Cambodia A belated rescue of Cambodia's past

In the stampede to experience the glories of Angkor Wat, few of today's hard-pressed tourists leave time to visit Cambodia's capital. It's a regrettable omission. Nestled at the confluence of three rivers, Phnom Penh's graceful skyline of pagodas and minarets, unspoiled by modern high-rises, provides one of Southeast Asia's most enchanting panoramas.

Adjacent to the Royal Palace at the heart of the city stands the National Museum. With its angled roof, elaborately carved doors and terra cotta façade, this classic example of "colonial Khmer" architecture is, alongside the Musée Guimet in Paris, home to objects and relics that once furnished Angkor Wat. It's scarcely possible to imagine the majesty and vitality that animated this adamantine empire during its 12th-century heyday without a morning in the museum's light-filled galleries.

The collection embodies both the acquisitive ambitions of French colonialists and the current desire to foster a national cultural identity by providing the link to Cambodia's ancestry.