Wat Damrey Sar, Battambang | Cambodia

Wat Damrey Sar, or the White Elephant Temple, was officially founded as a monastery in 1793, by a rich noblewoman who promised the Black Buddha at Wat Kandal to build it if she recovered from an illness. In 1895 this small old pagoda was renovated, but it was decided something new and grand was required; construction of the present-day Wat began in 1904 and finished in 1907. The old pagoda has been expanded and altered almost beyond recognition as such, into an office building with a seemingly too small roof.

The old pagoda in the background of this 1907 photo of famille Marchal

The old pagoda as of 2013, via google maps. It looked the same as of October 2025.

The new (1907) pagoda.

The new and old pagodas were constructed contemporaneously with the beginning and end of Battambang’s most recent 300 years as part of Siam (present day Thailand). The 1907 pagoda is a unique blend of Thai and Khmer architectural styles achieved during a golden age of temple construction.

It’s quite jarring how a once beautiful large garden, and I think, a pond with bridge? has been completely filled in, paved over, and cluttered with graves and additional buildings.

I have yet to find a temple in SEA that hasn’t been cheapened and uglified by its custodians. Why have a large meditative garden when you can have a parking lot?

Sappho Marchal posing for her parents in 1907

Why let children like Sappho sit on the banister with the chimeras and lions when you can fence the magical protective animals in with an ugly iron rail ineffective for any purpose except scaring playful children? Speaking of the banister, how many times do you think it’s been washed since 1907? I hope they don’t intend to paint even more of the place blood red to continue avoiding cleaning.

I also find these oversized statues of various Buddhist stories completely inelegant, although I suppose they would help engage young children who are taught here.

The namesake white elephant.

Originally these animals were painted somewhat intricately, but they’ve long since been given up on.

One of the most ornate stupas onsite.

The quatrefoil columns are really elegant and unique. I also like the simple black and white checkerboard tile.

The wire mesh over the paintings is ridiculous . . . people are not defacing the paintings, and the mesh wouldn’t stop them from doing so. The paintings are disintegrating from neglect.

Amidst the decadence, this snoozing kid made me chuckle at least! I love how he got really comfortable, took off his pants, put his feet up and everything.

All of the details have been lost over decades of overpainting.

1964

Above the doorway, the royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Siam used between 1873 and 1910, the independent rule of Chulalongkorn (King Rama V). Propping it up with European style cherubs was a fun choice that was perhaps symbolic as well as aesthetic; Chulalongkorn was the first king to send royal princes to Europe for their education, and the king responsible for concluding wars with the English and French, conceding territory (including Battambang) in order to keep Siam uncolonized.

Explanation from wikipedia: Shield depicting the three-headed elephant (Erawan) of Siam, the White Elephant (Lan Xang) of Laos and the Krises of Malaya. Crowned by the Great Crown of Victory (rays of light from behind), Behind the shield are the crossed Sword of Victory (left), Royal Staff (right), Royal Fan (right) and Flywisk (left). The shield is surrounded on two sides by two seven-tiered Royal Umbrellas. On the compartments are two Royal Slippers. All, composing the six Royal Regalia of Siam. the Mantle is the cloak (with pink ribbons) of the Order of the Chula Chom Klao, the order around the shield is the Order of the Nine Gems with Chula Chomklao chain and pendant (with a portrait of King Rama V on it). Motto on green and red ribbon reads: "สพฺเพสํ สงฺฆภูตานํ สามคฺคี วุฑฺฒิ สาธิกา" (Pali written in Thai alphabet) ("Sabbesam Sanghabhutānam Sāmaggī Vuḍḍhi Sādhiga") or "Unity brings happiness". Supported by a Kojasiha; a lion with elephant trunk (dexter), and a Rajasiha; a lion (sinister), representing Kalahom and Mahathai, respectively

The ruling monarchs of 1908, including a young Chulalongkorn.

A glimpse inside, showing what appears to be a rather recent Buddha.

All of the current interior images I have were taken from google maps reviews! The pagoda was yet another that was locked when I showed up. Perhaps because the interior is typically not visible, much misinformation is on the internet about “European painted ceilings”. Obviously, these are not!

Further, this image from May 1964 shows unpainted ceilings and walls. While I suppose it’s possible that original painting were whitewashed away, I highly doubt it. Also notice the original window grilles and crystal chandeliers.

The highly carved plinth appears to be the same as the original, photographed here in April 1964.

The tiles and carved wooden columns are also original.

“You can’t buy wood like that anymore” is a common refrain in Cambodia. These old growth ironwood columns are certainly proof of that!

It’s hard to see in these photos what condition the inside of the wooden shutters are currently in relative to 1964.

In my usual matching game, I was looking for this piece (photographed by EFEO in April 1964) in current photos of the interior, and didn’t see it.

A reverse google image search brought me to this post from Andy Brouwer, who is apparently quite active in posting about the restitution of Khmer art, though I don’t know his exact involvement. The post is almost 4 years old and I know the Musée Guimet has made some amends since then, so I wonder if this piece is one thing that has either been returned or kept on a loan basis with official ownership switching back to the National Museum of Cambodia.

It was included in the April - September 2025 exhibition of Khmer royal bronzes at the Guimet. Supposedly the Guimet collections are available on Joconde via pop, but I can’t manage to find them there, or elsewhere. I also saw some news that the Guimet had returned several pieces connected to Douglas Latchford . . . was this one of them? Or do they think the donors, famille Vérité, are totally clean? I’ll definitely explore this further in my post on looted Khmer antiquities, and I’ll update this post if I hear back regarding this piece or figure it out.

I really liked the applied and painted column bases, not particularly the content but the concept and structure.

In my previous post about Kbal Spean, I covered the Kraithong folktale, brought to the region by Thai immigrants.

According to the internet, this Buddha backs onto Angkorian era remains. Is that true or just an AI hiccup? I didn’t see any when I was there.

In 1907, Marchal took this picture of “modern pilasters”. They seem to be closeups of this gate.

