Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-09
PNOMPENHI
ORIENTAL CAPITAL
CoIorfM Sights and Scenes
Make. catnbodian Cap
itaI Distinctive.

A busy Oriental capital, where mod
ern French buildings and ancient pa.
go5as form the skyline, where gayly be.
oeclled royal elephants and rickety ma.
tive OK carts still compel foreign-madt
motor cars to keep we'll under the speed
limit on paved. electrically lighted
streets; and where French colonists rub
elbows withxa f1odgepodge Of Cambo-
cians, Afaaya11s. Annamites, Indians
and half eas9esl Of all Of these.
Such, according !, TO a bulletin from
the NATIONAL Geographic Society, is
Pnompenh, capital Of Canlbpdia. re-
Gently the scene Of the elaborate fu-
wath, who died last August.
Refuge. from Mosquitoes.
Most travellers wife VISIT Pnompenh
ere on their way to Angkor. venerable
city Of Khmer culture, which lies far
Their north. A brief stop at the capital
Is welcome however, for the little Cam
bodian city. set amid lofty palms and
Towering tropical trees is reStful to
the eyes of the river boat passengers
after r1anotonous miles of rice fields,
thick jungle growth and swamps that
border the river bank nearly all the
way from Saigon. And it is a relief to
be out of cruising radius of persistent
Mekong mosquitoes.
"StevedoreS literally swarming over
cargo boats at the quay indicate that
the capital is important commercially.
Situated at the junction of a branch
from the Great Lake OF Cambodia and
the main channel of the Mekong from
the Taoetan hills large. quantities of
fish, rice, indigo and cotton from upper
Burma, portions of Siam, Laos and
m rthern Canlbodia are brought here
for marketing. While smaller cargoes
from nearby farms and paddy fields ar
rive in the hundreds of sampans and
smaller craft that dart about the tiny
harbor like so many water beetles. Sc
When boat docks there is a rush
for the permission Office where per.
missions are granted to visit the Kings
palace But those who expected to see
a richly adorned abode Of an Eastern
potentate are soon diSilluSioned With
out, the several buildings called the
palace are sanpretentious, and within
there is little that would attract more
than ordinary attention except life
sized Buddha of solid gold studded with
diamonds and hallway floor laid with
engraved silver tiles. Five or six hun
ored female retalnerS occupy the royal
girls. They, in :. their golden gowns,
ROYAL jewels an tiaras that resemble
miniature carved steeples, have become
&. famous for their charm and grace.
Khmef Museum.
Nearby is the Khmer Museum with a
collection of Sculptured stones, imple-
ments Of war and jewelry; the weather.
beaten royal pagoda and an ancient
temple approached by a long flight of
steps with stone railing representing
Maya, theN sacred seven-headed cobra.
Tails of the sacred reptile adjoining the
roofs of some, of Pnompenl1s buildings
resemble crooked lightning rods on
American farmhouSeS.
THE one tilorsughfare that has a
right to be cAlledxan avenue leads from
the palace to the public park. Two ho-
tells bordering 1t offer excellent accom-
modations TOR small Eastern city save
for their orchestras that dispense i'm
possible nocturnal jazz The rest. of
the street is cluttered up with OPEN
front native shops. some of which make
an attempt to duplicate French pastry.
Now and then through vacant space
one gets glimpse of a garden spot q
block or two in the background where
q French colonial oficia. lives in pa
lattal home amid broad lawns and flow
ering trees.
"A stroll along this main street re-
vealS bit OF life in the Cambodian
capital. There are Frenchmen in white
linens and broad-brimmed sun hats;
bronzed native women with boyiSh bobS.
attired IN bright-colored cloth: which
IS draped. to torn Se-fitting breeches;
indian money changers in plaids ready
to scalp an innocent victim, and I'M
kempt cooks with their ambulatory
kitchens equipped to serve a bowl of
rice or an odoriferous fried fish. Other
Shopless sellers of sweetmaatS and trim
ketS cry out their wares. In the confu-
sion weird strains emanate from the
instruments OF the native musicians.
while men and women, apparently en-
Joying the music keep time with their
jaws chewing betel nut
The MeKong is sort of ASiatic Mis-
elsSlppl. Once year 1t overf1ows its
banks and drives the natives to the
hlgh places, but they display genuine
Rfiectlon for the stream. When floods
come they put away their OK carts.
traVel the old roads in boats and wait
Tor the water to recede. Then thev
celebrate with boat races that attract
every Cambodian in sthe vicinity from
the King to the lowliest native. Con
oolallKe racing boats, ranging from IS
10 40 1eet long, are rowed by score or
more men. seated two by two. If the
throngS masSed on the river bank are
not thrilled by the competition, they
are amused by a clown: who has MS
place in each craft"