Day 3: The Royal Palace and Central Market

After another night of well needed rest and a slight shift of the itinerary, the group headed to visit the Royal Palace this morning. If you remember from yesterday's blog, the Royal Palace is where a ceremony was being held and was closed off to the public. The sights at the palace were simply breathtaking: the king's impressive home and balcony from which he spoke to his people en mass, expertly crafted monuments, beautiful greenery, and ornate elephant stables (no longer in use) made for a truly unforgettable experience. It felt surreal looking at the many people wandering and taking photographs of the palace considering the amount of history that took place there.

Next up on this Valentine's Day was Wat Phnom. We spent our time here going up the steps to the top of the temple and taking time to sit and admire the beautiful gardens. Here we thankfully escaped a small chasing monkey who wanted us off of his path as well. For lunch today we had the opportunity to eat an authentic Cambodian meal buffet style. For some, that meant unlimited rice and curry, and for some others it meant an opportunity to try bizarre foods such as frog, snail, and chicken feet. We also indulged ourselves in refreshing passion fruit smoothies to wash down the snails' "unique" flavor. This experience enticed Mr. Wineholt and Brendan to take it upon themselves to seek out the strangest tasting foods all around Cambodia.

Following lunch we left for the Central Market, where there was a variety of shoes, clothes, art, jewelry, and more. Many students enjoyed the common practice of negotiating at the market, with many getting good deals on "designer" fashion.

After a quick stop at the hotel, we went to see a Cambodian Living Arts Performance of traditional folk dances. Cambodian Living Arts, founded by Arn Chorn Pond, is dedicated to the resurrection of traditional Cambodian arts following their purge during the Khmer Rouge regime. Cambodia Living Arts is a team with more than 60 performers working together to bring arts to the forefront and it was a wonderful experience to witness the great performance filled with unique and traditional dances and costumes.

We then went to dinner at "Friends" restaurant, dedicated to helping local youth find job opportunities. It was only located a block away from the Living Arts Performance and there was a variety of food served such as fish, curry, and various fresh smoothies.

By: Brendan, Rachel K, and Dina