KC Heritage Gallery, Battambang | Cambodia

As with any SEA ‘Pub Street’, there are grimy backpacker hostels, bars, and western restaurants along a couple blocks in Battambang. Despising that whole scene, I was already holding my nose– figuratively speaking– to visit KC Gallery. I was not expecting to be holding my nose literally as well, but something in this building smells absolutely hideous. It’s an unmistakable sort of animal filth smell– I noticed uncleaned bird cages and a murky aquarium, but the odor was so strong and permeated the back of house and stairwell as well, so who even knows what’s happening.

The entrance is via the downstairs burger restaurant. I initially didn’t quite realize it was a restaurant; not just because of the animals, but because there were no customers, and 2 tables and the bar/counter were covered with the owner’s dusty random shit (motorcycle helmet, cigarette packs, piles of papers, etc.) I only learned today when checking the address for this post (and going down the obligatory google maps reviews rabbithole) that the owner is considered a minor celebrity in Cambodia, a Frenchman who has totally gone native and has 3.2 million tiktok followers making Khmer language shorts. Perhaps this house is his home base when he’s not traveling, and the restaurant is more of a why not than a serious endeavor?

Anyway, I’m glad I didn’t walk out, because his collection is outstanding. I’m a longtime lover and buyer of vintage and antiques, and love to pick up a couple things wherever I travel, and I have never been to a country with such slim pickings as Cambodia. In one of his replies to a positive review of the museum, the owner said it took him years to gather these things, and I believe it! I also really appreciate that though the collection is small, there’s nothing redundant or reproduction (except of course a few printed photos/maps).

Given its state today, it’s a bit difficult to believe that in its heyday Battambang was the second most populated Cambodian city, and the most modern. Whatever of that time and status that can be recovered is represented by this collection.

Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serey Sothea, Pen Ran, Huoy Meas, and other ‘Golden Age’ 1960s/70s Khmer pop records

Interesting map of the ethnic neighborhoods of Battambang town circa 1907

Comparing the original (still French colonial) central market and its 1936 successor, which is still used today

1940s

circa 1860s engraving by French botanist Henry Mouhot

June 2nd, 1906

THE DANCERS OF THE KING OF CAMBODIA.

A ballet figure: "Royal Idyll".

“. . great difficulties, real dramas, often poignant: abductions of princesses, substitutions of royal children, court intrigues, and single combats.

The costumes of the Cambodian dancers are among the most sumptuous. Their first garment, of fine silk, is sewn onto their bodies—a fleeting undergarment over which they wear leggings and tunics of cloth of gold, studded with precious stones. Excessively long and curved gold nails adorn their fingers. The diadems, the heavy bracelets, the rings, the pendants that fall from their headdresses, their belt buckles—everything sparkles with the thousand lights of precious gems and pearls

In the privacy of Norodom's palace where I saw them for the first time, the audience (and the word is truly appropriate here) consisted of hundreds of princes and princesses who crowded together, without pomp, squatting half-naked on mats, mingled with guards, servants, and even slaves

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An old princess, whom one might, indeed, have mistaken for a poor beggar, was reading the poem from the traditional palm-leaf album. The Cambodian orchestra played with gusto at certain passages; but at others, a reverent silence reigned, allowing the reader to elaborate on her stanzas.

The reading and performance of the poem lasted, without interruption, five days and five nights, during which dancers, extras, the reader, and spectators... took turns.

This gives an idea of ​​the length and importance of these epic tales, which will certainly be shortened here, oh how much so!... and from whose performance one essential thing will be missing: the atmosphere, the atmosphere of there, with its languid charm, the scents of a whole complicit nature that so well prepares actors and spectators.”

GERVAIS-COURTELLEMONT

“Sappho Marchal-Brébion (1904-2000) was a French artist and author. She was the daughter of the French archaeologist Henri Marchal. Sappho Marchal became famous for being the first researcher to study, document, and count the numerous female stone figures at Angkor Wat. She grew up in Siem Reap and at the archaeological sites where her father oversaw excavations. She illustrated many scholarly articles published by Henri Marchal. She also cataloged 1,737 female sculptures and engravings at Angkor, based on her drawings and observations, in her book "Costumes et Parures khmèrs d'après les Devata d'Angkor-Vat" (Khmer Costumes and Adornments After the Devata of Angkor Wat), published in 1926.”

Love new additions to my reading list!

And another book to read!

Beneath, an article highlighting the work of Suzanne Karpèles. According to Dhammawiki:

“After graduating in oriental studies from the University of Paris she was posted to the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient in Hanoi in 1923 where she collated Sri Lankan Pali manuscripts with Khmer ones. Two years later she moved to Cambodia . . . With the help of King Sisowath Karpeles she established the Royal Library in Phnom Penh, now the National Library, and supervised the collecting, cataloging, preserving and later the disseminating of Cambodia’s ancient literature.

She published the country’s first Buddhist periodical, started a mobile library project and arranged for the distribution of the Tipitaka in Khmer script in all the country’s monasteries. She also arranged for regular programs on Buddhism to be broadcast on state radio. With her urging and encouragement the Cambodian Buddhist Institute was founded in 1930 which was to publish and distribute dozens of works on Pāli Buddhist philosophy and traditional Cambodian culture. This helped the educated class to distinguish the Dhamma from Cambodian animistic and folk beliefs and to diminish Thai influence, allowing the Cambodian Sangha to emerge as a distinct and independent body. The Institute also became a meeting place for Cambodian writers, poets and intellectuals, several of who became leaders of the independence movement.

In 1940 Suzanne Karpeles was one of 15 Jews living in Cambodia dismissed from their posts by the pro-Nazi Vichy-French government. After the war she divided her time between her homeland and Cambodia and continued to make important contributions to Buddhism. Amongst her later works were French translations of the Dhammapada published in 1960 and Nyanatiloka’s Buddhist Dictionary, published in 1961.”

Well, I can easily predict my future: multiple hundreds of dollars will be spent at Abe books.

And on top, Truth! by Charles Bellan, subtitle: Lies, Torture, Killing . . . impunity in Indochina (the Baudoin affair etc.)

