Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh: Cambodia’s Capital Between Recovery and Reinvention

Phnom Penh is a city that has had several lives and is currently living one of its better ones. The Khmer Rouge emptied it entirely in 1975, forcibly evacuating the entire population of roughly 2 million people into the countryside. When they were driven out by the Vietnamese in 1979, they left a city that had been occupied for four years as an administrative centre for a regime that killed between 1.5 and 2 million Cambodians. The evidence of this is still here, accessible, and documented with a directness that most visitors find confronting regardless of how much they knew beforehand.

The city that exists now is growing quickly, building towers on the riverfront, and supporting a food and creative scene that has drawn increasing numbers of independent travellers. Both versions of Phnom Penh are true simultaneously.

The Sites That Matter

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) is a former high school that the Khmer Rouge converted into the primary interrogation and detention centre. Approximately 17,000 people were imprisoned here between 1975 and 1979; fewer than 20 survived. The buildings have been preserved as they were in 1979, including cells, interrogation rooms, and documentation maintained by the regime itself. The Khmer Rouge photographed and documented everything, which means the museum holds thousands of photographs of prisoners taken on arrival. Allow two to three hours and accept that you will not feel good afterward. This is not optional if you are in Cambodia.

Choeung Ek, the primary killing field 15 kilometres south, has a memorial stupa containing thousands of human skulls recovered from mass graves. The graves are still visible as depressions in the ground. The audio guide is excellent. Combining Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek on the same day is possible; separate days if you need time to process is equally valid.

The Royal Palace complex on the riverfront includes the Silver Pagoda, where the floor is covered in 5,329 silver tiles and a 19th-century emerald Buddha and a gold Buddha set with 9,584 diamonds reside. The palace grounds close at 11am and reopen at 2pm. Entry is around USD 10 and modest dress is required.

The National Museum of Cambodia, in a terracotta-red building near the palace, holds the world’s finest collection of Khmer sculpture. The Avalokitesvara figures from Koh Ker (10th century) and the standing Vishnu from Phnom Da (7th century) are the objects worth looking for. The central courtyard with its pond is a better space to sit than most of the galleries.

Where to Eat

The Sisowath Quay riverfront restaurants charge tourist prices and are almost uniformly mediocre. Walk one street back and prices halve.

The Russian Market (Psar Toul Tom Poung), 2 kilometres south of the tourist area, has the best food stalls: fried noodles, fish amok, lok lak (stir-fried beef). Romdeng restaurant on Street 278, run as a training programme for disadvantaged youth, serves traditional Cambodian food including an excellent fish amok in a garden setting. For coffee and better Western food, the Street 240 area (the embassy quarter) has good cafes serving the expat and NGO community with better quality control than the riverfront.

Practical Notes

PassApp and tuk-tuks are standard transport; agree a price before departing. USD is used everywhere alongside Cambodian riel; carry USD 20 bills. The Phnom Penh International Airport is 10 kilometres west of the centre. Angkor Wat, the main reason many visitors come to Cambodia, is in Siem Reap, 6 hours northwest by bus or 45 minutes by flight.