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 Phnom Penh, Cambodia travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
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| D Mills |
10 August 2005 |
Stayed at Pacific - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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The museum has a beautiful collection, particularly the stuff from the Ankor area. The palace is okay. The markets are horribly hot, smelly and crowded. The people were always friendly and helpful. The chef at the FCC does great food and it's a fantastic location to watch the world and the rivers go by.
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| G Proske |
10 August 2005 |
Stayed at Inter-Continental Phnom Penh - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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You always need taxis in Phnom Penh, so the location is not really a problem. Go to the Russian Market and see one of the most nicest tourist markets in Asia. Very cheap souvenirs.
Silver Pagoda, King's Palace an National Museum are average. Not to compare with temples in Bangkok. Two days are enough for sightseeing in Phnom Penh.
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| D Mills |
07 August 2005 |
Stayed at FCC Phnom Penh - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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The FCC is close to the fantastic museum and the Royal Palace so it's a good place to go for a meal or a drink while you're in the area. Don't miss it though, it's got lots of atmosphere and a great location if you just want to watch the world go by. The food is great - the daily menu a bargain.
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| J Robinson |
20 June 2005 |
Stayed at Pacific - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Phnom Penh is definitely worth a visit but after a couple of days I was ready to leave. There are a few places though definitely worth visiting. It's worth getting a tuk tuk driver to take you round for the day and a fantastic way to take in the sights etc. I would recommend Tuol Sleng Museum where Pol Pot held their prisoners where they were tortured before being transported to the Killing Fields. It's horrific to see all photos of the men, women and children who suffered there. Get a guide to walk you through but be prepared to be horrified at the events that took place. I left in floods of tears but was glad that I went to fully understand what happened. We then went on to the Killing Fields. It's a very interesting ride to the killing fields especially in a tuk tuk but again very horrific when you get there to see the mass graves and to hear exactly what happened there.
After a morning of sadness visiting the museum and killing fields we went for lunch at a place called "Friends" which is fantastic as all the people who work there are former street children who have been given a chance in life and given a future. The restaurant is superb, the food excellent and the staff are so friendly, proffesional and amazing. I would highly recommend everyone to visit this restaurant. The Royal Palace is also an amazing sight and well worth a visit. I would recommend having a guide here to walk you through. Also have a look round the silver pagoda. There are a couple of good markets to get souveniers etc from. Central Market and also the Russian market which is really good. Also you can get some good local food at the vendors there. The best way to get around is definitely a tuk tuk I wouldn't recommend a motorbike taxi as no one wears a helmet so for me it is just not a safe form of transport. Walking around in the day seems quite safe but be prepared to have children begging for money for food. It's very hard to resist giving the children money but we were advised by a local girl we met against it as the money is given to the adults who then sit on the street corners gambling on cards!!! Better to buy some food from the street vendors for the children. We were advised also to be careful walking round dim lit streets in the evenings as there have been a number of muggings on tourists but I think if you are sensible eveything is fine.
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| C Evans |
24 May 2005 |
Stayed at Cambodiana Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Booked taxi driver who took me from airport, to go to Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Prison -- dirt road to Killing Fields VERY potholed, so would recommend car. Haunting experience, to be in such places -- but essential for any visit to Cambodia. Read a book called 'Stay Alive My Son' to get the full picture of the horror of the Pol Pot years! After that, hired a tuk-tuk from outside Hotel Cambodiana to take me around for 2 days -- ask for a driver called Bhu, who is brilliant. In tuk-tuk you get the 'feel' of Phnom Penh in a way you don't in a car -- but be careful with possessions. I was warned all the time to hang on to my bag. Must-do's are Russian Market, Wat Phnom, cocktails in Elephant Bar of Le Royal, lunch at Friends restaurant and Le Rits (both helping disadvantaged Phnom Penhois), shopping at Centre for Disabled Persons (Norodom Boulevard, near Wat Phnom), lunch / sundowners at Foreign Correspondents' Club. Khmer Surin restaurant (street 57) offers great food for dinner in lovely old Khmer house with lots of atmosphere -- also surprisingly cheap! Take plenty of dollars, as money flies through your hands in Phnom Penh! I loved it there (you can still see lots of raw Indochina, rather than the sanitised version available in Asian cities such as Bangkok) and will certainly be going back.
