I’d spent the previous week in Siem Reap, dazzled by Angkor, and I almost skipped Phnom Penh entirely. “It’s just the capital,” someone at my hostel had said. “Nothing much to see.” I’m glad I ignored them. Phnom Penh turned out to be the most emotionally complex, surprising, and ultimately rewarding stop on my Southeast Asia trip — a city that refuses to be reduced to a single story.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Famous for: Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, Tuol Sleng, Killing Fields, Mekong River, Russian Market, street food
I arrived by bus from Siem Reap, a six-hour ride through flat countryside dotted with sugar palms and ox carts. The bus dropped me near the riverside, and within minutes I was in a tuk-tuk heading to my riverside hotel on Sisowath Quay, the tree-lined promenade that runs along the Tonlé Sap River. My room had a balcony overlooking the water, and I watched the sun set over the confluence of the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers — a vast, shimmering meeting of waters that felt almost ceremonial.
Phnom Penh is messy, loud, traffic-choked, and beautiful. It’s a city that has survived unimaginable horror and emerged with a warmth and vitality that humbles you. Here’s what five days taught me.
Day 1: The Palace, the Pagoda, and the Promenade
I started at the Royal Palace, a dazzling complex of golden spires and throne halls on the riverfront. The Silver Pagoda next door — so called because its floor is paved with five thousand silver tiles — houses a life-sized gold Buddha encrusted with over 2,000 diamonds. It’s the kind of excess that would feel obscene anywhere else, but in the context of Cambodian Buddhist devotion, it reads as an act of faith.
I’d bought tickets to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda at the gate. The grounds are meticulously maintained, with frangipani trees and manicured lawns, and the Khmer architecture — all steep roofs, gilded nagas, and intricate murals — is spectacular. I spent two hours here and could have stayed longer.
From the palace I walked south along the riverfront to Wat Phnom, the hilltop temple that gives the city its name. The hill is tiny — about 30 metres — but the temple at the top is serene, and the surrounding park is shaded and pleasant. Locals come to pray and release birds (which circle back to their cages, a detail both cynical and oddly charming).
The evening was spent strolling Sisowath Quay, which comes alive at sunset. Street vendors sell grilled corn and fresh coconuts, joggers dodge motorbikes on the promenade, and the sky turns the colour of ripe mangoes over the river. I had dinner at a riverside restaurant — fish amok, Cambodia’s national dish, a mousse-like curry steamed in banana leaves that’s subtle, fragrant, and completely addictive.
Day 2: Facing History — Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields
This was the hardest day. I knew I had to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, and I’m glad I did — but I won’t pretend it was easy. I booked a guided tour of both sites, which I’d strongly recommend. Having a Cambodian guide who could explain the context — and share family stories — transformed the experience from historical tourism into something deeply human.
Tuol Sleng is a former high school that the Khmer Rouge converted into a torture prison. The classrooms still have their iron bed-frames and shackles; the walls are covered with mugshots of prisoners, most of whom were killed. The audio guide includes testimony from survivors and guards. I cried twice and I’m not ashamed of it.
Choeung Ek, about 15 kilometres outside the city, is where the prisoners were taken to be executed. A glass memorial stupa filled with skulls stands at the centre of the site, and the paths wind past mass graves where fragments of bone and cloth still surface after heavy rain. The audio guide here is narrated by a survivor and is devastatingly effective.
I needed the afternoon to recover. I sat in a quiet café near the riverfront, drank iced coffee, and wrote in my journal. Phnom Penh doesn’t let you look away from its history, and it’s a better place for it. By evening I was ready for food, and I found a rooftop bar where I ate lok lak (stir-fried beef with lime and pepper dipping sauce) and watched the lights come on across the river.
Day 3: Markets, Monks, and the Mekong
I spent the morning at the Russian Market (Phsar Toul Tom Poung), a sprawling covered market where you can buy everything from silk scarves to motorcycle parts. The food stalls inside are the real draw — I had nom banh chok (Khmer noodles with green curry) for breakfast, sitting on a plastic stool surrounded by market vendors eating the same thing. It was fresh, herbal, and cost about sixty cents.
