Phnom Penh

A shock to the senses in every way (good and bad)
By dano_b (dabbler - 5 reviews)
Written on 18th February, 2010 after a visit to Phnom Penh in January, 2010
Phnom Penh was the first stop my boyfriend and I made on our 2.5 week trip through Cambodia and Laos in January 2010. While we had done some research about the Khmer Rouge and the tragedy this country had endured, we were not prepared for what we saw when we arrived.

One of the first things we noticed was the poverty and that struck us hard. Perhaps more so because it was our first time in SE Asia, but we weren’t prepared for the children and poor crippled people begging for money or selling this and that. Once the shock dissipated (but never fully wore off), we really enjoyed the city of Phnom Penh.

Day 1 we hired a tuktuk driver for the day and paid him 25USD, which seemed to be the going rate. He offered to take us to his orphanage to play with the kids, and being teachers, we jumped on the chance to play with the kids for an hour or two! That it, until he started asking us for money to buy rice. And he wasn’t just asking for a couple dollars, he wanted at least 40USD! We had brought some toothbrushes and toothpaste with us ad offered to donate those to the orphanage but he said “No, that’s no good. We need money for rice”. He was very quick to stop talking about the orphanage, and largely stop talking altogether when we told him 40$ was just not in our budget. Needless to say, we didn’t get to go to the orphanage.

We started at the Killing Fields, Cheung Ek, which was a solemn and unforgettable experience. You read the books about it but nothing can really prepare you for standing in front of those mass graves and seeing the devastation first hand. It’s hard to say that we enjoyed ourselves here, but we learned a lot and being interested in history and where societies come from, it gave us new insights into what they deal with.

Keeping the mood, we visited S-21, the Genocide Museum next, and again, many things that you would never want to see or think about other people enduring are on display here. We spent a lot of time here, taking the time to read all about it. I found it particularly troubling to walk through all the pictures of the victims, but it was again, an educational experience, and definitely, as others have said, not for the faint of heart.

Needing a little pick-me-up, we went to Wat Phnom, which was a small temple set on the top of a little hill. More interesting than the temple itself, were the many monkeys running around the area surrounding the temple. People had even started selling food to tourists to feed the monkeys which had the obvious result of making many monkeys fat. But they were cute, and lifted our spirits after an emotional afternoon.

Nearing sunset, we wanted to go for a sunset boat ride, which we had read were pretty cheap. Well, as we quickly learned, nothing is as cheap as the guide books say anymore, but we got a cruise for 1.5 hours for 22USD after much haggling. The boat was huge and we were the only occupants so it was pretty nice to relax and see Phnom Penh from the water. Even better tho, was that since we had time before sun down, the driver took us passed some floating villages which was very cool. The houses float on the water with nothing attaching them to land and they rely heavily on the water to sustain themselves (fishing, cleaning, cooking etc). This is such a different way of life and we loved the chance to see this!

After a beautiful sunset we had dinner at Lemongrass which serves Thai and Khmer cuisine, and our food was delicious. We met some friends for 0.60$ beer on the banks of the river and wandered the night market a bit before calling it a night. Our hotel, Her Royal Highness, was nothing spectacular. We paid 10USD for a private bath with hot water and cable, but no windows. We had a slight bug problem but that was mostly my fault for leaving a candy in my pack. :s

Day 2 we spent a half day in Phnom Penh before heading to Battambang. We toured the Royal Palace in the morning, which was grand, gold and beautiful. Definitely worth a visit, despite the 6$ entrance fee. Aside from the gorgeous buildings, there are some great trees and plants and we easily spent a couple hours in there. Then we explored (and got lost in) the Russian market and bought some cheap scarves. This place is also worth a visit, even if just for the experience. I have never been in such crowded quarters with so many people trying to go in every different direction, rows upon rows of clothes, souvenirs, scarves, DVDs, food, anything! We also went to Wat Tul Tompong, simply because we had seen it on the latest season of the Amazing Race and it was much nicer on TV! Some parts of it had obviously been repainted for the show, but it was mostly a housing complex for homeless people, as dirty laundry and garbage were all over the place. The nice thing about this temple was its lack of tourists! We had the place to ourselves!

1.5 days was the perfect amount of time for us in this city. We saw the sights, we explored the streets, got a feel for the people and we were ready to get on our way. It was a great city but not my favourite city on that trip.

Also reviewed by dano_b: Battambang,

A wonderful city to learn, rest and play.
By elocin (dabbler - 1 review)
Written on 28th June, 2009 after a visit to Phnom Penh in June, 2009
I was travelling Phnom Penh in June 2009 which is considered to be the beginning of the wet season.

The days were hot but each day's scorching heat was relieved by a spectacular splattering of rain in the mid to late afternoon. It made the sunshine bearable and cooled the winds.

Prior to arriving there I was in Siem Reap and had purchased a few books on the subject of Khmer Rouge from smiling, hard working one legged men. I read them cover to cover, devestated by the extremes of human condition, joyful at the courageous outcomes but eager to learn more.

I headed to Tuol Sleng one morning and the experience was eerie, surreal and humbling. In most reviews of Tuol Sleng, you will undoubtedly be heeded with warnings such as, 'not for the faint hearted' or 'R rated' or 'arrive on an empty stomach', in addition to the above, my warning would be 'educate yourself'. Read a book. Google it. Wiki it if you must, but be wary that it not a place to be posing for happy snaps or laughing about which bucket cocktail was the last one you remember before passing out in a tuk-tuk. (Sorry, small rant because that's what I overheard when I was there).

The movie that is screened twice daily is worth watching even for five minutes if you have little to no knowledge of the horrors.

I recommend paying the extra US$6 for an English speaking guide provided by the museum. My guide was fluent in English, informative and obliging to any questions or queries.

The rest of the day, after the museum was solemn for me.

The next day to change the mood, I had organised (upon reading the review on travelfish) a guided tour at the Phnom Tamao Animal Refuge Centre with Betelnut Tours. My boyfriend and I were fortunate to have the tour to ourselves, normally they take up to six people on the tour. I cannot recommend this enough. If you don't go for the animals, go for the lunch they're going to make for you. We bought the meat from a local butcher (by that I mean, a family selling their cow in front of their house) and the food was the yummiest Khmer food we ate on the whole trip.

Our guide was a wonderful girl called Watanna (please excuse spelling), she spoke better English than some people at my Australian university and was very knowledgable about the animals. She must be so kind and visit so often, as a lot of the animals greeted her while we were on the tour.

The highlight for me was meeting the elephants and seeing them joyfully play in the water. Splashing freely and stamping about. It was such a beautiful sight.

The shopping was exhausting. All that haggling and meandering through aisle after aisle of market stalls will drain any expert shopper. I recommend learning the etiquettes of bargaining, such as, make it worth their while. Don't haggle to the last 50cents if you're only buying one thing. Choose a stall with a few things you want to purchase and then politely and happily come to a price you are both happy with. Do it all with a smile and a laugh. Don't waste their time and yours (or your boyfriend's – as he made me adequately aware).

I only managed three nights and four days in Phnom Penh this time but there is definitely more to see.

The local printed guides are great for up to date information on things to do, sights to see, especially restaurants and bars, which seem to sprout like mushrooms after each rainfall. The guides are available free and everywhere. I found it to be more useful than the Lonely Planet SE Asia on a Shoestring.

I hope you enjoy your trip to Phnom Penh as much as I did.