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| B Arabian |
03 May 2005 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Visits to the Royal Palace and of the Silver Pagoda are of course indispensable. If you look for decor items and beautiful silk, Russian market is the place to go. Shopping at NGO-supported shops also helps these organizations in their much-needed actions; they are mentioned in every good guidebook.
One thing to mention for travellers going to Cambodia with young children is that it is still a very poor country deeply scarred by the civil wars and the genocide of millions. Disabled people are ubiquitous and this may be shocking for sensitive souls, although the kindness of Cambodian people highly smoothens this feeling.
Also, the contrast is very strong between the ambience of the streets and the one of the Raffles, something that one has to handle.
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| R Kircher |
19 April 2005 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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We spent two nights in Phnom Penh, arriving on the last day of the Cambodian New Year. The city seemed nearly deserted until we found that everyone was driving up and down the riverfront road, dousing each other with water, as is the new year's tradition. It was a madhouse! The next day was more normal, and we spent the day with a hired car and driver ($30 with our taxi driver from the airport instead of the $45-$65 the hotel quoted us to go through them) seeing the major sights of Phnom Penh.
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| C Bachmann |
17 April 2005 |
Stayed at Raffles Hotel Le Royal - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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We had 2 weeks to spend which seems quite fitting to take in most of the highlights: 3nights PNP, car to Battambang, next morning boat trip to Angkor, 3 full days Angkor, flight to PNP and car via Kampot (overnight) and Bokor to Sihanoukville. It was a good experience to see smaller towns like Battambang and Kampot, which do not feature too many interesting things but give you some impression of "normal life" besides all the bars and internationalised restaurants in the more touristy places. The roads to both towns are sealed and in good condition. Be aware that during the dry season boats from Battambang take more than 7 hours (we even had to go by pickup for the first 1,5h - extremly dusty experience).
Take a taxi from the pier to SiemReap since the road is very bad. Angkor: If you know vaguely which temples you want to see, it is easy enough to hire a tuctuc (usually through your hotel) for the day (USD 12) and the driver will tell you which things to do first etc. Even during the hottest season I wouldnīt recommend taking a taxi since a) the difference in temperature can be quite dangerous and b) the tuktuks offers more direct contact to the environment. (Donīt be afraid: practically all roads around Angkor are sealed). Try "Khmer Kitchen" next to Old market for delicous and diversified Khmer food and donīt miss the Apsara Theatre. In Kampot the new "Long House" has a nice outward appearance (havenīt seen the rooms)- unfortunately the food is quite westernized. Bokor hill station is nice for the trip through the jungle and the spooky feeling at the remains of the hotel but donīt expect more than a fine half-day excursion.
We spent the last days at Sokha Beach which offers all you can expect from a new resort (=lacks a bit of atmosphere) and has a magnificent private beach and a good seafood restaurant. All other beaches we saw (though principally of the same quality) were rather dirty (plastic etc). Donīt miss Claudeīs crow-nest for dinner - excellent wines and wonderful seafood. In PNP, SiemReap and Sihanoukville free copies of restaurant/hotel guides are available: very useful and reliable!!
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| C See |
25 February 2005 |
Stayed at Pacific - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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For travel between phnom penh and siem reap, take a rain check for the boat/river route. 'Express' means 7 hours. 'Cost' means $25. Compare this to road travel (air-conditioned coach): Time taken 4-5 hrs, Cost is a mere $6.
Road conditions really, aren't as bad as the lonely planet guidebook makes them out to be.
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| J Hopkins |
15 February 2005 |
Stayed at Cambodiana Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Phnom Penh is quite a zippy place. FCC for lunch and Khmer Surin for dinner were our favourite eating places. Killing Fields and, particularly, Tuol Sleng genocide museum are musts.
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