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The Beauty of Phnom Penh, Cambodia...All the Video Tours and Written Guides of Phnom Penh are here for Tourists and people who aspire to live in this wonderful city.
Phnom Penh is one of my favorite cities in SE Asia. It is the one place that for me epitomizes my belief that the people of a country are what makes it a good or bad experience regardless of the facilities available or level of wealth. This is a much cleaner city in 2007 than it had been a few years ago but there is still the ever present grimy dust in the air that gets in your teeth and up your nose. 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 this city has transformed in the last few years and become a welcoming tourist destination. Finding your way around Phnom Penh is pretty easy. You can copy the maps here and print them out if you'd like but they are rags compared to the stuff you can pilfer from any of the big hotels. Just walk into any hotel with your nose high and go nuts with the brochures, maps and day-old Newspapers. My personal favorite is the Phnom Penh Hotel. It is an audacious palace full of helpful brochures and maps. I once walked in there in shorts with a towel over one shoulder. They have a nice pool! The Lakeside and the cheap Guesthouses are all located directly behind the Phnom Penh hotel. If you get lost just remember that in Phnom Penh Odd-numbered streets run north-south with rising numbers as you head west from the river. 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 a different story with no apparent rhyme or reason. Sums Cambodia up pretty well but then again my way of doing it may seem monkey-like to them. So, don't expect houses to be numbered sequentially in any given street; you might even find two completely unrelated houses with the same number in the same street. I divide Phnom Penh into 3 main areas.
The rooms are practically floating on the lake (Some of them really are!). The soft way they play wonderful selections of music and the laid-back manner in which the staff treat you all add to the experience. Hammocks are abundant and invite weary sleep under the shade. The restaurants in the Guesthouses and on the road offer a good selection of western food and other food from around Asia. If you eat in the guest house at Number 9 your food is all brought to you as you relax on one of the deck chairs or hammocks, watching the sunset bloom over the sky above Boeung Kak Lake. Get here soon though. There are many planned hotels going up and they plan on filling in the lake with dirt to make room for them. Take the address in case you need it. Number 9 Guest HouseN° 9A, Street 93, Boeung Kak Lake 12201 Phnom Penh, Cambodia Mobile Phone 012 424 240 Mobile Phone 012 347 450 E-Mail number9_guesthouse@hotmail.com P.O. Box 1307 Here's a video guide from the Central bus station in Phnom Penh to The Lakeside and the budget Guesthouses.
Sisowath Quay runs parallel to the confluence of three great rivers. They are the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac. The hotels are more upscale ($10-25USD a night) than at the lakeside ($4-6USD a night) and the restaurants are varied and abundant. The tourists here are older and lacking in tattoos and body piercings unlike the Lakeside. If there is an area in Phnom Penh that is most cared for and where crime is least likely, it is on the Riverside at Sisowath Quay. The Riverside is the most developed area of Phnom Penh in terms of amenities for tourists. I stayed in the Paragon Hotel right on Sisowath Quay. Paragon HotelN° 219B, Sisowath Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel & Fax 023 222 607 Mobile Phone 011 878 343 Mobile Phone 011 943 219 E-Mail phannakh@yahoo.com See this video of the Riverside from the balcony at the Paragon Hotel.
On the corner of Streets 174 & 51 Phnom Penh, Cambodia. +855 (0)23 211 715 Email: walkabout@online.com.kh Online Bookings: walkabouthotel.com
It is a pub/restaurant that is open 24 hours. There is something I like about waking up at 3am, unable to sleep but having the option of walking downstairs to find everything I could ever need. The Walkabout Hotel is on Street 51 so you never need to walk very far for anything you need. They charge $10USD a night for an air-conditioned room with satellite T.V. The rooms are comfortable but modest. Check out their website above for more details and even book a room online if you like. When I flew into Phnom Penh from Shanghai, China they picked me up at the airport. And it was 2am in the morning! So ask for the airport pickup when you do your online booking. If you are looking for a great place to book cheap Hotels for Phnom Penh then try Hostelbookers.com I have used them a lot without any problem.
There are many things to see in Phnom Penh. Here is a list of the most worthwhile and popular. I'll list them all so that the choice is yours depending on your inclination. THE ROYAL PALACE of the Kingdom of Cambodia The Royal Palace was built in 1866 by King Norodom. It is now the home to His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia and Her Majesty Preah Reach Akka-Mohesey Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, the Queen of Cambodia. You can get into the Palace Grounds and into many buildings like the Coronation hall, The Open-Air Theater where the Royal Dance Troupe perform and the Silver Pagoda, which houses a solid gold Buddha encrusted with 9584 diamonds and weighing 90 kilos and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha. The floors are covered in 5000 quarter-inch-thick .999% pure silver tiles. All the jewels and the silver floor and the sheer audacity of it all in such a poor country got me. You can also see the architecturally incongruous Napoleon III Pavilion shipped and reassembled in Cambodia as a gift of the French Empress Eugenie in the early 20th century. Only the King's residence is off limits to tourists.
