I visited Phnom Penh as a first destination of a 1.5 month trip through South East Asia back in 2009. I flew from Amsterdam to Helsinki to Bangkok to Phnom Penh. The city was a shock to my senses. This is back in the days when I hadn’t travelled a lot, but the city really won me over. In the below post I’ll give you a few pointers on how to fill your days when you’re planning a trip there. 

My friends and I took a tuk-tuk from the airport to our guesthouse. We were racing through the streets, zigzagging past cars and cyclists and pedestrian, all the while holding on to our backpacks to avoid them flying out the tuk-tuk. It was dark so that definitely did not help either .The first time was shocking, the second and third was already business as usual. That’s how fast I got used to traffic in Cambodia.

I think Cambodia has the prettiest flag in the world. The flag displays Angkor Wat in the centre. We would visit Angkor Wat (something that really excited me) as our next destination.

Cambodia also has a fun slogan for their national beer – only Dutchies will get this one. The night we arrived we would have our first Cambodian beer on the terrace of the hostel.

We actually chose the completely wrong location when it came to backpacking atmosphere. We were told by our hostel not to walk around the neighbourhood at night and the streets surrounding the hostel were abandoned. After two nights there we decided to shift hostels (Number 9 Guesthouse in Boeung Kak Lake) and this was actually the best choice we made because we met some amazing people. Some of which I’m still in contact with today. Not to mention the guy from Mongolia who offered us his Mongolian whiskey from a flask.

Please note, I have read websites including travel blogs, that a lot has changed since we visited this place in 2009. When we were there the lake was gorgeous. The hostel was full of people sticking around rather than moving on and people generally just hung around in hammocks watching TV taking in the atmosphere. Since then the lake has been completely demolished. Everything in the area has been demolished, even the fun bar we hung out in and the hostels. It’s sad that I’m writing this blog and trying to find pictures to get back memories and all I see is destroyed buildings and sand where there used to be a lake. 

This picture was taken in our little breakfast place in the Boeung Kak Lake area. We went for breakfast here twice and the kid and dog were always a spectacle. I hope all is well with them after the area has been destroyed.

When you visit Phnom Penh you will find that most of your travelling will be by tuk-tuk or moped. They have a lot of these in the city but I wouldn’t attempt to drive one here.

Some of the shops store and sell gas in old Pepsi bottles. Luckily the color is not very similar to the Pepsi color, otherwise you could run into issues…

Markets: Psar O Russei & Psar Thmei

In Phnom Penh we visited two malls. Psar O Russei was the first one. It’s a big marketplace under one roof. Every stall sells it’s own specific merchandise and they sell everything you could think you. You’ll actually notice that a lot in the city and surrounding area. Every house seems to have a shop that specializes in something: vegetables, water, gasoline, toiletries. If the house doesn’t have anything to sell it usually becomes a dentist. There are a lot of “dentists” in Cambodia.

I preferred the second mall we visited though: Psar Thmei (Central Market). The shops were slightly better and there were not too many people walking around with signs, saying “I do not want to beg, I want to work”. One of my friends bought a book from them. I have no issues with them walking around and trying to sell but it’s tiring trying to talk to the stall’s owner and at the same time trying to get these guys to stop approaching you. Psar Thmei didn’t have as many as Psar O Russei so the shopping experience itself was better.

We visited a third mall in Phnom Penh called the Russian Market, which was more of the same; I did buy some items there, but I could’ve bought them in any of the other malls as well. They sell most of the same merchandise everywhere.

National Museum of Cambodia

Our first historical sight would be the National Museum of Cambodia. This place actually evoked a lot of questions rather than teaching us things about the history  or art of the country. It has to be noted that I’m not an art lover, so I go to museums to see something noteworthy or to learn something. In the National Museum in Phnom Penh I left with more questions than answers. “What is an adorned Buddha?” “What kind of flowers do they put near the shrines?” etc…

Royal Palace

After visiting the museum we took a stroll by the waterside and looked at the Royal Palace Park and the Royal Palace. We did not visit the Royal Palace because it was closed on the day we had planned to go.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

When you visit Phnom Penh, you have to visit Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21). Tuol Sleng means Hill of the Poisonous Trees in Khmer and it was one of  at least 150 execution centers in Cambodia. At least 20,000 people were executed there. When you walk into the compound you will see that it looks exactly like a run-down school with a yard. This is what it used to be before it became a prison and execution center.

The yard is full of graves and the buildings are falling apart. Inside you can see the conditions the prisoners used to live in. But what hit me the most were the pictures of all the people held and executed there and the sadness in their eyes. The photos were taken when they entered the center so they must’ve known their fate. I’m emotional, but I don’t usually cry in museums. I did here though…

Choeung Ek: The Killing Fields

When the army ran out of burial space in the execution center they started bringing the bodies to Choeung Ek, also known as the Killing Fields (a former orchard and now mass grave of victims of Khmer Rouge). How troublesome is it that places so beautiful (school, orchard), became to be known for atrocities so cruel?

Inside the Choeung Ek you will find a memorial with thousands of skulls – some of them smashed and broken. Some areas contain signs that there are mass graves in the area. Apart from that the area looks exactly like a park. Very disconcerting…

Conclusion

All in all the three day stay in Phnom Penh was pleasant, but the last day was spent in a very contemplative and sad mood due to the visit to the Killing Fields. I couldn’t wait to move on to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat. I will describe my experiences of that city and sight in the next blog.