scubish.com: Travel information for Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Despite its reputation as a 'rough' city, Phnom Penh is easy to get around and is a great introduction to Cambodia.

Understand

For western visitors, even those who have visited other Asian cities, Phnom Penh can be a bit of a shock. It can be very hot and (in the dry season) dusty, its infrastructure is lacking, and it is a very poor city - much poorer than, for example, Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). In the past the visitor who could not adjust to rubbish filled streets and large numbers of beggars could give Phnom Penh a miss.

But things are changing. The infrastructure is improving rapidly - fewer power outages, streets are paved, rubbish is collected more frequently - and the city retains much of the beauty that made it a Paris of the east before 1970. Beautiful wide boulevards, fine colonial architecture and a parklike riverfront with cafés and restaurants aplenty help make Phnom Penh a worthwhile destination. Not necessarily for its standard tourist sights, which are few. But as a place to relax, watch the streetlife and absorb local color Phnom Penh rates very high among Asian cities. The beggars are still there, along with a great number of street kids and kids selling tourist paraphernalia, but this is most visible in heavily touristed areas. And generally the touts and kids are less aggressive and persistent than say their Indian or Vietnamese counterparts.

Those who find themselves struggling with Phnom Penh's current state should recall the terrible times the city has been through in recent decades. In 1975 it was choked with up to 2 million refugees from the war between the then U.S.-backed government and the Khmer Rouge, and after it fell to the Khmer Rouge, it was completely emptied of civilians and allowed to crumble for the next four years. Most of the already small class of skilled professionals were murdered or driven into exile. The city fell to the Vietnamese Army in 1979, but the new Cambodian government had no money to spend on urban improvement until the peace settlement of 1992.

As Cambodia's economy has recovered a new rich class has arisen in Phnom Penh, and a crop of new hotels and restaurants has opened to accommodate them and the tourist trade; as yet however there's very little in between the extremely rich and the extremely poor. But here too there are changes in the wind; take a trip to the green-domed Sorya mall and you're transported to the consumerist world to which the emerging middle and upper classes aspire.

The free Phnom Penh Visitors Guide by Canby Publications (available from hotels/guesthouses and some restaurants) contains lots of good info on Phnom Penh, including accommodation/bar/restaurant/shop details, travel & transport options, maps, etc.

Orientation

All of Phnom Penh's streets are numbered, although some major thoroughfares have names as well. The scheme is simple: odd-numbered streets run north-south, the numbers increasing as you head west from the river, and even numbers run west-east, increasing as you head south (with some exceptions, e.g. the west side of the Boeung Kak lake).
House numbers, however, are quite haphazard. Don't expect houses to be numbered sequentially in a street; you might even find two completely unrelated houses with the same number in the same street.

Get in

See Cambodia for more information on getting into the country.

By plane
Phnom Penh International Airport ( | ) - previously "Pochentong" - is the largest of Cambodia's two international airports (the other is at Siem Reap). There are daily flights from all major regional airports (Bangkok, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Taipei) as well as from Luang Prabang in Laos. Airlines include Bangkok Airways, Lao Aviation, Shanghai Airlines, Thai Airways, Silk Air, Dragon Air, among others. Malaysian low-cost carrier Air Asia has daily flights from Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The new terminal is a thoroughly pleasant and modern facility, and features a post office, bank (including ATMs), restaurants, duty-free shop, newsstand, tourist help desk, and business center.

Visas are available on arrival at the airport, and the process is easy if a little cumbersome: queue once to submit passport and visa application, once more to pay and pick it up, and only then proceed to immigration. Fees must be paid with US$ notes; one passport photo is required (or else a US$1 surcharge must be paid). Single entry 30 day tourist visas cost US$20 (can be extended once only, to 60 days total). Single entry 30 day business visas cost US$25 (can be extended indefinitely, and become valid for multiple entries after the first extension).

The airport is about 11km from the city centre (Sisowath Quay). Taxis from the public taxi stand at the airport cost a flat US$7. Pay the fare at the taxi desk inside the door exiting the terminal, at which point you will be allocated a driver. Alternatively, you will find plenty of drivers immediately outside the exit from the terminal building. For visitors on a budget without a lot of luggage, it's worth catching an official moto for US$2, or walking out to the main road to save even more.