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM Located just North of the Royal Palace, the National Museum has recently been restored and represents the finest of Phnom Penh's architecture. There are more than 5,000 works of art on display ranging from the 7th to the 13th century. It takes a certain type of person to enjoy a place like this. The air inside is stagnant and the pieces all start to look the same after an hour or so. If the subject interests you then it is an important stop. The Khmer art was interesting for about an hour and then I got that bored trapped feeling and got the hell out. It's there if you are an Asian art buff but if you've come down to Phnom Penh from Angkor Wat then it's a let-down. THE INDEPENDENCE MONUMENT This Monument was inaugurated in 1958 to celebrate the independence of Cambodia from foreign rule. It now also serves as a tribute to Cambodia's war dead. It's a tall brownish-colored pillar with some striking Khmer sculpting designs. Trespassing onto the monument is illegal but it's set at the center of a large, busy roundabout so you can drive around it as many times as you want. Rent a motorbike or hire a moto-driver from anywhere in Phnom Penh (Outside your GuestHouse or Hotel). From the Riverside or Central market it's not far so don't pay more than 2-3,000 Riel (4,000 Riel=1 Dollar US). It's cool and should be included if you do a drive around the city. I prefer to spend the day on the deck at the Lakeside, sipping orange-banana milkshakes while nestled in the holds of a comfortable hammock instead. CHOEUNG EK Genocidal Center (The Killing Fields) The killing fields' of Choeung Ek is the site of the deaths of thousands of victims of the Khmer Rouge. It is now a group of mass graves and a Memorial Stupa Monument. It saddened me especially after already visiting the Toul Sleng Museum that same day. But I did visit the Killing Fields and you can see the video here. TOUL SLENG Museum of Genocidal Crime Prior to 1975 Toul Sleng was a high school but under the Khmer Rouge (KR) it was transformed into a torture facility. The building now serves as a museum and a Memorial. Photos of some of the victims as well as paintings of the very few survivors hang on the walls. The photos on the walls and the remains of torture devices and chains used to tie the victims to their bedposts are numerous. It really hit home the horrible suffering these people have endured. WAT PHNOM This is a small hill crowned by an active Temple and claimed as the founding place of Phnom Penh. The hill is the destination of the faithful, trekking to the top through thick groups of vendors, visitors and moto taxis at the bottom. If you want, you can get an elephant ride around the temple but I've never done it and can't figure why anyone would. to avoid the monkeys though. They roam around like they own the place. Check the video below to see what i mean. The current temple was last rebuilt in 1926 and received a face-lift in 1998. Legend has it that after particularly heavy floods, a wealthy woman named Daun Penh found a tree on the banks of the Mekong. Inside the trunk of the tree, she found four statues of Buddha hidden inside. She built the temple in 1434 to house the sacred relics. Today, Wat Phnom remains the highest artificial hill in Phnom Penh and the center of many cultural celebrations. I was there for New Years Eve 2007 and it was packed with revelers from many countries. Drive around it on your motorbike during the day or night and it is a serene experience in the midst of a chaotic city.  Here's a video I made of a walk through the lobby in one of the Guesthouses on The Lakeside. I walk right into the $3USD a night room and you can get a good look at what to expect from the cheap rooms in that area. FAQsQ: What's the country code and area Code for Phnom Penh? A: International country code: + 855 (Cambodia) Area code: 23 (Phnom Penh). Q: Can I rely on the police to help me out if I have a legitimate problem? A: The police are best avoided but they will do their jobs when called upon. They act like very low paid people that they are and see all foreigners as rich. Contact the Tourist Police at the Phone Number below but they are not always answering. Your best bet is to get some help from your Guest House or hotel. The owners of your hotel don't want anyone hassling their guests and will side with you every time. The owner of Guest House #9 is a police chief and no one messes with his guests. Tourist Police DepartmentMinistry of Interior N° 275, Norodom Road 12302 Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Tel. 023 726 158 Q: >Are there any hospitals around? A: If you're staying at the Lakeside there is Calmette Hospital right on Monivong Boulevard. You can walk to it from your room. Calmette HospitalN° 3, Preah Monivong 12201 Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel 023 426 948 Tel & Fax 023 724 892 Hot Line 011 426 948 Email calmette.htk@online.com.khP.O. Box807 Q:How far is it from Phnom Penh to SIEM REAP? A: By bus it's a 5-7 hour journey but it is a smooth highway up there now and I slept all the way. The fare is $3.50 each way. By road, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap are 314 km apart. >By Air the total flight time from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is 50 minutes. There are 5 flights per day. Boat travel was discontinued as of February 2007 but I hear it is up and running again. The boat took about four and a half hours and cost US$25. Everyone thinks the fast boat is the adventurous way to go and compared to the bus but it's fun. But if the sun is out and shining you won't be able to sit on the top deck of the boat for long. deck the entire time without the best sunblock and any kind of hat. But what views heading down the Mekong toward Phnom Penh! Village children often play in the river with their bamboo-stilted houses on the banks behind them. Tickets for EVERYTHING are available at you hotel or Guest House. But if you're rich and feel like an everything-taken-care-of trip then click below for the Capitol Travel tour. If you want to get a package tour out of Phnom Penh then here is the website: Q: What if I'm riding a motorcycle (or driving a car) and the police stop me? A: If you drive in Cambodia - car or motorcycle, sooner or later, you're going to be stopped by the police for some infraction which you may or may not have committed. One strange law that gets foreigners nailed a lot is that in Cambodia it's illegal to have your headlights on during the day. This honor is reserved only for the Royal family in Cambodia so there is rhyme and reason to it. Never keep more than 2 dollars in your wallet and the rest in your sock. Once they see your wallet and thoroughly check it, they will take the 2USD and let you go. I usually get away paying 1USD-1.5USD. If they say no then just be patient and they will eventually give in. And always keep the receipt from the Motorbike rental shop with you at all times. You may need to call them from the side of the road. RANT Cambodia is like the wild west. It harks back to the days when a rich man had more freedoms and immunity from laws or punishments. The girls are so abundant and beautiful that sometimes you can drown in them. If it offends you then head to the Riverside to places like The Riverhouse. They have a great disco without the hookers harassing you. I feel good when I am in Phnom Penh but the sight of the heavy poverty is disturbing and getting into doing some aid work is great for the soul. Have a good trip. More Cambodia travel at Angkor Wat
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