges. Eventually, foreigners and Cambodian women
married to foreign men were released and escorted to the airport. Cambodian men married to
foreign women had to remain, never to be seen again.
trains running to and from Kampot. The unmistakeable blue chedi in front of the
station,
Preah Sakyamoni
, used to contain a relic of the Buddha (it was removed to
the more tranquil Oudong in 2002, from where it was stolen in 2013), while
behind the station, an old 1929 steam train has been restored and put on
permanent display.
Traditional healers
work in front of the station, treating patients either by “coining”
(scraping the flesh of arms, back or chest with a copper disc to raise the blood vessels)
or “cupping”, the alternative therapy championed in the West by Gwyneth Paltrow,
where a heated glass jar is applied to the skin, causing raised red circles of flesh.
Headaches, cold and flu symptoms, general aches and pains - indeed, just about any
ailment - are claimed to be treatable by these methods.
Psar Thmei (Central Market)
Daily 7am-5pm
Edged on four sides by busy tra
c-clogged streets, the much-photographed
Psar
Thmei
, or
Central Market
, was designed by the French in 1937 and hailed at the time as
Asia's largest. The original Art Deco design, highlighted by the enormous central dome
and unusual cruciform shape, has made it a central, if unlikely, landmark. Reopened in
2011 after extensive renovations, its atmospheric central hall is laid out with stalls
selling jewellery, spectacles and watches while its four enormous wings house low-grade
electronics, household items, clothing and fabrics along with fresh produce, souvenirs
and flowers. It is a smelly and eye-opening experience to stroll around the food stalls
here, where every type of meat, fish, fruit and vegetable is on display. It's a good place
for a cheap feed, too; fringing the market to the south are
food stands
selling local
dishes for a few thousand riel.
Chroy Chung Va Bridge and around
As you travel north towards the
Chroy Chung Va (Japanese) Bridge
, the city becomes
less attractive, albeit interesting for its history. The bridge, spanning the Tonle Sap, was
blown up in 1973 either by (depending on who you believe) Lon Nol forces
attempting to hold off the Khmer Rouge from entering the city, or by the advancing
Khmer Rouge forces. Known from then on as
spean bak
, “broken bridge”, it is now
often referred to as
chuowa chuoul hauwy
, “not broken anymore”. To others it is the
“Japanese Bridge”, as it was rebuilt with funds from Japan in 1993.
he tra
c island at the northern end of Monivong Boulevard, just before the bridge,
contains the curious
Tied Gun Monument
. In 1999, the government, concerned about
the proliferation of firearms, seized all the guns it could lay its hands on and, amid
great political fanfare, had them crushed. The remains were melted down and a
sculpture of a
revolver
with a knot tied in its barrel was cast. However, cynics say that
only the broken guns were smashed and that the good ones were handed out to the
police and military.
