Thursday, March 11, 2010

Exotic Khmer Architecture at the Royal Palace

Buildings like this were commonly seen in Cambodia, but mostly used for government establishments. Such buildings usually face east (although technically a building faces all directions), and have a spire and the little 'flares' at roof corners as you see. The spire here is a commonly photographed one, as it has a little Buddha face. This was their way of asserting that the his kind of architecture (also seen in Laos/Thailand) started with the Khmers.

This specific building is part of the Royal Palace at Phnom Penh and is called the Chan Chhaya Pavilion.