By bus
There are bus services to Phnom Penh from Poipet (on the border with Thailand) and from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam ($8-10, 5-6 hours), as well as from points throughout Cambodia. Two of the largest bus companies, Sorya (formerly Ho Wah Genting) and GST, both arrive and depart from the rather chaotic "station" at the southwest corner of the Central Market. Capitol Tours runs buses throughout Cambodia and onward to Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, where they link up with Vietnam travel giant Sinh Cafe. Advance bookings are advisable, and can also be sorted out by most travel agents and guesthouses for a token fee.

Many travellers arriving from Thailand break their journey with a detour to Siem Reap, site of the ruins of Angkor. Most buses depart from/to Siem Reap in the early morning, a few more follow around noon; the journey takes about 5 hours. There are also frequent services to Sihanoukville. Basic air-con bus fares start around US$3-4; double-deckers with comfy seats, toilets, drink, food and bus-hostess charge up to US$10.

By boat

Ferries connect Phnom Penh to Siem Reap; tickets for foreigners typically cost US$20-30. Many (but not all) of these ferries offer the option of sitting on the roof, which makes for a much more scenic - although much less comfortable - ride than the bus ; take sunblock, a hat, and enough water to last you for several hours in case the boat gets stuck (12 hour boat rides are not unheard of).

Fast boats leave every morning around 8am from Chau Doc in Vietnam's Mekong Delta and take 5 hours to reach Phnom Penh. The boats make the return journey the same day and leave Phnom Penh around 1 PM arriving in Chau Doc in the early evening.

By train

There is a very slow, once-weekly train service between Phnom Penh and Battambang via Pursat. The journey is scheduled to take 14 hours but may be much longer, even though the distance by rail is only 275 km. It costs US$5 one-way for foreigners.

Phnom Penh to Battambang : Saturdays, departs 06:20, arrives 20:00

Battambang to Phnom Penh : Sundays, departs 06:40, arrives 19:00

Get around

Phnom Penh's main streets are in good shape; however other streets and footpaths are often rutted and pot-holed, clogged with garbage, stagnant water, parked motos, sleeping people, livestock and building materials. Many smaller streets either lack signage or bear misleading signs, however, Phnom Penh is logically laid out (see orientation) and navigating the city is not difficult if you know where you're going.

Motorbikes (but not self-drive cars) are available for rent, however traffic is chaotic and public transport may be safer for casual visitors.

Motorbike-taxis (motodops/motodups in local parlance) are ubiquitous and will take you anywhere for a small fare. A trip from Sisowath Quay to Central Market costs about 2,000 riel (50 US cents). Fares are higher at night and with more than one passenger.

Taxis are available at a few locations - most notably outside the Foreign Correspondents Club on Sisowath Quay. Taxis do not have meters, and fares must be agreed in advance. Fares vary, due to fluctuating fuel prices; ask hotel/guesthouse staff for assistance (hotels and guesthouses will organise taxis on request).

Tuk-tuks Cambodian-style consist of a motorcycle with a cabin for the passengers hitched to the back. They are cheaper than taxis and offer a scenic experience of the city. Their clientele is exclusively tourists, and most drivers speak some English.

Cyclos are three-wheeled cycle-rickshaws. Considerably slower then a motodop, and gradually becoming less common in the city, they are still popular with locals and foreigners alike. The nature of the seat lends itself to a quick and easy way to transport all manner of goods from one place to another, even other cyclos and the occasional motorbike as well.

Walking can be a challenge, as cars and motos do not stop for pedestrians. To cross safely, judge gaps in the traffic and proceed with care - give oncoming vehicles ample time to see and avoid you, or try to cross with the brightly coloured and revered monks. There is almost no street lighting off the major boulevards, and walking at night is not recommended.

See

Sisowath Quay is an attractive boulevard running along the banks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap, and is fronted by a pleasant park. The built-up side of the street is home to cafés and shops and the better class of bar, and is extremely popular with tourists and expat Westerners. The esplanade along the river is equally popular with Cambodians, who come here in the cool of the evening to enjoy the quasi-carnival atmosphere. It begins at the Royal Palace (or rather, at the river-front park opposite the Palace), and is perhaps best experienced in the early evening. See A Stroll on Sisowath Quay for a self-guided tour.

