13th AUGUST 2019 ~ It was a huge place so you will need more time if you really want to see each and every item put on exhibit. You could find the complete pieces or broken artifacts of the past - mostly related to the practice of Hindu or Buddha and its huge influence to the people for centuries. It reminded me of the history lesson I had to learn in school when I was in form one which was about the ancient government of the South East Asia.
We had to pay extra so that we could rent the audio head set which would describe and give the essential explanation to most of the items on display.
There were benches for people to sit down at a few spots with wind blowing from the wall fans. The building was not equipped with air conditioners so it could be warm at times. At the same time, there were corners where you could see doves poop accumulating and the air was filled with unpleasant smell. I was actually a bit worried as I was once down with lung infection and had to be hospitalized for two weeks. Up until now, I am still healthy - thank God for that.
I could actually see signs of "no camera" at many parts of the room and exhibits. However, everybody was simply taking photos of everything and no one seemed to care. Even the tourist guides were helping to snap their guests photos so I made a conclusion taking photos was alright especially when I had paid USD10 to be here.
There were like thousands of sculptures and statues of Buddha inside here. A few of which were taken from the legendary Angkor Wat as well as other parts of Cambodia. Every piece had their own history and story to tell.
If you want to see a better display of the history of Cambodia, then you should visit Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap. Even though the collections were almost the same, they were bigger in scale and number over there.
If you are thinking of traveling with me in the future, you will have to be ready to tour the museum for hours. Any takers?