A quick search turns up nothing for ‘Baudoin affair’, though a Paul Baudoin has a French wikipedia page– apparently midway through a career as the head of the Bank of Indochina, he joined the wartime French government in May 1940 and quickly became the foreign minister in June, only to capitulate to the Nazis immediately, sign the armistice with Germany on June 25th, help set up the Vichy government, and perfunctorily resign on January 2nd 1941. Of course in March 1947 he was sentenced to 5 years hard labor for collaborating . . . but in 1948 published a book defending himself titled Nine Months in Government, which must have been somewhat reasonable as his sentence was commuted in 1949 . . . and he went straight back to the bank, where by this time he had been promoted all the way up to Chairman.

Of course, Vérité! was published in 1924, so too early for Paul. I can’t find anything about the Baudoin concerned, but am guessing Paul Baudoin was raised in French Indochina, and his father was a colonial administrator or perhaps a prominent businessman, and had some terrible scandal of his own. The whole thing is juicy and I’m particularly curious because I can’t turn up anything in cursory internet searches. At least unlike the others, Vérité! is widely available for free online at Gallica etc.

Does wikipedia have King Sisowath’s birth year wrong, did he have it wrong back then, or did they celebrate a year early? Anyway, this was his second to last year on the throne.

A fantastic collection of photos published in 1894 by a Corsican civil engineer working for the French colonial government. Thankfully, this is available online for free.

Wat Kandal, Battambang | Cambodia

I spent quite a bit of time here because it was near my hotel. Apparently there’s been a wat here since the 1700s, but what initially drew me in were the many Art Deco French colonial outbuildings. Like everything in Battambang, it’s in rough shape, but lots of interesting architectural detail I might apply to my own rented house eventually.

One morbidly interesting thing about this place is that it’s the highest status cremation/burial site in town. So, there are hundreds of graves, some Khmer, also many Chinese. The largest among them has a giant sarcophagus within a large multipillared Angkor style stupa, encircled by a moat, and manned 24/7 by some monk in a hammock.

Students learning traditional Khmer instruments take classes and practice here, so if you’re lucky enough to show up when they’re playing, it’s rather more lovely.

Wat Samrong Knong, Battambang | Cambodia

Battambang, as one of the historically wealthiest regions of Cambodia, has over 300 functional pagodas, not to mention the many ruins. Among them, Samrong Knong was, prior to the Khmer Rouge regime, the most powerful local monastery, with large grounds and many buildings and stupas, new and old. It was originally constructed in wood in 1707, and there is apparently (though I failed to identify it) at least one extant building dating from the first decade of the 19th century here. There are various stupas dating to the last quarter of the 19th century. The “new” pagoda was commissioned in 1887 and completely in 1890; the “old” pagoda was reconstructed in brick and plaster simultaneously, and last renovated quite recently.

During the Khmer Rouge regime, Samrong Knong became a notorious interrogation/torture center and killing field. All these buildings are clearly mapped for visitors.

Far better photos are available, even on google maps reviews– these are all I managed to get because:

1. I kept going at the wrong times. Everything was always locked up: not just the temples themselves, which is regrettably commonplace, but even the museum and library that were supposed to be open. This happens in Cambodia; if no one is there they just shut up shop, not realizing/caring that it’s ludicrous to expect a constant flow of visitors at their ordered pair coordinate of location/awareness. I think Samrong Knong opens up to big tour groups, so perhaps join one if you really care to go inside.

2. The weather was dreary and I wasn’t feeling well. I caught some sort of dreadful up all night wondering if I should go to hospital type stomach bug in Battambang (I think it might have been fried rice syndrome), and showing up here only to miss the sites– not once, but twice– convinced me it just wasn’t meant to be. Wandering past a pond, an info plaque attested that this was the pond in which the human waste of Khmer Rouge prisoners was dumped in one half, while the well-behaved among them were permitted to bathe once a month in the other. Nauseating. I left.

Wat Ek Phnom, Battambang | Cambodia

Wat Ek Phnom is 9km north of Battambang, and must be one of the most popular temples with tourists as it was one of just two that commanded an entrance fee. The approximately $2 usd-ish per person fee was only collected when the tour guides showed up with their charges; go by yourself and no one is sitting at the ramshackle desk expecting it.

Fee or no fee, the more modern pagoda was locked, so I never got to see inside.

I found this picture of the inside on a TripAdvisor review. While I do like this modern Indian pop art style of depicting the life of the Buddha, I don’t feel I missed much.

The big modern Buddha.

Behind the Buddha is a bunch of unfinished construction; I believe they’re supposed to be additional standing Buddha statues.

I also didn’t go under the Buddha, but apparently this is what’s inside. Also from TripAdvisor.

The ancient Hindu temple is believed to have been completed in either 1027 or 1029 by King Suryavarman I. As you can see, it’s wrecked.

I only have a handful of photos taken on a beautiful sunny day because the tour I was on covered literally every landmark in Battambang in a single very long day, and there was no time to get closer, climb up and inside etc.

I wanted to see more and went back by myself, despite the weather being miserable for 2 weeks straight.

An accidental selfie taken while fumbling in the rain

As the photos attest . . . it was probably not worth it. My phone camera couldn’t focus in the drizzle, there was not enough light, and I was a bit worried slipping and sliding on the completely unsecured stone with nary a handrail.

From what I can gather (and it was hard to gather anything online; perhaps there is more information available in person at the EFEO library, French National Archives, or similar), it was originally photographed by Émile Gsell in either 1866 or 1873, most likely 1873. These images are in the French National Archives.

I’m much closer to the containing wall and further round the side, but this is the closest apples to apples shot I have showing the differences between 1866/73 and 2025.

Hard to say because many outer doorways have similar lintels, and were obviously lazily and incorrectly jumbled together from fallen stones rather than reassembled and restored properly, but I think this might be an apple to apples shot, based on the two square blocks sitting in the lower right corner.

I risked my ass to climb the rocks and go inside, only to find it packed by so many local families bringing their kids for Pchum Ben/hiding from the rain that I could barely walk through, forget take decent photos.

EFEO archives leave these photos undated, saying only they are from an anonymous Cambodian fonds. I learned something new going through them as well, which is that EFEO hand lettered photographs like this through the 1960s, so that alone is no determination of date.

Perhaps because the Angkorian sites near Battambang are considered secondary to those of Angkor, I had to dig a little deeper to find colonial era photgraphs, and in the process learned the names of several seminal travel photographers, including Gsell, Agostini, and Thomson. The only one whose photos of Battambang I can find, Émile Gsell, is worth a post of his own; he was the first professional photographer to set up shop in French Indochina.

