Phnom Penh Sights

Full Phnom Penh Travel Guide »    Phnom Penh Interactive Map »    Print This Article »

Sisowath Quay as seen from FCC

• Sisowath Quay aka Riverside. an attractive boulevard running along the banks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap. Until recently it was fronted by a pleasant park, but authorities have now cut down all the trees and it is now hot and unattractive. The built-up side of the street is home to cafés and shops and the better class of bar, and is popular with tourists and expat Westerners prepared to run its gauntlet of touts selling drugs, girls and tuk tuk rides. The riverfront is generally safe for tourists - tourist police are present, but in plainclothes. 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.

Tuol Sleng Prison

• Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21 Prison), Street 113, Boeng Keng Kang 3, Chamkar Morn, ☎ 855-23-300-698, www.tuolsleng.com. 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; 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 of people dying. For a introduction and further reading, try David Chandler's "Voices from S-21" (ISBN 0520222474). Documentary movie "S-21" can be purchased throughout Phnom Penh for US$1.50-2.
  Just a warning to those who patronise the souvenir shop here. Don't get conned into buying some vintage Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega watches. They are fakes and are worthless. The lady owner is very convincing and she will tell you that it is a collection from her husband. $3.

The Killing Fields

• The Killing Fields of Cheoung Ek, (About 17 km south of Phnom Penh, 40 minutes by taxi). A former Chinese cemetery, this 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, with ominous scraps of clothing still to be found here and there. It is a serene yet somber place. Regularly throughout the day, a small museum screens a documentary with gruesome video images of human remains that were unearthed when the mass graves were found in 1979. A tuk tuk to the site should cost US$8-12 return, including waiting for you. US$3.

• The Royal Palace. 7:30am-11:00 & 2:30pm-5:00pm. Including 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 in the day before it gets too hot. 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 1,000 Riel (plus $1 deposit) at the entrance. US$6.25 (25,000 Riel).

• The National Museum of Cambodia, Street 13, Sangkat Chey Chumneas, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh (opposite the Royal Palace), ☎ +855.23.211.753, +855.12.621.522 (mobile) (museum_cam@camnet.com.kh, fax: +855.23.211.753), www.cambodiamuseum.info/en_information_visitors.html. 08:00-17:00 daily, last admission 16.30. Contains an excellent collection of art from Cambodia's "golden age" of Angkor, and a lovely courtyard at the center. A main attraction is the statue of King Jayavarman VII (1181-1219) in mediation pose; other exhibits worth seeing include graceful statues of Hindu gods, ancient stelae (tablets) inscribed in Sanskrit and Old Khmer, and artefacts from a prehistoric burial site. Unfortunately, no photos may be taken inside the museum, although photography is allowed in the central courtyard upon payment of a small fee (cameras: US$1, videocameras: US$3). In the middle of the courtyard is the original statue of the "Leper King" (actually Yama, the Hindu god of death) from the Terrace of the Leper King in Angkor Archaeological Park. 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. $3.

• Wat Phnom, (on a hill at the center of a small park near Sisowath Quay, on St. 94). Name means "Hill Temple". The temple itself is notable more for its historic importance than physical structure, 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 leave unattended. Admission: $1; Elephant ride: $15.

• Wat Botum, (about three kilometres south of Wat Phnom, near the Royal Palace). Historically the wat favoured by royalty. In the 1930s it housed a charming young novice named Saloth Sar, who "never caused anyone any trouble, never started fights - a lovely child". Later in life he changed his name to Pol Pot.

• 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. The area is especially popular on weekend nights with locals when the multi-colored fountains are activated and communal music is played. .

• Olympic Stadium. Built in the 1960s for an Asian Games that never happened, this interesting complex in the Modern style has been sold off to the Taiwanese, in a murky deal by the Cambodian government. The new owners have recently renovated it and it has begun to be used once again as a venue. However in the evenings a walk around the top perimeter is worthwhile: you can see hundreds attending exercise and dance classes, and get a view of the abandoned track below.

• Stung Meanchey Garbage Dump. Where hundreds of the poorest of the poor, including many small children, swarm over the refuse (which includes burning plastic and syringes) hoping to find anything of value. In addition to - or instead of - visiting the dump, you can stop by the impressive French NGO, "Pour sourire un enfant" www.pse.asso.fr nearby, which takes in thousands of adolescents from the dump and its surrounding areas, and sends them out into the world two or three years later fluent in English and French, and more sought-after by employers than university graduates. PSE staff will give you a guided tour of their learning centre on request. PSE is also in need of foreign volunteer teachers who can commit a little time.

• www.tuolsleng.com
• www.cambodiamuseum.info/en_information_visitors.html
• www.pse.asso.fr