Phnom Penh- Photo Essay

 Garuda and me.

 An interesting govt. building.

 and a similar Royal Palace.

 Conference colleagues- Sunway Hotel.

 Silver pagoda in the Royal Palace complex.

 Laxmi(s) carved into the door.

 Boat carrying salads. Buffet.

Wandering around the Palace grounds.

First Impressions- Cambodia

Just returned from a conference on Emerging markets in Cambodia, Phnom Penh..OK, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. My fist impression is that it's worth a visit. Cambodia's major temple, Ankor Wat, is built in the Hindu style with Brahma type four-headed figures, and Vishnu and Shiva in most places. That's a major attraction, and not located in the capital city-it's at Siem Reap, 300 kms. away. But Phnom Penh is on the banks of two rivers, Mekong and Tonle Sap, and has a lot to offer also.

Peaceful, English-speaking, squeaky clean, and with the US dollar as its major currency for day-to- day dealings as a tourist. Damn convenient. And you can take a tuk-tuk (a tonga with a motorcycle or scooter in front instead of a horse) almost anywhere and bargain, like with the auto-walas in India-what fun!

More photo-essays will come up, but I must say the conference itself was truly multi-cultural. Kenya, Norway, Philippines, Canada, Austria, USA and Slovakia being some of the countries represented. Besides India and Bangla Desh, I mean.