One of the only known images of Gsell, believed to be from 1873.

I also upped my search skills, accidentally discovering all the search terms I need to use to find old photos of this place– Wat Ek, Wat-ek, Wat Aek, Vat Ek, Wothec, Wothee. The Thai National Archives don’t appear to be available online as of yet, but I expect I’ll eventually be learning these homophones in Thai too.

EFEO surveyed the site in October 1930, before the contemporary pagoda was built.

Surprisingly, given the clear cultural value of the carvings even as they remain today, just a few photos are available in the EFEO online photo library.

Another from Tripadvisor, showing what I believe to be the best remaining lintel and tympanum onsite. Half the heads are missing; they were likely looted to sell as decorative smalls. Dynamite Doug Latchford is known to have targeted Wat Ek, but as you can see at the very top left of the images, one of the figures had already been looted before EFEO was forced out of Cambodia in 1975.

This Buddha is long gone.

If you can’t tell, this visit really got me thinking about Dynamite Doug. The knavery has so many twists and turns over such a long time, it would make a great novel. I’ve been watching everything about him and will rank all that media in a future post.

In one of the videos I watched about recovering looted Khmer art, the leader of the recovery process of looted Thai art, Dr. Tanongsak Hanwong, was gazing at this lintel, one of a pair on display at the Bangkok National Museum (2 years ago anyway) that I instantly recognized as from Wat Ek! Or maybe Wat Banan, judging from Gsell’s photos. Or maybe Banteay Srei? A formerly Khmer empire area in present day Thailand? According to the doctor they were from Prasat Nong Hong and Prasat Khao Lon, and eventually repatriated from the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco as such. This LA Times article tells the whole story well. Seeing how similar these various lintels look with my own eyes revealed to me the level of uncertainty and connoisseurship involved in the repatriation process.

The old moat is still there, with some lilies.

And for my final picture matching conspiracy about Wat Ek, look who I found when scanning TripAdvisor photos for my then and now comparisons . . . again, not totally sure of course, but 80-90% sure this is Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie . . . the teeth, the liplessness, the hairlines and haircolors, the oversized black plastic sunglasses, lol!

The Jacqueline Kennedy 1967 Menu at Raffles, Phnom Penh | Cambodia

In 1967, Jackie Kennedy was asked by President Lyndon B. Johnson for a favor: would she go to Cambodia and personally persuade Prince Sihanouk to permit the US to drop bombs on the Ho Chi Minh Trail’s Cambodian sections?

Bilateral relations between the US and Cambodia had been severed since 1965, with Prince Sihanouk, then Chief of State, having stated his conditions for reestablishing ties (via Australian and French interlocutors) as: 1. Recognition for Cambodia’s boundaries, 2. Compensation for lives lost, and 3. An end to bombings and incursions in the country. Oh, the irony.

Jackie was the perfect- and perhaps only- operative who might have  succeeded in this mission. She was not a professional diplomat, but a friend-of-a-friend; when JFK met Sihanouk at the Carlyle in 1961, they genuinely got along. 

Jackie’s almost-Frenchness matched that of Sihanouk and Monique, and JFK’s mode of entertaining- formally and with every European luxury and conceit- suited their taste and comfort level. Self-made men and those born into privilege and prestige are essentially different, and the two couples clicked in a way that Lyndon and Ladybird themselves didn’t and couldn’t.

While Sihanouk and Monique wouldn’t deal with many of the political personages they encountered beyond immediate affairs of state, they didn’t consider Jackie socially beneath them or uncomfortably foreign, and– her days as First Lady years past– didn’t perceive her as having ulterior motives. Her initial gesture was to write Sihanouk a letter asking him to arrange a trip to see Angkor, as it was one of her childhood dreams.

Glamorous, mannered, cultured, warm at times, and rather expert at flattery, Jackie was also (perhaps most importantly) ever so slightly pathetic at that moment. Iconically widowed at just 34, she was reinventing herself out of necessity, traveling extensively, visiting old friends, and deciding how to move on.

Much was made of her traveling to Cambodia with Lord Harlech, whose wife had just passed away two months prior. She had invited him as he was not only an unassailable British diplomat and SEA expert, but a former personal friend of JFK’s; at the time, he was annoyed enough by press speculation to issue a statement: “Mrs. Kennedy and I have been close friends for 13 years but there is no truth to the story of a romance between us. I deny it flatly.” Yet, an intimate relationship did ensue, he proposed, and she turned him down- all in Cambodia.

For Sihanouk and Monique, showing America’s fabulous, charming, same-age dowager duchess a wonderful time in their neck of the woods was a pleasure, not an obligation. They were delighted to show off Angkor Wat and drink great French wine at Hotel Le Royal, wearing Valentino and Norman Hartnell, seeing it as something easy they could do to please the pro-American, Lon Nol followers.

At a press conference in Phnom Penh prior to her arrival, Sihanouk said:

“We gladly welcome Her Excellency, Kennedy, only because she is a remarkable woman, and we used to admire the beloved former President, who was assassinated. It has been written that we used to be happy with the death of J.F. Kennedy, which is really wrong (…)

Question: "Would Your Majesty feel aggrieved if one day Her Excellency Kennedy remarried?"

Answer: "Our policy is not to interfere in the affairs of other countries. Therefore, it is not at all polite for us to be interested in the private life of her excellency Kennedy. We would like to wish her nothing but happiness.”

We all now know that Sihanouk made the wrong decision, one that countless other fears and factors should have kept him from making. He had good insight on potential negative outcomes, including from Australia, whose embassy had been handling backroom negotiations and consular affairs for the US.

Yet, I think not near enough blame gets put on Jackie; it’s not even common knowledge that she personally made the big ask.

Prince Sihanouk denied being influenced by her at all, exclaiming during a press conference broadcasted by Radio Phnom Penh (quoted by the New York Times, 11 Jan. 1968):

​“They wanted to give [this] visit significance! They wanted Jackie to be able to re-establish diplomatic relations between Cambodia and the United States without the United States having to fulfill the conditions set by Cambodia! They wanted Jackie to obtain the repatriation of all prisoners, civilian and military, currently imprisoned by the National Liberation Front! They wanted Jackie to obtain I don’t know what!”

