DAY 2 - PHNOM PEHN ​

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• Breakfast in Hotel

• We explore the stunning Royal Palace complex, home to the Cambodian royal family and a symbol of the nation. We begin
  amid the beautiful gardens, landscaped ith tropical plants and studded with gleaming spires. We enter the Throne Hall where
  the royal receptions are held and the Cambodian king's coronation took place, we then pass the Napoleon III Pavilion made
  from iron, a gift from the French emperor in the 19th century. We continue to the Silver Pagoda, named after the 5000 silver
  tiles covering the floor, each weighing 1kg. Inside are some of the country's most cherished treasures, including a life-size
  gold Buddha studded with 9584 diamonds, the largest weighing 25 carats. There is also a delicate emerald Buddha made of
  baccarat crystal, which gives the temple its Khmer name of Wat Preah Keo (Temple of the emerald Buddha). We leave the
  Royal Palace and continue to the nearby National Museum, home to the world's finest collection of sculpture from the
  Angkor period. The exeuisite building was completed between 1917 and 1920 and features a lush courtyard garden
  surrounded by collections from the pre-Angkor, Angkor and post- Angkor periods. We concentrate on the incredible
  sandstone sculpture from Angkor, as well as the intricate bronzes. This afternoon, we come face to face with the horrific
  crimes of the Khmer Rouge. Tuol Sleng was a former high school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a centre for
  interrogation, torture and death. Today it is a museum of torture and serves to remind visitors of the terrible atrocities that
  came to pass in Cambodia. 17,000 people passed through the gates of this prison and only seven lived to tell the tale. The
  Khmer Rouge were meticulous in their record keeping, photographing all the prisoners and many of these haunting black
  and white images are on display in the cells, enemies of the revolution were killed here, as well as many Khmer Rouge
  loyalists, denounced by an ever more paranoid political party. It became a production line for killing, as those that worked
  within its walls were unwaveringly loyal to Pol Pot The party did not make mistakes. so those sent here had to be guilty. The
  role of the prison was not to prove innocence but to confirm guilt. Tuol Sleng is a profoundly moving experience and not
  everyone will want to visit. However, it is key to understanding the hell into which Cambodia descended and how far it has
  come in the years since. We then travel out of town to the Killing Fields of Choeng ek. Prisoners from Tuol Sleng followed
  this same route to their fate. An old Chinese cemetery, Choeng ek was turned into an extermination camp for political
  prisoners. The remains of 8985 people were exhumed from mass graves and are kept in a memorial stupa here. Despite the
  horrors of the past, it is a peaceful place to go and a traneuil spot to reflect on the tragic events that engulfed Cambodia and
  its people. We then make for Wat Phnom, a symbol of the city. Located on one of the few hills in this pancake-flat capital,
  the first pagoda was originally built in 1373 to house Buddha statues discovered in the Mekong by a woman named Penh.
  This gives us the modern name of the city, Phnom Penh or Hill of Penh. Cambodians come to the shrine to pray for luck in
  love and life employment and exams, so there it is always a bustling place. Accommodation at hotel in Phnom Penh