My Visual Travel Experience: Brisbane

In 2011, I spent 4 days in Brisbane. I was there with my then girlfriend, and now wife. We really enjoyed our time there. The main highlight was spending time with animals at the Australia Zoo and the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. In several Australian zoos, visitors are allowed to enter the enclosures of non dangerous animals, touch them, get photographed with them and even feed them, and that was really a unique, thrilling experience. Brisbane was also the city where I saw the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, where India beat Sri Lanka. I went to one of the lively pubs on Queen Street and saw the match till the wee hours of the morning. The pub was full of Indians (we are everywhere, aren't we?), and the wild celebrations that followed after India's victory almost made me forget that I wasn't in India!!

Brisbane is Australia’s 3rd largest city after Sydney and Melbourne. It has a population touching 2 million, and it is the capital of the state of Queensland. The city has a charm of its own, and is also a stopping point for visitors interested in going to the Great Barrier Reef or the Gold Coast. The history of Brisbane dates back to 1823, when the Governor of New South Wales decided to move select convicts to a new location. Brisbane became the capital of Queensland in 1859. The presence of natural resources led to rapid mining, which in turn led to the city’s development.

City Hall dates back to 1930, and is famous for its soaring clock tower and classical façade. It lies in the heart of the city and is one of Brisbane's most prominent landmarks. Outside City Hall, there's an equestrian statue of King George V of England.

City Hall

Equestrian Statue of King George V of England, City Hall

Customs House, with its copper dome, is one of the city’s oldest buildings and is now used for civic functions. It was restored in 1994.

Customs House

ANZAC Square commemorates soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, who died for their country in various battles. The Greek cenotaph is the main sight in this square, and it has an Eternal Flame.

ANZAC Square

ANZAC Memorial

Eternal Flame, ANZAC Memorial

Vietnam War Memorial, ANZAC Square

Overlooking ANZAC Square, the General Post Office is an attractive neo-classical building completed in 1879.

General Post Office

St John’s Anglican Cathedral dates back to 1901. The cathedral’s architecture is of French Gothic style.

St John's Anglican Cathedral

High Altar, St John's Anglican Cathedral

St Stephen’s Cathedral, an English Gothic Cathedral, was completed in 1874. The cathedral has twin spires, and right next to it is St Stephen’s Church, Brisbane’s oldest church.

St Stephen's Cathedral

Queensland Art Gallery, which is a part of the larger Queensland Cultural Centre, boasts of works of art by Australian artists, but the collection also has some works by international masters.

Boyd's Berwick Landscape,
Queensland Art Gallery

Rivers' Under The Jacaranda,
Queensland Art Gallery

Rupert Bunny's The Bathers,
Queensland Art Gallery

Tintoretto's Rising Christ,
Queensland Art Gallery

Winifred Rumney's Barron Falls,
Queensland Art Gallery

Brisbane Museum, also a part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, has a vast collection that includes stuffed animals, dinosaur skeletons, automobiles, aircraft and other objects.

Aircraft, Brisbane Museum

Crocodile, Brisbane Museum

The Parliament faces the Botanical Garden, and is a large domed building.

The Parliament

Queens Street, Brisbane’s main shopping street, is a charming pedestrianized street full of shops, restaurants, pubs and cafes. 

Pig N Whistle, Queens Street

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary opened way back in 1927. It has a large collection of koalas, and boasts of a koala breeding programme. Other highlights include being able to mix freely with kangaroos & emus, watching sheep dogs round up sheep before their shearing, feeding lorikeets, and a host of Australian wild and farm animals.

Koala, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Kangaroo, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Emu, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Crocodiles, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Lorikeets, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Australia Zoo, set up by the well known TV presenter and animal conservationist Steve Irwin (tragically killed by a sting ray in 2006), ranks among the world’s top zoos. It allows visitors to experience animals like very few other places can. The zoo is 70 km outside Brisbane. Highlights include the 5,000 seat Crocosseum (where one can see shows with crocodiles and other animals), watching tigers play with trainers, seeing cheetahs being taken for walks on leashes, visitors getting to feed elephants, and visitors getting to touch animals like kangaroos and emus.