It’s possible that’s entirely true, and he was only pressured into cooperating due to other inexorable factors. Yet, I believe a magpie like Sihanouk would have been much more likely to flatly say no to anyone else, or at least set much stricter conditions. I genuinely believe he thought Jackie was his friend who wanted the best for him; in his welcome speech, he had written that were JFK still President (rather than LBJ), there wouldn’t even be a war in Vietnam. Lord Harlech emphasized to Jackie how problematic this was, and she asked SIhanouk to retract it last minute– which he did.

I wonder . . . did Jackie think she was doing the right thing? Did she just feel she owed LBJ a favor? To this day almost 60 years hence children in the countryside are exploding, at least partially due to Sihanouk’s acquiescence. There’s of course no guarantee the US wouldn’t have dropped bombs had he said no; asking for forgiveness rather than permission . . . then not even asking for forgiveness . . . then eventually making a perverse show of forgiving its victims– has been the trajectory of US diplomacy over the ensuing half century. 

That’s why it is so curious to me that Jackie’s visit is so blithely commemorated at the present-day Raffles in Phnom Penh. I suppose her image as a timeless style icon so outweighs any awareness of her role in Cambodia’s sordid past that too few people find it distasteful.  I do, but I ordered the Jacqueline Kennedy 1967 menu anyway; such is the sway of Jackie.

Was it worth it? No. 

First, as usual, the nonfood items:

The atmosphere on Saturday night was dead, though not in a way I much minded . . . perhaps even in a way I appreciate as a frumpy solo female traveler. There are few tables in the formal dining room (fewer than 10, if memory serves), and at any given time half were empty. The crowd was the standard bourgeois hotel crowd: a group of European boomers on holiday; an American couple on honeymoon; a local big boss with his family of about a dozen, including several young children; another solo diner giving strong digital nomad passport bro vibes, wearing AirPods rather than listening to the live pianist; and a semi-formally dressed Chinese couple a few years older than me, seated on either side of the double doors of the private dining room, neither eating nor drinking– whom I soon realized (as teen girls in designer clothes flitted in and out in pairs) were parents hosting a birthday or similar celebration for their daughter, who clearly attends some expensive local international school. Thinking back on sweet sixteens at the Plaza or Pierre almost 30 years ago, I chuckled out loud remembering how none of my friends’ parents were so careful, if they were physically present at all.

The decor is meh. Formal but meh. The bar and lobby are far more picturesque, though I’d skip the mannequin sentinels.

The best drink, by far, was the Femme Fatale cocktail served before dinner.  Anywhere else (though I doubt it’s served anywhere except retro-themed speakeasies featuring favorite cocktails of Golden Era film stars– this was Marlene Dietrich’s), a Femme Fatale is gin, Cointreau and lemon juice. At Raffles, it’s crème de fraise de bois, cognac, and champagne (though I suspect they substitute cheaper sparkling wine these days), supposedly a recipe whipped up just for Jackie. What a morbid joke; they could never have guessed how on the nose the name would become.

In 1967, the trendiest drink in SEA was the Singapore Sling (an early example of successful heritage branding at Raffles), a resurrection from the 1900s or 1910s: strong, sweet, fruity, and bright pink.

Along the same lines, the femme fatale was introduced as a drink as red as Jackie’s lips . . . except Jackie never wore a red lip (usually a pearlescent pink), and she wore opaque peach on that particular evening, and the drink served today is about the color of apple juice . . . so, who knows?

The wine pairing was $48 and not right for me. I blame myself entirely, because the selections are clearly stated on the menu, I just didn’t bother to look them up. First up was an $18/bottle Venetian pinot grigio, then a $26/bottle of Australian chardonnay. Then an $18/bottle Loire valley sauvignon blanc. Then a $35/bottle Graves “house red” cab/merlot mix. None of these were terrible, but they certainly weren’t great, and they were all cheaper and worse than anything I’d serve at home.

Whatever the tariffs, I’m a bit surprised Raffles would serve such mediocre wine– and can’t imagine Jackie was served anything but the best wine– so I was disappointed. I’d rather pay triple for pairings matching the varietal, terroir, and quality of what she was served; even more for exact vineyard matches and equivalent vintages. That’s what I was expecting, failing to note the price.

At least they were generous with what they have; they let me have a second glass gratis from the giant dame-jeanne of Laubade armagnac xo paired with dessert. It was blended not vintage, and I forgot to take a picture, so I don’t know if it goes for $55 or $95, but either way it was by far the most expensive thing they served, and at least by that point I was sloshed. Maybe I shouldn’t complain, 7 glasses of liquor in an upscale hotel setting doubtless represents value for many people. I think all of these were high quality for the price, just cheaper than I’m used to– chosen well considering local market constraints perhaps. Rather than wobbling out, I’d have preferred only 2 or 3 glasses of better stuff.

Finally, the food. I don’t expect value for food at Raffles– that would be absurd– but I actually kind of think I got it? I really enjoyed only perhaps half of what I ate, but would have happily paid $88 for just those dishes. I did experience an irrational bit of buyer’s remorse; it was only in considering the other dishes that I questioned if it was worth $88.

I did expect decent cooking, but also that a French menu, made with Cambodian ingredients, served in 1967, would be a bit wacky by today’s standards– and it was. 

First, the amuse bouche was some sort of seared paté, good but not memorable in any way.

4 types of bread with herbed butter followed and were consumed alongside the courses; they differed somewhat in look but not so much in taste.

The gourmet salad with duck gizzards was fine, tasty, competent, healthy.

The poultry cream soup was a no, and really had that vintage vibe- like a bucket of cream and flour with no salt or pepper, no bouillon, and the tiniest, fewest cubes of chicken or duck or carrot or whatever imaginable.

The duck foie gras mille-feuille I loved, because I’m a rich bitch– perhaps not in the sense of possessing vast wealth, but definitely in the sense of possessing a preference for buttery, savory, high fat foods! This was so filling it could have been a meal itself; the mille-feuille, salad and a glass of white is about what I’d normally order for dinner. I imagine Jackie took one and a half bites and started aggressively initiating conversation rather than risk her figure for it.

