11 Reasons Why Phnom Penh Should Be on Your Travel Itinerary
Phnom Penh gets no respect.
Despite
being known at various times in its history as “The Pearl of Asia” and
“City of Four Faces” (situated where the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac
rivers collide), Phnom Penh receives only a fraction of visitors that
its neighbors get, sometimes entirely bypassed on the Bangkok – Siem
Reap – Ho Chi Minh tourist trail. Even the Vietnamese (the largest
tourism market) often grimace when the word “Cambodia” comes up.
Apparently, tales of Khmer Rouge barbarism from the 1970s told by
returning Vietnamese soldiers are hard to forget.
To
add insult to injury, Phnom Penh isn’t even the most popular tourist
destination in Cambodia. That honor usually goes to Siem Reap, the site
of the impressive Angkor Wat temples.
I’ll
admit that I too was jaded to Phnom Penh’s charms (or lack thereof)
despite living there for over 10 years. Sure, it was a great place to
live and work ― my own backwards haven with wide orderly streets and
little traffic ― but I dreaded any time friends or family would come
because I’d have to rack my brain finding ways to engage visitors for a
couple of days before bundling them off to their next destination. But
having left the city that was my home for over a decade has totally
changed my view. I miss Phnom Penh. In fact, a recent visit back
actually made a (belated) believer out of me. Here, in no particular
order, are 11 must-do activities which should put Phnom Penh towards the
top of every visitor’s SE Asia list:
Pay your respects at the Tuol Sleng and Cheoung Ek museums
These
museums hold the collective memory of the nation of the Khmer Rouge
atrocities. Ever wonder why Phnom Penh seems so underdeveloped compared
to Saigon or Bangkok? Well, these sites help to shed light on a
nationwide genocide that killed an estimated 2-3 million people (up to
25% of the entire country’s population) in the late 70s. Among those
targeted were capitalists and intellectuals (teachers, doctors, monks,
artists) in an attempt to revert the country to an agricultural Year
Zero.
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If
you’re Gen X, Y, or Z, you might be forgiven for not knowing much about
this turbulent time period. It was almost a back story after the
Vietnam War ended. And despite the on-going and problematic Khmer Rouge
trials, Cambodians in general are also happy to move on. But every now
and then, it resurfaces in the most unexpected ways. You might be
talking to an older person who out of the blue starts relating Khmer
Rouge torture stories, silent tears a reminder that the wounds are yet
open and deep. Once I was teaching an English class on Valentine’s Day
and the topic of “Your First Kiss” came up. When we got to a woman of
about 50 years old, she scoffed and said matter-of-factly, “Back then,
if I kissed my husband in public, they would have killed me.”
Imagine
a whole generation of educated elites being wiped out and the
far-reaching repercussions of such a tragedy. While it doesn’t make for a
light-hearted day out, a visit to Tuol Sleng, a former school turned
torture camp right in the middle of the city, is a must. Be prepared for
the rows upon rows of haunting images of victims interned there,
hollow, hopeless eyes looking back at you from the past.
A visit to Cheoung Ek
(aka The Killing Fields) usually follows, a mass burial site about 15
km from the city. A sobering display of 5,000 skulls and almost 9,000
bodies is difficult to process. A walk through the quiet grounds
sometimes yields bits of clothing or the odd tooth underfoot, a powerful
testimony to the relatively recent tragedies the Cambodian people have
survived.
Have a jaunt in the countryside
Just a 20 minute ride outside of Phnom Penh the city gives way to lush countryside. Follow the Mekong River over the Chba Ompeu
bridge and you’ll find pastoral scenes of fishing villages and rice
fields. Children play with homemade drums made out of nothing but tin
cans, a stretched rice sack and chopsticks. People cook the
old-fashioned way, grinding rice flour by hand. Fishing is equal parts
net and bamboo traps.