The Royal Palace and the two magnificent pagodas in the Palace Grounds, the Silver Pagoda and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, are among the few public buildings in Phnom Penh really worth seeing. They were built in the 19th century with French technology and Cambodian designs, and have survived the traumas of the 20th century amazingly intact. See them early before it gets too hot. They are in any case closed 11:00-14:00, when all sensible Cambodians take a nap. Entrance fee is $3 for both, plus $2 for a camera or $5 for a video camera. No photography is allowed inside the Silver Pagoda and some of the Palace buildings. You're expected to dress decently (no bare legs or shoulders), but you can rent sarongs and oversized T-shirts for a token 1000 riel (plus $1 deposit) at the entrance.

The National Museum (opposite the Royal Palace; admission $3). Contains an excellent collection of art from Cambodia's "golden age" of Angkor, and a lovely courtyard at the center. The pleasant little park in front of the Museum is the site of the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony, at which the success or otherwise of the coming harvest is determined. You may have heard stories of sightseers carrying umbrellas inside to avoid showers of bat droppings, but alas (?), the bats moved out after the renovation of 2002.

Wat Phnom (admission $1) is on a hill at the center of a small park near Sisowath Quay, on St. 94. The temple itself is notable more for its historic importance than what you'll see there today, but the park is a pleasant green space and a popular gathering place for locals. A few monkeys keep quarters there as well and will help themselves to any drinks you've left unattended.

Independence and Liberation memorials - impressive Buddhist-style Independence Memorial, commemorating the departure of the French in 1953, dominates the centre of the city. Nearby is the very ugly Stalin-style Liberation Memorial, marking the Vietnamese capture of the city in 1979. Although the Cambodians were glad to see the back of the Khmer Rouge, they don't like the Vietnamese much either, and have demonstrated this by neglecting the memorial for 20 years. It seems to be used mainly as a convenient urinal.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) (Street 113, Boeng Keng Kang 3, Chamkar Morn, Phnom Penh; tel. 855-23-300-698, fax 855-23-210-358) was a school converted into Cambodia's most important prison in 1975. More than 14,000 people were tortured here before being killed at the Killing Fields south of Phnom Penh; only 8 prisoners made it out alive. The museum is easily accessible and a must-see for everyone interested in Cambodia's horrific recent past. The infamous "skull map" has been dismantled, although there are still skulls stacked in cabinets, implements of torture and disturbing photographs. For a introduction and further reading, try David Chandler's "Voices from S-21" (ISBN 0520222474).

* The Documentation Center of Cambodia (66 Preah Sihanouk Blvd. P.O. Box 1110 Phnom Penh; tel. 855-23-211-875, fax 855-23-210-358) manages the museum as part of its mission to record the history of the Khmer Rouge and gather evidence, should any Khmer Rouge leaders ever be brought to trial.

The Killing Fields at Cheoung Ek, about 17km south of Phnom Penh, is where the Khmer Rouge killed many thousands of their victims during their four-year reign of terror. Today the site is marked by a Buddhist stupa packed full of human skulls - the sides are made of glass so the visitors can see them up close. There are also pits in the area where mass graves were unearthed. It is a serene yet somber place.

Stung Meanchey Garbage Dump, . Where hundreds of the poorest of the poor, including many small children, swarm over the refuse hoping to find anything of value. A certain type of tourist visits this place - if it's you, make sure you stop by the NGO "Pour sourire un enfant" , which helps the children of this place, and make a donation.

Itineraries

A Stroll on Sisowath Quay - a half-day tour connecting together sightseeing, eating and shopping

Thunder Ranch is a shooting range near Cheoung Ek. Moto drivers, apparently oblivious to the reaction most visitors have, will try to include this in a trip to the killing fields. Rumors abound that cows and other farm animals used to serve as targets, but this is probably no longer the case. Prices range from USD30 for an AK-47 to USD200 for a rocket launcher.

Buy

As elsewhere in Cambodia, transactions are made in US dollars and in Cambodian riel, and only upmarket places will accept plastic. Take lots of low denomination US notes - notes above USD20 can be difficult to change. In place of coins you will get back riel, at a set exchange rate of 4000 to the dollar. There are a number of international ATM machines dispensing US currency around the city, including the Sisowath Quay tourist strip and in Sorya Market.

