Phnom Penh

Cambodia – Getting to Know Phnom Penh

The heart of Cambodia in more ways than one, Phnom Penh is the country’s capital city, its political and commercial centre, and also strategically located at the confluence of three important rivers – the Mekong, Tonle Sap, and Bassac. During the last few decades, the city and its people have staunchly overcome atrocities at the hands of the Khmer Rouge to become prosperous and lively, boasting bustling bars, world-class restaurants, an emerging art scene, and exciting cycling tours that showcase the city and countryside.

Cambodia Phnom Penh Travel Guide

What to do in Phnom Penh

A must for all visitors to Phnom Penh is the National Museum, which houses an impressive collection of Khmer sculpture.

The Royal Palace dominates the city’s skyline – its walls enclose the Silver Pagoda, famous for its 5,000 silver floor tiles!

Of the city’s many pagodas, Wat Phnom is the most notable, situated on the exact site where a lady named Penh founded the city.

Tuol Sleng (also known as S21) was the Khmer Rouge’s primary interrogation and extermination centre during the late 1970s. The tiny prison cells and spartan interrogation rooms offer an insight into what life was like for the 14,000+ people who entered this prison (of which, incidentally, only seven survived). The museum also displays haunting black and white photographs of many of the prisoners. While it makes for rather harrowing viewing, a visit to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum is an integral part of understanding what happened during the Khmer Rouge period.

Around Phnom Penh

Head out of the city on two wheels, joining one of the popular bike tours from Phnom Penh that wind through the countryside. Cycling to Phnom Oudong, the ancient royal capital, you’ll pass lush rice fields, traditional stilt houses, and small local markets. Sitting atop a small hill, this set of stupas and shrines, in varying states of ruin, offers sweeping views of the surrounding countryside – a rewarding stop for any cycling adventure.

Discover Cambodia’s varied wildlife and learn more about conservation efforts at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, an hour south of Phnom Penh. Supported by Wildlife Alliance and the Free the Bears Fund, this sanctuary helps rescue and rehabilitate animals affected by the illegal wildlife trade. It’s a great stop on day trips or longer cycling excursions beyond the city.

Visit the village of Daem Po, where villagers operate a ‘Rice Bank Project’ to provide better quality rice seeds to the community. Some rural bike tours include a visit here, offering travelers a chance to experience daily life, help with farming activities, and share meals with local families.

Legend has it…

…that Phnom Penh was founded back in the 14th century, when a local woman named Penh discovered a small number of Buddha statues washed up on the banks of the Mekong. Having retrieved the statues, she housed them in a shrine on a nearby hill (‘phnom’ in Khmer) and the town became known as Phnom Penh – which translates as ‘Hill Of Penh’.

Awful memories

In 1975, the Khmer Rouge marched the entire population out of the city into the surrounding countryside – many were never to return. The Tuol Sleng Museum and the extermination camp at Choeung Ek offer a look into Phnom Penh’s dark history, as the places where tens of thousands of Cambodians were tortured or beaten to death before being buried in mass graves. Today, Phnom Penh has rather remarkably emerged as a vibrant capital city with an enduring and humbling energy.

A rough ride through history

Phnom Penh’s turbulent past has seen it endure rival ruling interests from the Thais, Vietnamese, and French. It peaked as a powerful trading centre in the 16th century but was then burned to the ground in 1772!

There are several aid-organisation-run restaurants in Phnom Penh, which serve to fund social programs throughout Cambodia, the most well-known of which is Friends. The staff are former street children who are being trained to find work in the hospitality industry. Dine at Friends, and as well as enjoying great food, you’ll be helping to get kids off the streets and provide them with invaluable work experience.

The Champey Academy of Arts is a dance school set up to train orphans and children from poor families in the art of traditional Khmer dancing, providing them with a future career. The centre is located near the National Museum, and can easily be included in a morning or afternoon tour.

Inside the Silver Pagoda sits a 90kg gold Buddha decorated with 9,500 diamonds.