I used Phnom Penh as a jumping off point for getting down to the southern coast, the CPOC volunteering gig, and Siem Reap, so I was there a total of 3 nights, but never consecutively. PP is incredibly hot in April, which made doing anything in the city a real drag. It was almost unbearable to be out and about between 10am and 6pm. Since those are the hours when I tend to be most active, I don’t have much to show for my time there. But I did manage to make it to the Royal Palace/Silver Pagoda (which are part of the same complex), Sisowath Quay (the historic riverfront area), and I saw (but didn’t enter) the National Museum of Cambodia.
Phnom Penh is Cambodia’s sprawling capital city with 1.5 million inhabitants. It’s both modern and historic, clean and dirty, chaotic and relaxing depending on what part of the city you’re in. The traffic is horrendous. I always stayed on 172 Street, which was a nice area walking distance from the riverfront and the Royal Palace. I found the locals to be very friendly and easy to make conversation with. Many people there speak at least basic English and the US dollar is commonly used as currency through Cambodia, although they also use the Cambodian riel. Nothing too crazy happened during my stays there, so I don’t have any fantastic stories to share. That means it’s photo time.
THE ROYAL PALACE/ SILVER PAGODA COMPLEX
SISOWATH QUAY/ RIVERFRONT
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA
ON THE STREETS OF PP:
These boys approached me begging for money. I didn’t give them any because you shouldn’t do that…
…So they pointed at my water, which I gladly gave them. Then they got into a physical fight over it.
Until this older boy came over and took it from them. So glad I could help.
Veg noodle soup and coconut juice.. Yum!
Tarantula (and other bugs) are a common menu item in Cambodia
Tuk tuk drivers taking a break to gamble on the sidewalk
Chilling with these tuk tuk drivers; they were celebrating a birthday
Street monkey
Street puppy
Street play
Street food
Street kitchen
Street vendor
Street chillin’
The World Is My Boyfriend 
lovely pics! The puppy looks adorable – it looks to be indoors though? Glad that you didn’t give the children money – it seems like a very dark and disturbing industry from what I’ve read.
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Thanks! The puppy wandered into the open doors of a bus station. From what I could tell, he didn’t belong to anyone and sat on my lap for quite some time. Yes, I’ve read about that money-making scheme with the children and it’s very sad.
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I’ve never had much desire to visit Cambodia because of the heat, tourist scams and corruption issues but your pics are making me reconsider. Would you say it’s worth a trip?
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Yes, I definitely would. Although my phone was stolen in Siem Reap, I would still say that Cambodian people are some of the most open and friendly people I’ve met so far in SE Asia. Just avoid going during the hottest months because that does make it pretty awful to do things outside, which is pretty much everything you want to do in Cambodia!
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Thanks Kathryn! Definitely food for thought.
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great post
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cool post
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Nice post!
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Thank you!
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