Phnom Penh in One Day
I went to Cambodia to see the Angkor temples, and in principle, I should have flown straight from Siem Reap instead of dragging myself to Phnom Penh. On the other hand, how can you come to a country and not see the capital? Especially since Lonely Planet recently called Phnom Penh the “coolest city in Asia” in one of their articles.
There won’t be a separate post about Cambodia; I’ll write everything you need here. I share the best way to get from the airport, top hotels, must-try local food and drinks, and key attractions — from the Royal Palace to local markets — all based on my personal experience exploring Cambodia’s capital.
And for illustrations in this post, I’ll use street photos of Phnom Penh. I’m not a fan of photographing statues.
Visa for Cambodia
To enter Cambodia, I, like most EU citizens, need a visa. Whether you need one — check the website of your country’s consulate.
How to get a visa:
-
Obtain an e-visa and cross the border with it. It is accepted at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airports and also at most land border crossings with Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. There are a few points where it’s not accepted — check here.
-
Get a visa on arrival.
The visa costs $30. Your passport must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry.
E-visa
E-visa (type T) — you’ll need to pay by card when applying, and it costs $6 more for the transaction fee. Apply only on the official website evisa.gov.kh. You need to upload a photo — one taken in front of a fridge works perfectly. Processing takes three to four days. The visa is single-entry, valid for 30 days. The entry window is three months.
Visa on arrival
Visa on arrival also costs $30, payable in cash. Change your bills beforehand and provide the exact amount. No photo is required, but it’s better to have one just in case, any recent one will do. There is a “traditional” $5 bribe, and some crafty border guards may ask for it. Simply quoting $35 or insisting it’s for the absence of a photo usually works — if you give them a photo, they might secretly discard it and claim you need to pay for scanning. Bribes are mostly gone at airports, but not always. At land crossings, it’s 50/50. Just a heads-up, minor misunderstandings can happen. You can throw a little tantrum if needed — it helps.
I’ve been to Cambodia twice. The first time, about seven years ago, I crossed the land border at Ha Tien (Vietnam) / Prea Chak (Cambodia). The border guard said only an electronic photo was needed. It cost $1. Look into the webcam — done. Very funny, of course — the webcam wasn’t connected to anything; he was holding it in his hands. This still happens sometimes, depending on the shift. If you cross by bus, the driver will handle it for an extra $10 on top of the visa.
At airports, everything is much simpler. You fill out the forms on the spot with the standard questionnaire, hand them over with dollars at the window, three border guards flip your passport among themselves, and return it.
Advantages of the e-visa — no hassle on arrival, and instead of a full-page sticker, the border guard stamps your passport — saves space. Disadvantage — $6 more expensive.
Money
The national currency is the riel (KHR). But it’s better to pay in dollars — new bills. Old or torn notes may be refused or accepted at a bad rate. All prices are listed in dollars, and change is also given in dollars. If the change is small, they’ll give it in riels. By the way, for about twenty years now, the approximate rate has been $1 = KHR 4,050.
Cards are accepted only in expensive hotels and restaurants.
There are ATMs, and they even dispense dollars, but with a fee. Basically, bring cash with you — crisp, new bills.
Mobile connection
Oh come on, stop googling that dumb question already. Just get yourself a travel eSIM and never bother with this again.
How to get from Phnom Penh Airport
Phnom Penh Airport is located 10 km from the city center. There are four ways to get there:
-
Bus No. 3 runs from the airport to central Phnom Penh. The stop is right outside the airport. The final stop is at the Night Market. The fare is under $1 (KHR 1,500). Operating hours are from 5:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The trip takes about an hour.
-
Tuk-tuk. The stand is at the airport. Fixed price depending on distance — $7–12.
-
Airport taxi. Located outside the arrivals hall. Price depends on distance — $9–15.
-
Transfer. An English-speaking driver meets you with a sign — $35 per car, or cheaper if you’re alone — $20. You can book here.