Especially if
you visit during the wet months of June – October, the rice fields will
be a thousand hues of green, workers bent akimbo while oxen placidly
watch on. Houses are built on impossibly high stilts in preparation for
the yearly flooding of Cambodia’s rivers when the only method of
transportation is a precariously small boat. Floating houses, poised on
empty barrels for floatation, enjoy satellite reception, powered by car
batteries.
Enjoy some of the best value massages around
By
now, chances are your feet are feeling like raw hamburger after all the
walking you’ve been doing. Good thing that Phnom Penh has some of the
best value massages in the region. Cheaper than Thailand and better than
Vietnam, Phnom Penh has a surprising number of spas and massage
parlors, ranging from hot stone treatments in upscale international
hotels like Raffles, the InterContinental, and the Sofitel to more
reasonable boutique spas with surprisingly good ambiance where an hour
of aromatherapy massage will set you back around $10USD.
You might even try a no-frills seeing hands massage,
all employing blind or visually impaired therapists – at $4 an hour, an
absolute steal at any of the multiple locations around the city.
However, my favorite place is the small Xing Fu Foot Massage (599
Monivong Blvd). For $5 an hour, you get your own respectable a/c room
with TV. The massage starts out with a foot steam and a back/shoulder
rub after which the therapists work on stimulating the nerve endings in
your feet. Always a fine line between pleasure and pain, nothing soothes
quite like a good foot massage. Don’t forget to send out for a
pineapple or coconut shake, just $0.75 down the block.
Another
option for looking human again is the mani/pedi, Cambodian style.
Forget the expensive Korean/Vietnamese treatments back home and spring
for a complete hands/feet makeover from one of the city’s many itinerant
nail ladies. For just $2.50 for hands or feet, find a shady spot to get
your nails done. French manicure, painted designs, a sprinkle of
glitter? These ladies do it all.
Good eats
While
Cambodian cuisine has yet to achieve the international status of Thai
or Vietnamese food, you can definitely eat well and cheaply in Phnom
Penh. Food carts line the streets, and you could spend all day simply
snacking on buttery corn on the cob, fried noodles, or fresh fruit.
Feeling more adventurous? Try the fried tarantulas or the boiled cocoons
and grasshoppers at one of the larger markets.
While there are a few dishes that are distinctly Cambodian like amok (coconut-based
fish curry steamed in a banana leaf), the large immigrant Chinese and
Vietnamese populations have left their mark on Phnom Penh’s food scene.
You can find Chinese noodles and Vietnamese spring rolls almost anywhere
along with the requisite sweet and sour stir-fry or crispy fried fish
with mango dipping sauce.
My favorites are Malis for an upscale Cambodian meal in an elegant setting (mains start at $8USD), Khmer Surin
for authentic Cambodian food at only $3-6 per main and a tiny,
unassuming noodle shop that’s only open in the morning but has the best
yellow noodles with wonton in the business (corner of Streets 51 and
208). Get there at around 10 am as it’s starting to wind down for the
grittiest, most flavorful bowl of noodles you’ve ever had.
Go to where it all started
Phnom
Penh literally means Hill/Mountain of Penh. According to legend, a
woman named Daun Penh found statues of the Buddha inside a tree floating
in the Tonle Sap River. She promptly set up a stupa (a bell-shaped
building to house Buddhist relics) on top of a small grassy hill, now
known as Wat Phnom.
A small park
smack in the middle of the city, Wat Phnom is a pleasant way to spend an
hour or two. You can climb to the top to view the temple complete with
its colorful murals and naga snakes decorating the roof (admission
$1USD). Look out for devout Buddhists who pay for the privilege of
releasing small birds at the temple, a belief tied in to the Buddhist
vow of saving all beings from suffering while gaining personal merits.
Hang around to see little boys with a bit of glue on a long stick
running to retrieve the just-released hapless creatures for resale to
the next pilgrim.