Bronze Sculpture of Steve Irwin and Family, Australia Zoo

Kangaroo, Australia Zoo

Koala, Australia Zoo

Crocodile, Australia Zoo

Trainer walking a Cheetah, Australia Zoo

So Brisbane was something really special and we really enjoyed ourselves. For animal lovers, it's really hard to match what the city has to offer. Besides that, the museums, the churches, the vibrant city centre with its shopping and eateries, and the friendly people all make Brisbane a really pleasant place for travelers.

My Visual Travel Experience: Phnom Penh

I spent 3 days in Phnom Penh in 2015. Most visitors to Cambodia tend to just go to Siem Reap to see the ancient temples of Angkor, but I decided to visit Cambodia's capital city as well. I didn't regret the decision one bit. Yes, Phnom Penh does bear the tragic scars of the Khmer Rouge regime from the 1970's when millions were killed, but the city offers a lot to visitors and I enjoyed exploring it.

Phnom Penh is a city having close to 2 million inhabitants. The city often serves as a transit point to Siem Reap, where travelers go to see the famous Angkor temples, but Phnom Penh is certainly not without its attractions. The city’s key attractions include the Royal Palace (where the king resides), the Silver Pagoda and the National Museum.

Two of the key sites – the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek - highlight the city’s harrowing past, when the Khmer Rouge was in power. The hard-line communist party was responsible for close to 1.7 million deaths during their 4 years in power from 1975 to 1979. Anyone who did not believe in their philosophies was seen as an enemy of the state, and most of these people met with a brutal end. During their reign, Phnom Penh almost became a ghost town, with many citizens forced to leave their homes to go and work in the country-side. The Khmer Rouge regime – under Pol Pot's leadership – was overthrown with help from Vietnam.

King Sihanouk, an extremely popular figure in Cambodia, was one of the longest reigning rulers in Cambodia’s history. He was overthrown in a bloodless coupe in 1970. He returned as king in 1993. In 2004, he abdicated and his son, Sihamoni, took over.

The Royal Palace was built in the mid 19th century, with assistance from the French. It is the home of the King of Cambodia, but large parts are open to visitors. The Silver Pagoda lies adjacent to the Royal Palace. The Throne Hall is the most imposing structure of the Royal Palace. The central spire has a 59 meter high tower. The building is used for coronations and important events. The Dancing Pavilion was originally used by the kings to view parades and processions. It is now used for royal celebrations and banquets. King Sihamoni’s coronation took place here in 2004. The Royal Waiting Room is where the king and queen wait for their ceremonial elephants on coronation day.

Throne Hall, Royal Palace

Dancing Pavilion, Royal Palace

Royal Waiting Room, Royal Palace

The Silver Pagoda is best known for its Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which has an emerald Buddha statue, as well as a Standing Buddha made from 90 kg of solid gold.  Besides the Emerald Buddha and the golden Standing Buddha, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha has numerous miniature Buddha statues. The Mondap has a Nandi Bull statue inside. The building is a small library that has sacred texts. There is a pavilion with an Equestrian Statue of King Norodom, who reigned from 1834 to 1904. Phnom Kailassa lies on a small hill, surrounded by trees. It has many Buddha statues lying outside it. Inside, there's a statue of the Buddha's footprint. The Royal Pavilion is an open hall used by the royal family as a reception area and by Buddhist monks. It has many Buddha statues inside. 

Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Silver Pagoda

Equestrian Statue of King Norodom, Silver Pagoda

Buddha Statues at the Royal Pavilion, Silver Pagoda

Bell Tower, Silver Pagoda

Wat Phnom was built in 1373 to house some important Buddha statues. Perched on a small hill, the temple is the highest point in the city. To get to the temple, one has to climb a Naga stairway. On one’s way up, one gets to see dogs, cats and other animals, which are fed by the temple’s monks.  

Wat Phnom

Interior, Wat Phnom

Wat Ounalom was built in 1943 and is the headquarter of the Buddhist Sangha. The Khmer Rouge killed the temple’s leader, Samdech Huot Tat, for his religious beliefs. A statue of the leader was thrown into the Tonle Sap river, but it was later retrieved and kept back in the temple. Before the Khmer Rouge atrocity, over 500 monks used to live in the temple.

Wat Ounalom

Wat Langka is a large temple located in the heart of Phnom Penh. It was founded in 1442. The temple gets its name because of the historical ties with monks from Sri Lanka. Many of the temple's monks are very respected teachers.