Popular tourist buys include Cambodian silk, local silverware, traditional handicrafts and curios (including Buddha figures), and made-to-order clothes.

Central Market (in Cambodian called Psar Thmei - "New Market") is a 1930s Art Deco covered market near the Riverfront (Sisowath Quay) district. The market is well set out, and sells everything from flowers to video games. Sorya market, currently Phnom Penh's main Western-style mall, is nearby - less colourful that the traditional markets, but it is air-con and contains a range of cheap fast-food outlets as well as a well-stocked supermarket.

Russian Market (Cambodian "Psar Toul Tom Poung" - it gained the "Russian Market" moniker following the Vietnamese occupation of the city in the 1980s, but many motodops are not familiar with the name) offers the opportunity to buy fake designer clothing, fake swiss watches and pirated software at low prices. It also has the best ice coffee in the city. Russian Market is located away from normal tourist areas, but motodop drivers who cater to tourists will know it.

Street 178, just north of the National Museum, is known as Artist Street and has many interesting boutiques.

Colours of Cambodia, 373 Sisowath Quay. Handicrafts from around the country.

Kravan House, #13 St. 178. Has a wide range of Cambodian silk products, including a wide range of ladies' handbags at a fraction of the price you would pay in a hotel gift shop.

Stef's Happy Painting, Sisowath Quay (near St. 178, directly under FCC), . Features brightly-colored fun and funky paintings of Cambodian life - a welcome relief after visiting some of Cambodia's more heart-breaking attractions.

Antiques dealers in Phnom Penh are an unscrupulous lot and may sell goods that theoretically should not be exported from Cambodia. See Heritage Watch for listings of bad apples.

Hidden Treasures, #9 Street 148, has antiques, art and curios from Cambodia's past and nearby South-East Asian cultures.

Eat

Phnom Penh offers some interesting culinary treats you won't find elsewhere in the country. Many of these include French-influenced dining as well as Thai, Vietnamese, and modern takes on traditional Cambodian dishes. The standard pizza-banana pancake-fried rice backpacker fare is also always easy to find.

The best area to wander is along the riverfront where everything from stand-up stalls to fine French bistros can be found. Take great care eating from stalls, however. Peeled fruit and vegetables and anything uncooked should be regarded with suspicion.

Budget

Take the cross river ferry to sit on mats and eat cheap hawker food while watching the sunset over the city.

Jungle Bar and Grill , 273B Sisowath Quay, next to Riverside Bistro, has a varied international menu at very reasonable prices and a great happy hour. Free Internet and a great music selection.

La Croisette, corner of Sisowath Quay and Street 144, is a French sidewalk café that's open all day.

Setsara Thai Restaurant, #3D Street 278, is a very nice little Thai restaurant with a really good Thai chef, good music, reasonable prices and good service though a bit slow sometimes. They have some good French specialties as well.

Mid-range

Bali Café, 379 Sisowath Quay, has pretty good Indonesian food. Try the Tahu Telur (Fried Tofu with Eggs). Be careful ordering water or you'll get the small plastic bottle of Evian - at USD3!

Equinox on Street 278 (near Street 51) has now opened a pretty good restaurant. Pizzas, baguettes, burgers, pastas and some more western specialities on the menu. Great indoor outdoor ambiance. Meat and salads come from a local organization who encourage and teach farmers in organic growing methods.

Friends Restaurant, #215 Street 13 (50m north of the National Museum) is run by and for a non-profit that rehabilitates Cambodia's street children, and does delicious international tapas and main dishes.

Frizz restaurant, #335, Sisowath Quay has traditional Cambodian cuisine, and also operates the Cambodia Cooking Class .

Garden Center Café, #23 Street 57 is a garden setting café/restaurant that's popular with local ex-pats.

Khmer Surin, #11 Street 57 (south of Sihanouk Boulevard) is a rather romantic restaurant that serves delicious Khmer and Thai food. The traditional Khmer seafood dish, amok, stands out.

Lazy Gecko, #23B Street 93, Boeung Kak Lake, does a REALLY good hamburger, and a percentage of their profits go to Janine's Childrens Orphanage.

Le Duo, Street 322 (between Monivong and Street 63) has excellent Italian food. Sicilian-born Luigi makes great pastas and pizzas.