While there, check
out the huge working clock made from greenery as well as Sam Bo, the
elephant that has for decades been giving tourists a ride around the
hill. (If you don’t fancy a ride, you can still buy a bunch of bananas
or a few stalks of sugar cane to feed the gentle giant.) Or get your
nails done under the shade of a bodhi tree. But whatever you do, hold on
to your drinks and snacks as there’s a troupe of very bold monkeys just
waiting for a moment of distraction.
Night cap like a celebrity on a backpacker’s budget
Now
that you’re full, it’s time to head out into the night. After all, man
does not live on bread alone, am I right? Head on over to the gorgeously
stylish Raffles Le Royal. Established in 1929, it regularly hosted the
likes of W. Somerset Maugham, Charles de Gaulle, and Charlie Chaplin.
More flashpacker than business mogul? No worries. Bypass the bellboys
dressed in their French colonial finery and the opulent reception and
head straight for the Elephant Bar, a cozy lounge with lots of comfy
seating. While the evening hours away trying to find all of the
reportedly more than 80 elephants in the room while sipping on a
half-priced Femme Fatale, a drink commemorating Jackie O’s 1967 visit.
Throw in a martini glass filled with complimentary mixed nuts or
homemade taro chips and salsa, and it is one of the absolute best deals
in Phnom Penh. (Visit during Happy Hour when most drinks are 50% off, 4 –
9 pm daily, and don’t forget to snag a pastry on your way out, 40% off
after 6 pm).
Vestiges of Indochina
In
1863, Cambodia came under French rule, and along with Vietnam and Laos,
formed what was known as Indochina. The French administration restored
parts of Angkor Wat, built roads and other public works, and planned to
make Phnom Penh look like a provincial French town. So successful were
they that in the 1920’s, Phnom Penh was known as “the Pearl of Asia.”
While Cambodia regained its independence in 1953, vestiges of French
colonization are still evident. As you stroll around town, notice the
brightly colored French-styled Post Office at Wat Phnom, the fading
yellow facades of grey shutters and ornate balconies of some of the
older buildings and of course, the ever present French baguette sold on
nearly every street corner as the receptacle for a sandwich with an
Asian flair. If you really want to get your French on, stop by the French Cultural Center
which houses an extensive French library, puts on unique French films,
and arranges showings and performances by artists from around the world.
Stay another day, have another tapas (all for charity)
With
approximately 3,000 NGOs and aid organizations registered with the
Ministry of Interior, Cambodia has received and is receiving a lot of
help, both foreign and domestic, in righting the wrongs of the past. All
together, the financial assistance accorded to Cambodia by the
international community can be counted in the billions, ever since the
U.N.-organized elections were held in 1993. Seeing the country today,
though, has many wondering where all that money actually went.
Fortunately,
it’s not difficult to personally see the good that is being done by
some very dedicated NGOs. And the good thing is, you can still feel like
you’re on holiday while helping. For instance, have some delicious
tapas or a traditional dish of red tree ants stir-fried with beef and
basil at one of the restaurant outlets of Friends-International, an
organization which provides training opportunities for former street
youth and employment for their parents. Or pick up a well-crafted
souvenir from Nyemo Cambodia, a non-profit organization which helps
vulnerable women (affected or infected by HIV/AIDS, abandoned by their
husbands or families, trafficked, or abused) and their children.
Download the Stay Another Day booklet to find out how you can contribute
to the welfare of local Cambodians by supporting sustainable Cambodian
organizations.
Go to market
While
Phnom Penh isn’t (by a long shot) a shopping mecca like Bangkok or
Singapore, going to market still makes for an interesting morning with
lots of photographic possibilities. The most architecturally interesting
market is the Central Market, also called the New Market or in Khmer, Phsar Thmey.
