Though I wish everyone had the time to visit the awesome city of Phnom Penh, aka my original hometown, I recognize that it's a wee bit out of the way (approximately 8761 miles) from the states. So instead, I’ll give you a brief virtual tour of the cool and awesome things to look forward to if you ever visit! Even better, some pictures will come directly from a Tuk Tuk, a really common mode of transportation here in Cambodia.
Independence Monument
This is a structure built in 1958 to represent Cambodia’s independence from France in 1953. It’s located in the center of the city, so its size and location make it impossible to miss.
Riverside
Nearby the monument, we have the riverside, home to one of the most western environments here in the city. On the riverside, there are several bars, cafe’s and restaurants to stay at and chill for hours on end. It’s a hotspot for westerners that want to escape the hustle and bustle that is the rest of Phnom Penh/Cambodia. Most bars even have a happy hour that allows for cheap fancy drinks and a nice view of the night!
The Royal Palace
This is the home of our current King, King Norodom Sihamoni. During the day, the main part of the palace opens its doors to tourists from all over the world and our own citizens to explore some of Cambodia’s historic and royal culture. Here, you can explore the Silver Pagoda filled with relics and jewels donated by important families from all over the world. There are also different types of traditional clothing worn at the palace on display in the glass cases and more Buddha statues than you can possibly count. On the exterior walls facing the royal family’s burial sites, there’s a painting that stretches several meters drawn by a variety of Cambodian artists. A large part of it was washed away from a flood, but luckily we’ve begun to restore it slowly due to external funding. It’s a place with gorgeous architecture and you can hear it all with just a $10 group tour price.
Tuol Sleng Museum
This museum serves as a place of remembrance during some of Cambodia’s hardest times. Tuol Sleng, better known as S-21 was a high school turned security prison for people by the Khmer Rouge regime. It is expected that approximately 17,000 people were held captive here. Many of the prisoners were tortured and killed through various execution methods. Although it’s one of the most shocking places to visit in the city, you do get a better idea of the kind of struggles the Khmer people faced during this period of time. And this time really shaped the Cambodian people to be who we are today.
Now here, I don’t really have a specific location. There are several markets around the city that you can travel to such as the Russian Market, Night Market, and the Central Market. These markets sell clothing, jewelry, souvenirs, and lots of food/snacks. At each market, there are several stalls all tightly packed together filled with different kinds of goods. I’d like to consider these places some of the most prime locations to get typical Cambodian street food. I might be a little biased, but Cambodian snacks and street food is amazing and cheap too, if you’re looking to be a little bit thrifty. Here, you can bargain for your goods and also get them at a cheaper price, compared to the items found at the malls. However, there’s a tradeoff… no air conditioning. Still, these markets have various items that are really uncommon in the states.
These are only just the tip of the iceberg of things to do here in Phnom Penh. I know I might sound a bit touristy when talking about this place, but there’s actually so much to see and so many sites to explore. Whenever you get the chance, grab some sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat and come down to see one of the coolest (not literally, unfortunately) cities in the Southeast!