Metro Café, on the corner of Sisowath Quay and Street 148 (opposite Riverside Bistro), is a stylish fusion of Asian and Western culture. Air-con. Good selection of small tapas-style dishes from USD1 and a great steak (about USD12).

Paris Bubble Tea, 285-287 Preah Monivong (not far from the New York Hotel) tel 023 990 373; is pleasant and has fun and refreshing :WikiPedia:Boba_milk_tea|Bubble Tea. Try the classic Pearl Milk Tea.

Riverside Bistro, #273a Sisowath Quay occupies an old colonial style building and features comfortable outdoor dining with brilliant views of the Tonle Sap. Popular with local expats, tourists and local affluent Khmers. Try Khmer's "root of lotus".

Splurge

102, 1A, St. 102 (one block south of Le Royal), tel. 023-990-880. Probably Phnom Penh's top French restaurant, set in a modern, European-style surroundings. The food is quite competent and the onion soup is superb. Almost entirely undiscovered by tourists but popular with Phnom Penh's moneyed elite, so reservations recommended. $30.

FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club), 363 Sisowath Quay. Modern colonial-style charm, superb views of the river and is a favourite expat hang-out that does particularly good desserts. Their signature cocktails, Tonle Sap Breezer and Burmese Rum Sour ($4.50 each), are also worth a quaff.

Le Bistrot, #4D, Street 29 - French and Italian in an old villa.

Xiang Palace (Hotel Intercontinental) Chinese - expensive fine dining, dim sum.

Drink

Places to hang out after dark include Street 104, Street 278, and Street 108 around the Street 51 corner, which all feature restaurant bars, hostess bars, and guesthouses.

Barbados, south of Street 104 near the river, is a hostess bar. Buy 5 beers and get 1 free.

DV8 Bar & Guesthouse on Street 148 (near the riverfront) is a popular hostess bar with a good selection of spirits and a pool table on the 2nd floor - great if you're a single guy. Good accommodation on the premises.

Elephant Bar, Raffles Le Royal. The classy bar at the classiest hotel in town, with frescos on the ceiling and live piano in the evenings. Try the Femme Fatale, a mix of cognac and champagne dreamed up for Jacqui Kennedy in 1967. Expensive.

Elsewhere on Street 51 is an ex-pat hang-out with platform seating surrounding a small pool, in a French colonial villa. Big party first Friday of every month, when the place is packed.

Equinox on Street 278 (near Street 51) is a cocktail bar featuring paintings by local artist Soumey and photo exhibits by Isabelle Lesser, gaming room with a pool table and the unique bonzini foosball table of Phnom Penh, cool tunes, good food. Increasingly popular with expats.

Golden Vine on street 108 next to VooDoo Lounge. Hostess bar with pole dancing and good food. Sunday roast recommended.

Heart of Darkness has long been the most infamous nightclub in Phnom Penh, closed in August 2005 after a patron was shot to death but is now back in business. Some seating is reserved for well-heeled (gangster elite) Phnom Penh local youth, so move if you are asked. While certainly not the safest place in the world, more nights go by without incident than not. A number of expats avoid it now, however. Saturday nights are always packed.

Martini Pub & Disco on Street 95 (one block off Monivong Blvd, across from the Total Gas Station) is an infamous girlie bar. Two full bars, food USD2-6, burgers & fries, pizza, Asian dishes, gaming room, disco, outdoor big-screen showing movies or sports. There some copycat Martini bars in other places like Sihanoukeville and Siem Reap, but this is the original. A place for single men and loose ladies.

Monsoon Wine Bar on Street 104 is an intimate, cosy wine bar. Try a glass of wine from the well-chosen international wine list or nibble on something from the small but excellent Pakistani menu. Chilled vibe, cool tunes, friendly service.

OneZeroFour Bar on Street 104 is a popular low-key hostess bar, one of the few bars in Phnom Penh with a foosball table.

Pit Stop on Street 51 is a popular hostess bar.

Rubies on Street 240 is a wine bar favoured by young ex-pats working for local NGOs. Busy with a cliquey atmosphere on a weekend night.

