Independence monument

Independence monument is at the intersection of the two main streets in Phnom Penh, Norodom Boulevard which runs north and south and Sihanouk which runs east and west. It is a major landmark for instructions on where to go. The monument was built in 1958 and is based on the form of lotus-shaped stupa, of the style seen at the great Khmer temple at Angkor Wat and other Khmer historical sites.

You can see that the top of the monument is shaped like the lotus flower.

Decorations around the top of the monument are Mythical serpents, or nāgas, that represent an important motif in Khmer architecture as well as in free-standing sculpture. They are frequently depicted as having multiple heads, always uneven in number, arranged in a fan. Each head has a flared hood, in the manner of a cobra.

Below is a nagas in front of a temple near Kampong Cham.

With the dry season about to start the blue sky in these photos will be some of the last I will have for some months.