You’ve done
Bali, visited Bangkok and Phuket, seen Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. What’s next
on your Asian agenda? Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is exotic, offers something for everyone – and
can be enjoyed on a tight budget.
Once known as the “Pearl of Asia”, it
was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina. Founded
in 1434, the city is notable for its historical architecture - and its grand
boulevards are dotted with French colonial buildings.
Built where the Tonle Sap and Mekong
rivers converge, Phnom Penh is home to around 2.2 million people trying to put
the recent horrors of the Pol Pot regime behind them.
Determinedly Asian, with a definite
French accent, Phnom Penh has long been popular with backpackers, but is now
appealing to more well-heeled travellers who also visit Angkor Wat and Siem Riep.
New shopping malls and five-star hotels
are being built in a frenzy of construction but walk just a few blocks from
downtown and you can step back half a century to pot-holed lanes and outmoded
goods. Visit the Central Market teeming with stalls
selling gold and silver jewellery, antique coins, clothing, clocks, flowers,
food, fabrics and shoes.
Some patience is required. Tourists are
offered no respite from crazy drivers and motorcyclists, street beggars and
touts – but while Phnom Penh may be rough and ready around the edges, it does
offer an authentic experience.
Tuk tuks and cyclos are the preferred forms of
transport – any tourist renting a car in Phnom Penh needs their head read. A
good local guide can be a worthwhile investment for travellers of a more
nervous disposition.
Lovers of history are well catered for – and thankfully there is a lot more to Khmer history
than the recent Khmer Rouge atrocities. The National Museum is the best place to learn about the culture of the
local people. A red sandstone building of colonial Khmer design, it is home to
a collection of sculptures, ceramics, textiles, glass, pottery and bronzes
dating back as far as the 12th century.
A visit to
the Killing Fields is nonetheless de
rigueur. Choeung Ek, a 35-minute drive out of Phnom Penh, is the hamlet where
Pol Pot’s murderous Khmer Rouge slaughtered thousands of Cambodians and buried
them in mass shallow graves during 1975-79. Many of them were bludgeoned to
death. It is estimated up to 20,000 people died here. Skulls of many of the
victims are stored in a macabre memorial tower (below).
Equally chilling
is Toul Sleng, on the fringes of
downtown Phnom Penh, a former high school that became known as S21, a centre of
torture and interrogation of political prisoners during Pol Pot’s four-year
reign. It is now a genocide museum showing in graphic detail the beatings and
humiliations dealt to over 17,000 who passed through the doors. Some history
books say that only seven people survived, and one of them, Chum Mey, can be
found in the grounds selling a book written about his horrific experiences.
Far more
pleasant excursions include the Royal
Palace, which dates back to the late 1860s and is noteworthy for its
classic Khmer architecture, elaborate gilding, soaring spires and golden temple
nagas (carvings of mythical reptilian creatures). The palace is an oasis of
peace in the centre of a frenetic city and its lush French-style gardens house
life-size sculptures of Khmer warriors and Buddhas. Also check
out Wat Phnom (Temple Hill), the
capital’s tallest temple and a gathering place during the annual festival of
the dead. The temple was built in 1373.
Phnom Penh
is full of bustling street markets where bargaining is essential. Among the
major ones are Psar Thme (Central
Market), Psar Tuol Tom Pong (Russian
Market) and Psar Chas (Old Market).
Also don’t miss
joining the locals on the Sisowath Quay
Riverwalk, which runs alongside the west bank of the Tonle Sap. Lined with
palm trees, the stretch from 104 Street to 178 Street is popular at dawn and
dusk with locals who practice tai chi and a variety of martial arts. The lively
strip is full of street vendors, hotels,
restaurants, bars, cafes, pharmacies selling anything you want without a
prescription, massage joints, beauty spas and internet cafes.
The local
cuisine is less spicy than Thai with local kampot pepper used more than
chillies, which tend to appear as a side dish. Rice noodle soups, stir-fries
and curries are common and you’ll occasionally find frog’s legs, reminiscent of
French colonial days. Sit at local roadside cafes and pay just a couple of
dollars or splurge at the Foreign
Correspondents Club (FCC) a
bar and restaurant complex over several levels that is hugely popular with
local expats. Head for the second-floor terrace of this renovated colonial
building and enjoy colonial ambience and western-style food. For a taste of
home try the Aussie XL Cafe and Bar.
Many people
in Cambodia are desperately poor, so holidaymakers can do some good during
their visit. Pour un Sourire d’Enfant (For the smile of Child) is a French
charity working with poor and at-risk kids and helps more than 6000 children with food,
education, healthcare and vocational training. Visitors are welcome to visit
and see what the charity is achieving. An on-site shop at their Stung Meanchey
campus sells scarves, clothing and art works created by the children and their
parents and PSE today employs over 450 Cambodian adults as teachers, trainers,
social workers and nurses. www.pse.asso.fr
Friends is a charity-run eatery that trains
Phnom Penh street kids in restaurant skills (kitchen, front of house, waiting
etc) so they can get jobs in the hospitality industry. The service is charming
and your dollars go a long way to improving someone’s life. Profits from the
restaurant help 800 kids each day. www.friends-restaurant.org
Budget airline AirAsia flies daily from Sydney to Kuala
Lumpur with links to Phnom Penh and also has flights from Bangkok. In-flight
entertainment tablets are available for hire and seats can be selected when
booking. www.airasia.com.
Phnom Penh can also be reached via Mekong River cruises from Vietnam. A speed
boat from Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta takes around four hours.
Footsteps in Asia is an Australian-owned and operated boutique
tour company that specialises in tailor-made holidays in South-East Asia,
ranging from backpacking and home stays to five-star resorts. It offers a range
of destinations in Cambodia and several regional tours that include Phnom Penh. Experienced local guides are available in
each destination. For details call 1300 664 331 or see www.footstepsinasia.com.
The Ohana Phnom Penh Palace Hotel is centrally situated with multilingual
staff able to help with a range of suggestions of places to visit. It also has
a ground-floor swimming pool with jacuzzi, a gym, sauna and massage facilities.
There are just 75 rooms and wi-fi is free. Rooms from around $75 per double. www.ohanahotelpp.com.
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