From there I walked to the Central Market (Phsar Thmei), housed in a magnificent Art Deco dome built by the French in the 1930s. The market is less chaotic than the Russian Market and more architecturally impressive — the dome alone is worth the visit. I bought a krama (Cambodian cotton scarf) and some dried mango.
In the afternoon I joined a Mekong River sunset cruise, which departed from the riverfront near the palace. We motored upriver past floating villages, fish farms, and monastery grounds where monks in saffron robes were doing laundry. The guide pointed out the exact spot where the Tonlé Sap and Mekong rivers meet — during the wet season, the Tonlé Sap actually reverses direction, a hydrological phenomenon unique in the world. The sunset from the water was spectacular, the sky streaked with pink and gold, the city skyline growing dark against it.
Day 4: Silk Island and Cambodian Flavours
Today I crossed the Mekong to Koh Dach — Silk Island — a rural island about 15 kilometres from central Phnom Penh. I arranged a ferry transfer to the island, and within minutes of landing I was cycling along dirt paths through rice paddies, past wooden stilt houses and weaving workshops where women worked hand looms producing intricate silk textiles.
The contrast with the city was total. Dogs slept in the shade, chickens scratched in doorways, and the only sounds were birdsong and the clack of looms. I stopped at a family workshop where the owner showed me the entire silk-making process — from silkworm cocoons to finished fabric. I bought a scarf directly from her, knowing exactly whose hands had made it.
Back in Phnom Penh, I’d booked the evening’s main event: a Cambodian street food tour. We started at the night market near the riverfront and wound through back streets, eating our way through dishes I’d never have found alone: bai sach chrouk (pork and rice, the quintessential Cambodian breakfast, served at all hours), grilled frogs on sticks, kuy teav (noodle soup with every conceivable topping), and num pang — Cambodia’s answer to the baguette sandwich, a legacy of French colonialism that’s been thoroughly Khmer-ified with pâté, pickled vegetables, and chilli sauce. The guide’s passion for Cambodian food was infectious, and I left the tour stuffed and grinning.
Day 5: Udong and the Last Afternoon
For my final day I took a day trip to Udong, the former royal capital, about 40 kilometres north of Phnom Penh. The site is a pair of low hills topped with stupas and temple ruins, surrounded by farmland. The climb is gentle, and from the top you can see for miles — flat green countryside stretching to the horizon, punctuated by sugar palms and monastery spires.
Udong is significant because it served as Cambodia’s capital for several centuries before the move to Phnom Penh. The stupas contain the ashes of Cambodian kings, and the atmosphere is more contemplative than touristic. I shared the hilltop with a group of monks and a few local families having picnics. The guide told stories about each stupa — wars, coronations, betrayals — that gave the place a weight its modest appearance might not suggest.
I returned to Phnom Penh by mid-afternoon and spent my remaining hours doing what I’d come to love most: walking the riverfront. I bought an iced coffee from a street vendor, sat on a bench, and watched the boats on the Mekong. A group of teenagers were doing aerobics to K-pop on the promenade. An old man was flying a kite. Two monks walked past, laughing at something on a phone. This, I thought, is Phnom Penh — a city that has endured the worst and chosen joy. I bought a ticket to the National Museum for my last hour, and sat in its beautiful terracotta courtyard surrounded by Khmer sculptures, feeling grateful and a little sad.
Practical Tips & Budget
- Getting around: Tuk-tuks are the main transport and are cheap — agree on a price before getting in, or use a ride-hailing app. For day trips, tours include transport. You can also consider renting a car with a driver for flexibility.
- Budget: Phnom Penh is very affordable. Street food €0.50-2, restaurants €3-10, hotels €15-50. The US dollar is widely accepted alongside the Cambodian riel. My five-day total was around €350.
- When to go: November to February is cool and dry — the best time. March-May is scorching. June-October is wet but still manageable (and cheaper). I visited in January and the weather was ideal.
- Emotional preparation: The genocide sites are important to visit but emotionally draining. Schedule something gentle afterward — a river walk, a café, a massage. Don’t try to pack in other activities on that day.
- Don’t skip: The food tour, the Mekong sunset cruise, and Silk Island. These experiences showed me the living, breathing Phnom Penh beyond the textbook history.
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