Sharky's Bar & Restaurant, #126 Street 130, Phnom Penh Since its opening in 1995, Sharky's has been rocking & rolling. Located upstairs on the first floor above street level, Sharky's boasts a large space, huge center bar, outside balcony, and plenty of available seating. Most moto taxis will understand "Shockeee Bah". It's about three 1/2 blocks from the "Psar Thmei" (new market).

Sugar Shack on Sothearos (the street in front of the National Museum and Palace) is a classy little hostess bar featuring a nice wine selection.

VooDoo Lounge on Street 51 near street 108 is a new bar with a great range of drinks, nice decor, air-con, happy hostesses, and a pool table. Two other hostess bars nearby.

Walkabout on Street 51 has food and good pool tables. Many freelance girls congregate here. Popular after hours bar, also has rooms available. Open 24 hours.

Zanzibar on Street 104 is high energy hostess bar with reasonable prices and a pool table upstairs, that's very popular among expats.

Zapata Bar on Street 108 next to VooDoo Lounge is a stylish air-con hostess bar with a good range of drinks, and no pool table or food to distract you from the lovely ladies.

Sleep

Phnom Penh has a wide variety of accommodation, ranging from budget guesthouses (about USD5-20) through good quality mid-range hotels (USD20-50) to extravagant palaces (with extravagant prices to match).

Budget
Low-cost backpacker accommodation is becoming more abundant by the week. Most is clustered either near the riverfront or at Boeung Kak Lake.

DV8 Guesthouse & Bar, #7 Street 148; tel. 012 620 441 / 012 776 885 is the legendary small boutique guesthouse located just off the riverfront; ground floor bar, second floor pool table. Rooms USD5-25.

King Guesthouse, 141th Street, off Sihanouk Avenue; tel. 012 220 512; has ample rooms available to suit your budget. Provides own daily bus service to and from Ho Chi Minh City.

Number Nine Guesthouse, #9 Street 93 Boeung Kak Lake; tel. 012 766 225 / 012 935 813 - well known and popular. Excellent sunsets by the lake. Rooms USD2-4

Number Nine Sister Guesthouse, tel. 012 424 240 - just around the corner from, but not as nice as, the original.

Rory's Guesthouse, #33 Street 178 (facing the Royal Palace and National Museum and 100 meters from the riverfront) tel. 012 425 702 - rooms USD10-30.

Simon's Guesthouse, #11 Street 93 Boeung Kak Lake, tel. 012 884 650. Tricky to find but the layout of the rooms (with bathrooms or shared) allows for a nice, cool breeze. Rooms USD2-3.

Top Banana Guesthouse, #2 Street 278 - A very laid back guesthouse with a cozy atmosphere and a wanderlust feel. Rooms for as low as five dollars a night, and suprisingly good food.

Capitol 3 Guesthouse, #207Eo, Street 107, Sangkat Beng Prolit, 7 Makara, Phnom Penh; tel. 023 211 027. Next to the Capitol Tours office and a terrific value at $4 per night. Warm, friendly staff and quick laundry service. Five floors of squeaky-clean rooms that are out of the direct sunlight and never seem to get too hot - no elevators, though.

Mid-range

California 2 Guesthouse, 317 Sisowath Quay (on the riverfront, close to Wat Ounalom) has nice clean rooms with bathroom, air-con, 'fridge, TV. Laundry service. USD15-25 including breakfast.

Golden Gate Hotel, #9 Street 278, Sangkat Beng Keng Kang 1, Khan Chamkarmorn (near the Independence Monument) tel. +855 23 427618, is a reliable place to stay with a range of hotel rooms, from USD15 for a single in the older block to USD40 or more for a suite in the new block. Clean, safe and comfortable. Great place for long-term stays, with discounted rates. Restaurants, shops and Internet cafés within walking distance.

Paragon Hotel, 219B Sisowath Quay. Riverfront, near lots of good cafés. Rooms have bathroom, a/c, tv, fridge. No breakfast, but close to restaurants that serve breakfast. USD15-30.

Splurge

There are a surprising number of 4 and 5 star hotels in Phnom Penh.

Intercontinental Hotel, Mao Tse Tung Blvd. A favourite among visiting dignitaries, but rather out of the way in the southwest corner of the city.

Phnom Penh Hotel, Monivong Blvd (just south of the French Embassy). Newly renovated with very nicely appointed rooms and suites.

