If you’re looking for an excuse to start drinking mid-afternoon, Kingdom Breweries offers a tour of their Phnom Penh facilities, which includes at least two sample beers. Kingdom Breweries dubs itself as the only “premium” Cambodian beer. They’ve no stiff competition in that department — no matter how drinkable they are, one can hardly pretend … read the full post

If you’re looking to get fit in Phnom Penh, there are a plethora of options — from aerobics at Olympic Stadium to the new public exercise equipment on the riverside. If you’re looking for something indoors and possibly air-conditioned, Phnom Penh has lots of gyms and fitness centres, some of which start at less than … read the full post

Nom banh chok is a quintessential Khmer dish, loved by locals and tourists alike. The dish, which is similar to Thai kanom jeen, consists of rice noodles topped with a green fish gravy and heaps of fresh green beans, bean sprouts, banana flower, cucumbers and other greens. The noodles are laboriously made in the provinces … read the full post

Southeast Asia – and particularly Cambodia – is not known for being a rewarding place for wine aficionados and cheese lovers. But this disenfranchised group finds solace on the last Wednesday of every month when the Intercontinental Hotel puts on their monthly wine and cheese event. Featuring an international selection of wines from four local … read the full post

Every evening at dusk hundreds of Cambodians gather at the top of Olympic Stadium to listen to Khmer techno and get some cardiovascular exercise in. More than a dozen instructors, each with a microphone and individual sound system, ring the top of the stadium, charging 500 riel to lead middle-aged Khmer women dressed in Western-style … read the full post

Most visitors to Phnom Penh who are the club-going type end up visiting one the few Western-oriented clubs in town. But there are even more clubs in town catering to Khmers, and each offers a unique clubbing experience — from daytime discos to live bands and slow dancing — that gives an interesting insight into … read the full post

It’s no secret that one of my favourite daytime activities in Cambodia is dressing up like a Khmer princess and having my photo taken. It is quite possibly the most interesting, non-touristy thing to do in Phnom Penh, and the memories will last forever. It’s also kid-friendly, as most studios have munchkin-sized costumes. There are … read the full post

Every time I have visitors from out of town I rack my brains trying to think of the perfect place to take them to eat and sample the local fare. Khmer cuisine, with its fermented fishy flavours, can be difficult for those who aren’t familiar with it, and many local restaurants only serve a few … read the full post

If you missed all of the excitement of Cambodia Pride Week, never fear, there are bars and clubs catering to the LGBT crowd in Phnom Penh every night of the week. “The Phnom Penh gay scene is just coming into bloom,” Marcus Mucous, the organiser of Cambodia Pride and mastermind behind the gay night at … read the full post

The cheapest and easiest way to travel around Cambodia is by bus. Flights out of Phnom Penh can be ridiculously expensive, so if you’re headed to Siem Reap or Saigon, the bus is a much more affordable alternative. Other local destinations are only accessible by bus, such as Sihanoukville and Battambang. Most of the major … read the full post