Wat Langka

The National Museum of Cambodia has a beautiful terracotta exterior. The museum has a large collection of Hindu and Buddhist sculptures from the 10th century AD onwards, including a 12th century sculpture of King Jayavarman VII. The museum has a large central courtyard with a sculpture garden. The centre of the courtyard has a statue of Yama, the God of Death.

National Museum of Cambodia

Ganesha Sculpture, National Museum of Cambodia

The Independence Monument was built in 1958 to commemorate the country’s independence from France in 1953. It is in the form of a lotus shaped stupa, influenced by the Khmer temple of Angkor Wat.

Independence Monument

The Vietnam Cambodia Friendship Monument was built in the late 1970's to commemorate the friendship between the two allies after Vietnam helped in overthrowing the Khmer Rouge regime.

Vietnam Cambodia Friendship Monument

The Monument to Norodom Sihanouk was inaugurated in 2013 and is dedicated to the king who guided Cambodia to independence from the French. The king was born in 1922, and died in 2012. In 2004, he abdicated, due to poor health, and his son, Norodom Sihamoni, took over.

Monument to Norodom Sihanouk

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) lies along the river-front and is a favourite with travelers. It has an elegant bar and restaurant, and offers great views of the river-front. A great place to just hang out, meet fellow travelers and just spend time in a leisurely fashion!

Foreign Correspondents' Club

Central Market is a large covered market with a vast range of products, including clothes, jewellery, souvenirs, clothes, footwear, fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and meat. It has a large central hall topped by a dome, and four covered alleys radiating from it, full of stalls. The market is popular with locals and tourists. The art deco building was built by the French in 1937.

Central Market

Dome, Central Market

Wooden Sculptures, Central Market

The Russian Market, locally known as Psar Tuol Tom Pong, is a great place for bargains. The market is called the Russian Market because of the huge number of Russians who shopped there in the 1980's. The market has tin roofs, under which there are narrow alleys, with stalls selling souvenirs, clothes, handicrafts and all sorts of goods.

Buddha Sculptures, Russian Market

Paintings, Russian Market

Tuol Seng Genoside Museum (S-21) was originally a school which was used as an interrogation and torture centre to extract confessions during the Khmer Rouge period. Most of the prisoners were sent to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek after confessions were obtained. When Phnom Penh was liberated by the Vietnamese, only 7 survivors were found in S-21, kept alive due to various skills they possessed. The museum makes for a very disturbing visit, with photographs, prison cells, prisoners’ beds, graves, and torture equipment.

Gallows, Tuol Seng Genocide Museum

Photo Exhibits, Tuol Seng Genocide Museum

The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek lie some distance outside the city. There were several such killing fields across Cambodia, but this was one of the main ones where more than 10,000 prisoners were killed by the Khmer Rouge. It has been converted into a memorial and makes for a very poignant visit. Many of the prisoners brought here came from Tuol Sleng Prison, where confessions were forcibly extracted. The Stupa at Choeung Ek was built in 1988 as a memorial to the victims. The stupa has 17 floors, and through the glass panels, one can see skulls, bones and weapons used in the killings. The Killing Tree was the tree against which babies used to be smashed to death before being thrown into pits. The Khmer Rouge’s policy was to kill all members of a family, so that there were no feelings of revenge.

Skulls, Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

Stupa, Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

Killing Tree, Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is a sanctuary for animals about 40 km outside the city. One can walk through enclosures that house deer and monkeys, but the more dangerous animals are of course behind bars. The centre was opened in 1995 and covers an area of 26 sq km. The animals there are largely animals rescued from illegal wildlife trade. 

Monkeys, Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre

Deer, Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre

Phnom Penh is designed in a grid system, so it’s quite easy to find one’s way around. The noisy but efficient tuk tuks are the best way of seeing the city. They are not expensive, and though they do expose travelers to the city's pollution, they are the city's life line.

Tuk Tuk

No doubt, I found myself disturbed after my visit, having visited the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields, and having read up about the Khmer Rouge atrocities. However, I really enjoyed visiting the Royal Palace, the various temples and the National Museum of Cambodia. For people going to Siem Reap to see the grand Angkor Wat, I would certainly suggest that a couple of days in Phnom Penh would be well worth a small detour!