Raffles Le Royal, 92 Rukhak Vithei Daun Penh (off Monivong Blvd), tel. +855 23 981 888, fax. +855 23 981 168, . Phnom Penh's grand old hotel, originally built in 1929 by the French, used as a dry fish store by the Khmer Rouge but given a loving redecoration by the Raffles group in 1999. Walking distance to Wat Phnom and the river, excellent service, wonderful attention to detail and the "Landmark" rooms in the old wing still use bathtubs and even light switches from 1929 (plus broadband internet and walk-in showers). $150/300 low/high season.

Contact

Telephone

Internet

There is no shortage of Internet cafés in Phnom Penh. Most are in the 1,500 riel/hour bracket (a little under 50 US cents), but provide slow service, suffer occasional power outages and do not run firewalls or anti-virus programs.

Sunny Internet, 178 Street (opp Foreign Correspondents Club), also Sisowath Quay (next to the Riverstreet restaurant). Provides a faster service at USD1/hour and is popular with tourists and expats.

Wireless and wired connections for laptops are available at a number of outlets - most five-star hotels (which provide high-speed broadband access, but at a premium), and a number of cafés along Sisowath Quay including the Foreign Correspondents Club, Fresco Café (under the FCC), K-West Café (at the Amanjaya Hotel), the Jungle Bar and Grill, and Phnom Penh Café (near Paragon Hotel).

Post

Stay safe

Phnom Penh has a partly deserved bad reputation. In the old days Phnom Penh was a rather dangerous place. Things have changed a lot but there are still more bad guys with guns than you might find in some other Asian cities. Official figures (almost certainly underestimates) report an average of 50 incidents per month (Cambodians and foreigners), leading to 5 deaths and 10 serious injuries. Most commonly Cambodians are victimised for their cell phones or motorbikes. Violent interactions with tourists are rare. Still, avoid walking at night, try to find a dependable moto driver and don't carry more than necessary. Bag-snatching by thieves on bikes is common so if you must carry a bag, try to keep it on the side facing away from the street. This is a particular problem outside popular ex-pat hang-outs (e.g. Elsewhere) on a weekend night. Some moto-dop drivers may be in league with the thieves. Moto drivers who work the riverside are generally quite reliable. In terms of personal safety the greatest danger in Phnom Penh is not getting robbed by hoods at gunpoint, but rather getting whacked by a motorbike in the chaotic traffic. Exercise common sense in your travels around the city and you should be alright.

Get out

Sihanoukville, Battambang, Siem Reap and Angkor are within a few hours' reach; see above. Some companies also offer services to Kampot and Bokor National Park.

Several tour companies offer day-trips to Tonle Bati, which includes Ta Prohm, an Angkor-era temple not to be mistaken for the Angkor-area temple of the same name.

Phnom Penh (ភ្ន៓ពេញ; official Romanization: Phnum Pénh; IPA: pʰnum peːɲ) is the largest, most populous and capital city of Cambodia. It is also the capital of the Phnom Penh municipality.

Once known as the "Pearl of Asia" in the 1920s, Phnom Penh, along with Siem Reap, is a significant global and domestic tourist destination for Cambodia. Phnom Penh is known for its traditional Khmer and French influenced architecture.

Phnom Penh is the wealthiest and most populous city in Cambodia. It is also the commercial, political and cultural hub of Cambodia and is home to more than two million of Cambodia's population of almost 15 million.

Geography and climate

[[Image:Phnom_penh_palace.jpg|thumb|280px|right|A Buddhist monk walking

Phnom Penh is located in the south-central region of Cambodia, at the confluence of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong rivers. The city is located at (11°33' North, 104°55' East, ).

The climate is hot year-round with only minor variations. There are three basic seasons: the cool season from roughly November to January, the hot season from roughly February through May and the rainy season from roughly June through October.

Etymology

The city takes its name from the Wat Phnom Daun Penh (known now as just the Wat Phnom or Hill Temple), built in 1373 to house five statues of Buddha on a man made hill 27 meters high. It was named after Daun Penh (Grandma Penh), a wealthy widow.