My second fave, the mushroom stuffed tenderloin, was next, and came out surprisingly rare- dare I say blue?

I should have expected no less from a French trained kitchen, and it was delicious.

The French toast with fruit and basil ice cream was bland, and the mignardises were great- little candied fruits and nuts and a couple tiny chocolates, not too much or heavy, perfect to nibble with brandy. 

Wandering around the back halls for a bit before calling a tuktuk, I thought about the renovations. I rather dislike the excessively cheap and standardized decor in Raffles hotels, and I don’t understand why they ripped out the original antique caustic tile floors and wooden shutters– total overkill. The “look of luxury” will date in 10 or 20 years; restoring to the original never dates.

today

2012

There are various vitrines showcasing pricey souvenirs available in the shop- think $2000 Pailin gem-set belts and handbags, not $8 fake silver betel boxes– and, opposite them, a little homage to Jackie.

Framed press photos of her toasting with Prince Sihanouk and hiking around Angkor Wat, and a pair of her iconic big brown bubble sunglasses (on which I regretfully couldn’t find any branding due to how they’re folded over the picture frame) beg the questions: Did she leave them somewhere by accident? Give them to someone? Were they purchased at an auction in the 90s or something?  They’re clearly not the ones she’s wearing at Angkor, but could still be hers . . . or maybe not?

One color photo shows the state gifts she was presented with, though obviously she was not really in a position to receive such things, and another vitrine features the supposed very cocktail glass she drank from, with a faint old lipstick print.

Legend has it one of the waiters saved it as a trophy and hid it away in the cellar somewhere, and it was only discovered years later, but . . . what are the odds it really sat untouched through the civil war, the Khmer Rouge, the Vietnamese occupation, the years the hotel was abandoned? If it really is Jackie’s glass, I almost think it wasn’t a worker who saved Jackie’s glass, but Sihanouk himself; he rode out most of those years under house arrest in his own palace, and personally oversaw the hotel’s 1997 renovation and reopening as a Raffles property. Jackie died in 1994, so she was never able to condone or condemn the marketing; I hate to think no one ever saved a glass at all, and this is a totally unnecessary ploy to profit off her– we’d buy the drink custom created for her without the existence of an old lip print on a glass.

Also in the case is a horrid piece of polyester she would never have worn that’s close to the same color as one of the gowns she wore, and an equally bad faux pearl bracelet and necklace, which again definitely were not hers, and some souvenir Angkor trays and trinket boxes nothing like the fine, pure, artisanal Khmer silver she was given. Though this presentation seems antithetical, I suppose it’s less weird than an otherwise empty vitrine housing a dirty old liqueur glass. 

I don’t regret the meal, though I’m sure there are a thousand Michelin 1 star lunches in Europe that are 10x better at the same price. I did learn what I should have already known– Raffles is best for imports, mixed drinks and steak. The best parts of the meal, by far, were the foie-gras, tenderloin and cocktail. I’m a sucker for punishment, so I’ll probably be writing another ‘huh, mid’ review about their Royal Khmer tasting menu before I finally resign myself to gueridon service and gin slings, but . . . you know, hope springs eternal.

Phnom Penh Street Food | Cambodia

I’m not the biggest fan of street food, but give it a college try at least once per culinarily significant region. To that end, I did both a breakfast and dinner street food tour by some NYT recommended company and walked around a bit solo.

This is what I saw walking along Okhna Try Heng Street 2011 (a middle-class neighborhood on the outskirts) from my house to 7-11 at 7AM:

coconut rice

various grilled meats and fish

sweets

bananas and lotus flowers (more for the temples than the people)

Butchery before it gets too hot out

Vietnamese style phin coffee.

I abandoned my plan to slam back a can of Nestlé latté from 7-11 immediately! 2500 riel is ~ $0.63 usd

donuts, beer, and energy drinks

Tea eggs, grilled meat with rice

fried bananas, taro cakes, sesame donuts, etc.

soft fluffy buns

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And this is was the Lost Plate breakfast tour:

Sry noodles, supposedly a quite old-fashioned noodle shop

Strong filter coffee with a bit of condensed milk

The deluxe bowl. Rather bland, but breakfast bowls usually are

Free tea

Then we walked through Ang Eng market

Donut fam between Reachvong pharmacy and the phone shop

Classic Char Kway

Bánh Tiêu

Ash-roasted eggs

The guide bought and assembled a bowl of the most frequently used herbs and spices in Khmer cooking and explained each.

បាយផ្ទះកែង292, or “corner house rice 292”

The guide told us this place is where all the rich kids used to come for breakfast before school.

"លៀសហាល" (Leas Hal), or sun-dried freshwater golden clams. 99% sure these gave me the runs, but they’re incredibly popular.

Next we hit up Russian market.

I’m a huge fan of grilled sliced honeycomb as a dessert, especially with ice cream.

Snake fruit (salak, salacca, etc.)

Banh Chao

I know it’s the local Cambodian version, but I was honestly annoyed we were eating a Vietnamese dish.

The tour finished at a bougie coffee place, where I got an espresso/orange juice drink.

To summarize, the food was certainly not worth $40 and did not convince me there was anything good about Cambodian food. Upon reflection we had nothing special and barely anything Khmer. It’s true I wouldn’t have bothered on my own and wouldn’t have gotten these photos, so that’s worth something, but I really was annoyed. The guide was also a college kid who didn’t speak English well enough to explain things or know anything whatsoever about cooking, so that didn’t help. I genuinely can’t believe the glowing reviews this company receives for this tour . . . it’s so disproportionate to the amount of money they make and the quality of the product that I’m actually considering setting up a competing company.

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On our way back to the city from Oudong, my driver wanted to stop at his favorite market, and of course I obliged.

