I walked from the hotel to check out the Riverside park, an attractive boulevard running along the banks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap. It's fronted by a large, long open space with manicured lawns, palm trees and open pathways, all recently re-done as part of a Japanese funded project to upgrade the flood infrastructure along the river.
My next stop was the Royal Palace Including the two magnificent pagodas in the Palace Grounds, the Silver Pagoda and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. They were built in the 19th century with French technology and Cambodian designs, and have survived the traumas of the 20th century amazingly intact. See them early in the day before it gets too hot. No photography is allowed inside the Silver Pagoda and some of the Palace buildings. Many parts are currently under makeover and is covered by construction netting.
Next was the National Museum of Cambodia which has an excellent collection of art from Cambodia's "golden age" of Angkor, and a lovely courtyard at the centre. A main attraction is the statue of King Jayavarman VII (1181-1219) in mediation pose; other exhibits worth seeing include graceful statues of Hindu gods, ancient stelae (tablets) inscribed in Sanskrit and Old Khmer, and artefacts from a prehistoric burial site. In the middle of the courtyard is the original statue of the "Leper King" (actually Yama, the Hindu god of death) from the Terrace of the Leper King in Angkor Archaeological Park.
Thereafter, i hired a motorbike to the Russian Market and passed again the Independence and Liberation memorials. The Impressive Buddhist-style Independence Memorial commemorated the departure of the French departure. Nearby is the Stalin-style Liberation Memorial, marking the Vietnamese capture of the city in 1979.
The Russian Market (Psah Toul Tom Poung) became the foreigner’s market during the 1980’s when most of the foreigners in Cambodia were Russians, hence the name ‘Russian Market.’ It is of far less architectural interest than the Central Market but has a larger, more varied selection of souvenirs, curios and silks. Like the Central Market, there are several jewelers and gold-sellers, but it also carries huge selection of curios, silks and carvings, it is one of the best markets in town to buy fabric.
It was a quite busy morning between 7-11 am. I then got back to the hotel to take a shower then check out for an afternoon bus ride to another city.
I walked from the hotel to check out the Riverside park, an attractive boulevard running along the banks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap. It's fronted by a large, long open space with manicured lawns, palm trees and open pathways, all recently re-done as part of a Japanese funded project to upgrade the flood infrastructure along the river. 
My next stop was the Royal Palace Including the two magnificent pagodas in the Palace Grounds, the Silver Pagoda and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. They were built in the 19th century with French technology and Cambodian designs, and have survived the traumas of the 20th century amazingly intact. See them early in the day before it gets too hot. No photography is allowed inside the Silver Pagoda and some of the Palace buildings. Many parts are currently under makeover and is covered by construction netting.
Thereafter, i hired a motorbike to the Russian Market and passed again the Independence and Liberation memorials. The Impressive Buddhist-style Independence Memorial commemorated the departure of the French departure. Nearby is the Stalin-style Liberation Memorial, marking the Vietnamese capture of the city in 1979. 
It was a quite busy morning between 7-11 am. I then got back to the hotel to take a shower then check out for an afternoon bus ride to another city.
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