'The walls of the city are about twenty li in circumference. There are 5 gateways, each of them with 2 gates, one in front of the other.’

‘Around the outside of the city walls there is a very large moat. This is spanned by big bridges carrying large roads into the city.’

‘The five gateways of the city are all alike; the parapets of the bridges are all made of stone and carved into the shape of snakes, each snake with nine heads. Fifty-four deities are all pulling at the snake with their hands, and look as if they are preventing it from escaping.’

‘Lu Ban Tomb [Angkor Wat] is about one li beyond the south gate. It is about ten li in circumference and has several hundred stone chambers.’

‘Ten li east of the city wall lies the Eastern Baray. It is about a hundred li in circumference. In the middle of it there is a stone tower with stone chambers. In the middle of the tower is a bronze reclining Buddha with water constantly flowing from its navel.’

‘The Royal Palace, officials’ residences, and great houses all face east. The Palace lies to the north of the gold tower with the gold bridge, near the northern gateway. It’s about five or six li in circumference.’

‘Inside the palace, there is a gold tower, at the summit of which the king sleeps at night. The local people all say that in the tower lives a nine-headed snake spirit which is lord of the Earth for the entire country.’

‘The dwellings of the king’s relatives and senior officials are large and spacious in style, very different from the ordinary people’s homes. The roofs are made entirely of thatch, except for the family shrine and the main bedroom, both of which can be tiled.’

‘The homes of the common people have roofs made only of thatch. They dare not put up a single tile. Although their houses vary in size depending how wealthy they are, they dare not build houses to rival the official residences.’

‘Everyday writing and official documents are all done on the skin of muntjacs, deer, etc, that is dyed black.’

‘To write, people use a kind of powder like chalk, which is rolled into a little stick called suo. The markings can be erased using something wet.’

‘The local people who know how to trade are all women.’

‘There is a market every day from around six in the morning until midday. There are no stalls, only a kind of mat laid out on the ground. I gather there is a rental fee to be paid to officials.’

‘Market transactions for items of small value are paid for with rice or other grains. Higher value transactions are paid for with cloth. The largest transactions are done with gold and silver.’

‘They do not produce gold or silver in Cambodia, I believe, and so they hold Chinese gold and silver in the highest regard..’

‘The people of Cambodia value items made of fine double-threaded silk in various colours. They also value such things as pewter ware from Zenzhou, lacquerware dishes from Wenzhou and celadon ware from Quanzhou.’

‘Beans and wheat are particularly sought after, but they cannot be taken there.’