There’s not an awful lot for me to say about Phnom Penh really, it’s the capital city of Cambodia and a stop off point for most people wanting to get anywhere else in Cambodia. We weren’t expecting a lot from it and that’s exactly what we got, not a lot! If you google Phnom Penh (other search engines are available – but why would you?!) you’ll be provided with a wealth of things to do, things to see, Lonely Planet’s opening statement is this: “Phnom Penh: the name can’t help but conjure up an image of the exotic. The glimmering spires of the royal palace, the fluttering saffron of the monks’ robes, and the luscious location on the banks of the mighty Mekong; this is one of Asia’s undiscovered gems. But it’s also a city on the move, as a new wave of investors move in, perhaps forever changing the character, and skyline, of this classic city. Phnom Penh is a crossroads of Asia’s past and present, a city of extremes of poverty and excess, of charm and chaos, but one that never fails to captivate.” [ http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cambodia/phnom-penh ]
I only wish this was true. Yes, there is a lovely Royal Palace, and a walk along the riverside is nice enough but it was lacking any real atmosphere for me, maybe it’s an undiscovered gem because it’s hiding, we were in the middle of the city for 4 days in total and we didn’t find anything remarkable. The food was distinctly average and expensive – maybe we’d been spoilt coming from Vietnam (although we were happy with the food in Siem Reap so maybe that’s not it).
The problem with Cambodia was the having to pay for things using US$. This meant that everything was at least a dollar, which when you’re buying lots of bottles of water, soon adds up.
Enough of the negative, here’s some pics from around the city plus the bus ride to Siem Reap (a beautiful landscape, but very very bumpy!)…
I’m sure lots of people have been to Phnom Penh and loved it, it certainly has the backpacker vibe, it just wasn’t for us.
NB: Vattanac bank is the only bank with no charges Cambodia