Phsar Daek is about an hour and fifteen minutes from Russian market by car, so well into the villages but along the modern road. This is what was on offer in the late afternoon:

Phsar Daek

Palm fruit

Green coffee beans

Dried bael slices

Grilled banana

Milk fruit

Dried talonton, or “rice frog”

Grilled honeycomb topped with onions and chilis

Sweet potato and taro fries

Dried minnows

Veg in fried rice wrappers

Banh Cong (batter of rice flour, mung beans, and minced pork, topped with shrimp, and then deep-fried)

Fried baby crabs

Grilled “crab brain”

Various grilled fish

Endangered Mekong snail-eating turtles with ground cherries

Quail eggs and other soup fixings

Roasted and wok fried snails

Pumpkin and palm sugar cakes

All the chicken parts

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On another day trip to the Chiso mountain temple, approximately an hour and a half’s drive from Phnom Penh, my driver was once again absolutely clutch at exposing me to authentic street food. This roadside stand was one of 5 or 6 outside a factory along the way, set up for the workers.

On offer were grilled snacks including a couple types of handmade sausage and big stuffed frogs.

The sausages were dipped into some sort of crisped sugar, like a sort of sausage tanghulu. Even when grilled it had a bit of crunch. They were quite tasty!

Groceries to take home including caramelized palm sugar paste, fermented shrimp, fish, coconut, bamboo, mixed vegetables and giant ants.

I bought the palm sugar paste for tea etc. and it took months to use up. These big jars were around $3 usd.

These antique Japanese shaved ice machines are absolutely everywhere.

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And here is the Lost Plate dinner tour:

First we hit up a place literally called Khmer Noodles Restaurant

Nom Banh Chok

with chicken and curry

This one is Banh Chev Chnganh Chngangh on google maps.

Banh Chev and coconut cakes

The fried creepy crawly stand opens up opposite GRID SUBSTATION No9 (Samdach Hun Sen Park) in the evening.

Tarantulas, swallows, cockroaches, and rice frogs

Beetles and silkworms

Bbq grasshopper. Spicy and sweet/salty flavors are popular, with a couple different powders available for sprinkling on and shaking in a bag

I thought it would be easiest to start with a tarantula leg.

Eventually I just went for the body. It tastes a bit like chicken liver, and was actually my favorite out of all the bugs I tried!

Next stop was the banh mi at ហាងនំបុ័ងជ្រូកខ្វៃសៀមរាប (Siem Reap Pork Kwai Bakery). This is a sit-down restaurant and apparently the fanciest Banh Mi place in town.

Street 440 night market

Wax apples

The most popular barbecue chicken shop is open outside the Hol Korb Power Tools shop on Street 163.

According to the tour guide, the butthole is considered the most delicious part of the chicken. If he was fucking with us, I did not detect it, I asked him if he was serious and he swore he was.

54 ល្ងាចស្រស់, according to many the best restaurant in PP, and the most popular among wealthy Khmer locals. These are the classics- fish amok, chicken somlor, beef loklak, fried banana chips.

Hawker outside វិទ្យាល័យព្រះស៊ីសុវត្តិ (Preah Sisowath High School) bus station in the evening.

It’s shredded coconut and peanuts wrapped in crispy lettuce.

And that was it for street food in Phnom Penh. I can’t say I was impressed, but at least I know where to go if I’m broke. As for the $85 tour price, nah, definitely not worth it . . . though perhaps I needed to invest that much to persuade myself to give fried tarantula go!

Wat Damnak, Siem Reap | Cambodia

Monks’ robes out to dry behind some chedi; the first thing you see coming through the back entrance

Wat Damnak’s grounds host a forest of chedis and tombs. The oldest chedis are supposedly from the 1950s.

I’m unclear whether these little houses are homes, offices, store rooms, combos . . .I’ve been to monasteries in other countries where the more venerable the monk, the bigger/nicer the house. They are interesting examples of vernacular architecture.

An overgrown tomb or perhaps Buddha’s footprint

Scientists believe the large ornamental pond may be a moat vestige from an Angkorian temple on the site, of which very few signs remain.

I’ve never seen the gate open, so don’t know what’s in the little house.

The tallest of the stupas (this) and the other ‘ancient looking’ stupas were built in the 1930s in the style of Banteay Srei, as a learning project with the monks, in collaboration with EFEO archaeologist Henri Marchal.

Henri Marchal at Banteay Srei in the 1930s

There are so many organizations and buildings on the temple grounds that it’s hard to know which is which. I believe this is the monastery offices and school.

The main vihear, or prayer hall. This building was constructed in 1935 under the direction of the Venerable Prin Tim, the monastery’s second abbot.

“Damnak” means palace; the temple buildings were built on what was once the land surrounding one of King Sisowath’s palaces from 1904 to 1927, hence the name “Wat Damnak.” However, no palace remains on the site. This photo is undated, but was taken on a Verascope Richard produced between 1895 and 1910 and printed on their supplied paper from that era. Given that records say Sisowath’s palace was only here from 1904 to 1927, and perhaps it took some years to use up all the film, it’s probably 1900s or 1910s, though possibly later. Given the scaffolding, perhaps it dates from the 1904 construction of the palace!

From the EFEO archives, this photo is tentatively dated 1927. This building is no longer extant. It’s simply labeled ‘cremation party'- either of a very prominent unnamed local person, or perhaps in honor of Sisowath, but without his actual remains- he was cremated in Phnomh Penh and his ashes buried in Oudong. This building was deconstructed, removed, and rebuilt elsewhere in the city sometime before 1935, but has since disappeared.

This shot of the cremation cortège as it arrives at the temple shows just how open the land used to be. Nowadays it’s in the dense city center.

The younger the novice, the more they relish learning how to bang the drum. The little kids are swinging well above their heads! The most exciting part of their day is when they’re allowed to bang the drum for the 5pm chants. The monks here are very casual about it- they let the kids bang away at will for around 15 minutes, then slowly filter into the hall.

Also, though it seems an unimportant afterthought to a Westerner, the two hybrid Ionic/Angkorian columns are one of a kind in Cambodian temples.

The 4 original sandstone sema stones are still within the hall, demarcating the sacred space/ritual site. These stones are common to Theravadin Buddhist halls in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Laos, Burma, and Thailand.

Scenes from the Reamker are carved on the shutters.

At the back entrance, three Angkorian artifacts are displayed: a pair of guard lions and a sandstone tub some believe was originally a sarcophagus.

As shown in these 1935 photos from the EFEO archives, if there was ever any carving or embellishment on this tub, it had become completely invisible well over a century ago.