Phnom Penh was also previously known as Krong Chaktomuk meaning "City of Four Faces". This name refers to the junction where the Mekong, Bassac, and Tonle Sap rivers cross to form an "X" where the capital is situated. Krong Chaktomuk is an abbreviation of its ceremonial name given by King Ponhea Yat which was "Krong Chaktomuk Mongkol Sakal Kampuchea Thipadei Sereythor Inthabot Borei Roth Reach Seima Maha Nokor".

History

Phnom Penh first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire moved the capital from Angkor Thom after it was captured by Siam a few years earlier. There are stupa behind Wat Phnom that house the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist statues from the Angkorean era. There is a legend that tells how Phnom Penh was created.

It was not until 1866 under the reign of King Norodom I that Phnom Penh became the permanent seat of government, and the Royal Palace (pictured) was built. This marked the beginning of the transformation of what was essentially a village into a great city with the French Colonialists expanding the canal system to control the wetlands, constructing roads and building a port.

By the 1920s Phnom Penh was known as the Pearl of Asia and over the next four decades continued to experience growth with the building of a railway to Sihanoukville and the Pochentong International Airport.

During the Vietnam War, Cambodia was used as a base by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong, and thousands of refugees from across the country flooded the city to escape the fighting between their own government troops, the NVA/NLF, the South Vietnamese and its allies and the Khmer Rouge. By 1975 the population was 2,000,000, the bulk of them refugees from the fighting. The city fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 17. Many of its residents, those who were wealthy and educated, were forced to do labor on rural farms as "new people". Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot's forces and was turned into the S-21 prison camp, where Cambodians were detained and tortured. Pol Pot desired a return to an agrarian economy and therefore killed anyone who was educated, who wore glasses, or who did not have calloused hands to cleanse the population of the taint of westernization. Many others starved to death as a result of failure of the agrarian society and the sale of Cambodia's rice to China in exchange for bullets and weaponry. Tuol Svay Prey High School is now the Tuol Sleng Museum in which Khmer Rouge torture devices and photos of their victims are displayed. Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields), 15 kilometers away, where the Khmer Rouge marched prisoners from Tuol Sleng to be murdered and buried in shallow pits, is also now a memorial to those who were killed by the regime.

The Khmer Rouge were driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese in 1979 and people began to return to the city. Vietnam is historically a state with which Cambodia has had many conflicts, therefore this liberation was and is viewed with mixed emotions by the Cambodians. A period of reconstruction began, spurred by continuing stability of government, attracting new foreign investment and aid by countries including France, Australia, and Japan. Loans were made from the Asia Development Bank and the World Bank to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure. The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh's population at 862,000; by 2001 it was estimated at slightly over 1 million.

Tourism

Situated at the confluence of the Mekong, Bassac and Tonlé Sap Rivers, Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, has a population of approximately two million people. Despite some dilapidation resulting from decades of war, the city retains its traditional Khmer and colonial charm. French villas along tree-lined boulevards remind the visitor that the city was once considered the gem of Southeast Asia. Double-digit economic growth rates in recent years have triggered an economic boom, with new hotels, restaurants, bars, and residential buildings springing up around the city. Phnom Penh's wealth of historical and cultural sites makes it a very popular tourist destination.

The main tourist attractions in Phnom Penh include the Royal Palace, Phsar Thom Thmei, the Silver Pagoda, the National Museum, Independence Monument (Khmer: Vimean Akareach), the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, and Wat Phnom. On the outskirt of the city is the Choeung Ek Genocide Center.

Transport

Phnom Penh International Airport (Phnom Penh) is the largest and busiest airport in Cambodia. It is located 7 km (4.3 miles) west of central Phnom Penh. Taxis, pick-ups and minibuses leave Phnom Penh for destinations all over the country, but are fast losing ground to cheaper and more comfortable buses. Phnom Penh also has rail service.

Although the city is 290 km (180 miles) from the sea, it is a major port on the Mekong River valley, and it is linked to the South China Sea via a channel of the Mekong delta in Vietnam.

Administration

Administratively, Phnom Penh is a municipality, although, its status is equal to provinces of Cambodia. It is subdivided into 7 districts as follows:

Chamkarmon

Daun Penh

Prampir Makara

Toul Kork

Dangkor

Meanchey

Russey Keo

These are further subdivided into 76 Sangkats, and 637 Kroms.

Sister cities

Long Beach, California, USA

Providence, Rhode Island, USA

See also