Built in 1937, this art deco, ziggurat-looking building, just got a
complete $4.2USD million facelift last year. There’s an entire section
for souvenirs (read: “I survived Cambodia” t-shirts), but the interior
is much more interesting, from the unrefrigerated fresh meat on display
to the many gold and jewelry shops to the stalls laden with bolts of
silk. However, my pick of markets when I want to snag unique souvenirs
is the Russian Market (known in Khmer as Phsar Toul Tom Pong).
Its warren of stalls isn’t as pretty to look at, but you’ll find amazing
bargains like good-quality “Polo” dress shirts for under $5USD, hand
carved, ornate wooden plaques (great as a trivet) for $5, and
inexpensive silver and turquoise jewelry. If gem stones are your thing,
Cambodia has sapphire and ruby mines, but take a local along to make
sure you’re getting the real thing. (They’ll inevitably return after you
leave to collect their cut of the profit, but that’s still better than
getting duped into buying an inferior product.)
Culture, Schmulture. Kick back and watch a movie.
Man
does not live on culture alone. You’ve released birds on top of a
temple, been shaken to the core by a trip to the killing fields, and did
your good deed for the day by supporting a local NGO. By now, you’re
probably desperate for something homey and Western. Head over to Legend Cinemas,
the very first big theater showing Western movies to open in Phnom Penh
(and that was just in July of last year!) When was the last time you
saw a new release movie for $2USD or a 3-D movie for $3? On your way up
to the theater, check out the quirky only-in-Cambodia features in the
same mall: a row of relaxing massage chairs placed directly in front of
the screaming kids indoor playground, the karaoke by the hour rooms, and
the kids showing off their best moves on the Dance Dance Revolution
video game like it was 1999.
“I enjoy long walks by the river”
You
don’t need a date to have a great time at the Phnom Penh waterfront.
Come early in the morning to watch groups of tai chi practitioners going
through their movements with fans or plastic swords, all seemingly in
slow motion. While you’re there, tour the nearby Royal Palace with its
Silver Pagoda and 9,584 diamond encrusted Buddha statue. Come back in
the evening when a microcosm of Phnom Penh shows up on the riverbanks –
old folks out for a walk, young couples watching the sun go down, groups
of kids playing a pick-up football game, and the smell of sugared
popcorn and fried noodles in the air. The riverside has a very friendly,
relaxed vibe, and smiles are easily doled out. For the best view, head
over to the Foreign Correspondent’s Club (locally known by its acronym,
“the FCC”), a three story building with a stunning view of the river. In
a previous life, the FCC was a hangout spot for diplomats, UN
officials, and reporters during the tumultuous 70’s. Now it’s a trendy
open-air space with live music, nostalgic ceiling fans, and one of the
best spots to watch the sun go down on the Tonle Sap.
So
whether Cambodia is your primary destination or just a side trip,
consider a few days in Phnom Penh, always and forever, the “Pearl of
Asia”.
Getting there: From
Bangkok, there are buses that go to the Thai border town of
Aranyaprathet. After going through the infuriatingly long lines at
customs, take another bus on the Cambodian side to get to Phnom Penh.
(Trip time, approximately 12 hours. One-way ticket is $16-17USD.
Purchase tickets a few days in advance at any travel agency for a number
of different bus companies). For a better option, though, plan ahead
and catch a sale on Air Asia where the barely one-hour flight can be as
little as $50USD.
From Ho Chi Minh,
Phnom Penh is an easy 6 hour bus ride $12USD) away. If you are in the
Mekong area of Vietnam, consider taking a boat across the border.
Visas
at all international border points available for $25USD. (The Cambodian
border point via Bangkok is called Poipet and via Ho Chi Minh is Bavet.)
Where to stay: For a clean, well-located air-conditioned room for $20USD, check out the Townview Hotel.
It’s within walking distance to the Toul Sleng Museum and the main
street of Monivong Boulevard. For a more upscale experience, try Circa 51,
a small boutique hotel with a much welcome swimming pool for those
sweltering Phnom Penh days. A casual walk along nearby Street 240 with
its trendy boutiques leads you to the riverside.
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