Angkorian lions. It is unknown whether they were unearthed on the site at some point, or brought from within what is now the park grounds. Most believe they originated at Angkor Thom and were relocated by Henri Marchal in 1935-1937.

They didn’t immediately strike me as the most ancient/valuable things at Wat Damnak, but they are, by far. Photos from wikipedia; I somehow breezed by them twice.

Great example of Cambodian style art deco.

I’ve been daydreaming about a new construction bolthole/retirement option. I want something a bit grand, but also not too big and easy to build. Although I like the stilted wooden houses favored by locals, I have found several small inconveniences that make them annoying to live in: the tall precarious steps are annoying in the rain and with luggage; the vaulted ceilings are sort of grand and aesthetic when left open, but impossible to air condition. The solid brick and plaster construction and possibility of using standard-size windows and doors in a building of this style, and knowing locals know how to properly build it, makes it look like a safer option- I can literally point out this building and say build me that! and then embellish with plaster, carved wooden details, paint and plaster colors, awnings, gardening etc. I think it’s also a better shape to put a porch and pool out back.

Originally built in 1922-1923 as barracks for French troops, it now serves as a conference hall. It’s not a large building, but the proportions are grand. It’s sort of begging for plasterwork, colorful tile, a whole different colorway . . .

This house also features the most elegant rain drainage system I’ve seen, essential in Cambodia. So many yards are lumpy and waterlogged.

This is the modern library. It’s quite small and holds a very limited collection. It has the look of a converted old school or worker housing, but actually dates from 2010. The design maximizes airflow in an effort to preserve the books without air conditioning or other climate control. Of course that’s a slowly lost battle, but it didn’t seem to me there were any uniquely valuable books here. Of course, I could be wrong about the rarity of some of the old French tomes. I believe only redundant copies of EFEO bulletins are kept here, at least I hope so.

The view from under the giant old tree

I wonder where they got and how they choose their books.

If it were a bookstore, I’d definitely have bought these. Thankfully, they seem to all be available online for free:

Danseuses Cambodgiennes par Georges Groslier

Un Hiver au Cambodge par Edgar Boulangier

L’Indochine en Guerre par Général Jean Marchand

They had almost what I was looking for when writing my post about Kbal Spean: a later version of Jean Boulbet’s paper and map of the site. Turns out the reason there are missing maps/charts online is because they’re not there in person either; they must only be with the older version of the paper, if they are extant. Perhaps I’d be able to find it at the EFEO centre; their library is also open to the public.

Some late ‘70s photos from the bulletin- Jean Boulbet bottom left.

The backside of the reading room; there’s no reading area in the library itself.

I took several photos of the fascia and its trim, and the column capitals. They are an interesting combination of Khmer design and Western application. This building dates rom 1941, and I wonder if the trim was copied from the barracks building or vice versa. I’m guessing the barracks building was originally quite simple and trimmed up to match.

The plaster trim inside the reading room. I find the uniquely Khmer style interesting.

That’s not some ignored damage from a hook that’s been pulled out, it’s a bullet hole left over from the Khmer Rouge occupation. For the entire war, 1970-1975, the frontline was just a mile north of what is now the Raffles hotel, then the Grand Hotel d’Angkor. When the Khmer Rouge won, the population of Siem Reap was displaced to the countryside, and Wat Damnak became Khmer Rouge HQ in Siem Reap. The heads were chopped off most of the statues, and the original Buddha statue sitting here was (obviously) shot in the face.

Every single little frolicking animal in the painting has been shot in the face. The monks were forced to renounce Buddhism and join the Khmer Rouge, and shocked people by wearing guns with their robes. It’s no wonder this building was left abandoned and fell into disrepair after the Khmer Rouge left in the early ‘80s.

It’s easy to look up books and articles on their computers in the reading room.

They also have books for sale; looks mostly to be works by CKS scholars and redundant decommissions.

Very useful info that couldn’t be found online!

Originally the building was constructed as a Buddhist primary school. It’s smallish inside, but the exterior is rather grand.

Theams Gallery, Siem Reap | Cambodia

I’ve found myself in a fixer upper in Siem Reap. So, curious to see what local architectural identity consists of, I ended up spending hours one afternoon taking photos at Theam’s gallery.

Born in 1969, Lim Muy Theam’s family survived the Khmer Rouge regime and arrived in France as refugees in 1980. According to his bio, he was educated at École Boulle, Beaux-Arts and Arts Décoratifs; his aesthetic is very much idealized Khmer with strong European influence.

His declared mission is to revive traditional and innovative modes of Cambodian arts and crafts by training local artisans. Onsite there’s an extensive gift shop of his work, that of his protégés, and a collection of the best pieces from other local shops, including IKTT and Artisans d’Angkor . . . all gathering dust, as tourists to Siem Reap generally do not have the budget to spend on this sort of thing, and, even if they did, are more the hiker/backpacker type than the sort who bring home handwoven silk panels and lacquer triptychs, and, even if they were, they’d undoubtedly find the source before they found Theams. So, the admission fee is $5 USD, and I do think it’s worth it.

The place is a series of architectural and decorative arts vignettes, composed entirely of traditional crafts and motifs, studded with a few genuine antiques. The skill and taste level here is often mid, but occasionally striking, and rather more delightful when you understand and witness the place as a living document, an open workshop. Theam himself was on the premises when I visited, directing some roofing and repainting of a façade; he noticed me but did not introduce himself. In addition to the introduction to the language of Khmer aesthetics, the thing I appreciated most is his color sense- very different from mine, but I don’t dislike it. Dark chocolate woods and gemtone paints and fabrics figure heavily.

Since visiting the gallery, I’ve looked at these photos countless times for renovation inspiration.

Phật Đản (Buddha's Birthday) in Hanoi 2025 | Vietnam

I briefly returned to old stomping grounds around Hoan Kiem lake to start cleaning out a storage unit I have in town. Totally coincidentally, I literally walked into the local parade for Buddha’s birthday, which is not an official holiday in Vietnam, and was celebrated a day early around dinnertime. Not much to say about it . . . Buddha was supposedly born May 14thish 653 BC in Nepal.