Where to stay in Phnom Penh
The best areas to stay are around Wat Phnom, the Night Market, and the Royal Palace — close to the riverside. Anyway, in the heat you’ll end up taking a tuk-tuk for $2–4 to get to the Russian Market or the Genocide Museum. In other districts there’s nothing much to see, and you definitely wouldn’t want to stay there overnight.
Before the trip, I was given one condition — a rooftop pool, so that I could “take a photo of me in the pool, gazing into the distance with the city behind me.” I was choosing between Glow Park and Ohana, and we stayed at the first one. Excellent hotel, exactly what we wanted. The Royal Palace is a 10-minute walk away, the riverside is 5 minutes, restaurants are nearby, and the area is quiet. Use it as a reference point.
Food and drink
Must-try Khmer dishes
Amok (Fish Amok). One of Cambodia’s most famous dishes. It’s a steamed fish curry made with coconut milk, eggs, and a paste of various herbs and spices. There are also chicken and tofu versions. Get it with rice — eating it alone with a spoon isn’t great, but with rice it’s delicious. Make sure it’s the fish version.
Lok Lak. Fried beef, cut into cubes. Not spicy, but flavorful. Pretty good. There are also chicken and pork versions.
Kuy Teav. A soup made with pork or beef broth, with pieces of meat, greens, bean sprouts, and onions. Sauces and seasonings can be added to taste. Usually eaten for breakfast. Well, it’s Asia — not everyone wants pumpkin latte pancakes in the morning.
Nom Banh Chok. Another soup with rice noodles.
Bai Sach Chrouk. Meat marinated and grilled, served with rice. Street food, usually found at markets.
Khmer desserts
Pumpkin pudding (Sankhya Lapov) — a small baked pumpkin or pumpkin pieces with a coconut milk and egg cream.
Alcohol and drinks
Beer: Angkor Beer, Cambodia Beer, and Anchor Beer are the most famous and popular brands in Cambodia. Cold, they’re perfect in +35°C heat.
I didn’t try any other drinks. Don’t want to go blind. But you can tell me how they are.
Rice wine (Sra Sor) and palm wine (Teuk Thnot Chou). Sold everywhere, in small bottles in shops. They smell like socks. Not very tempting. I prefer Portuguese Vinho Verde and am not ready to traumatize my taste buds.
A bit of exotic stuff
Instead of sunflower seeds, Cambodians prefer dried crickets, grasshoppers, and other little bugs. You can pour some into a bag and crunch on them on a night bus or in the cinema. I haven’t tried them, so I don’t know how they taste.
In the photo, you can see vendors selling these snacks at the bus station.
A little more exotic tasting
Since I was in Cambodia, I had to not only see the Angkor temples but also try balut. It’s a duck egg incubated for about 18–21 days. By that time, the embryo has already started forming — feathers, bones, beak… It’s boiled like a regular egg and eaten. And I did try balut. It’s sold everywhere at the Night Market; for locals, it’s not exotic at all.
When you peel the egg, you can see the embryo, with the white still around it. Pretty unpleasant to look at, but if you don’t focus on what you’re biting and ignore the crunch under your teeth, it tastes and smells like a regular boiled egg with bits of meat. No photo 🙁 Usually, I eat first and then remember I have a blog. I should probably post these little moments on social media. Anyway, give it a try.
In Asia, I like getting up early, while the day’s hustle hasn’t yet taken over the streets. That’s why I try to stay in central areas, so I can step outside and take a walk at sunrise, watching the locals. At this time, Phnom Penh residents head to the riverside for morning exercise, and vendors start washing down their stalls.
After the exercise, you can go straight for breakfast.
What to see in Phnom Penh
Here’s the plan for the day.
Morning: Start at the Royal Palace. Ticket $10. At 8 a.m., there are few visitors; there were just a few others with us. All the buildings in the residence are very beautiful, and the grounds are clean and well-kept.
The King of Cambodia’s Palace deserves a separate post with all the details.
Then, visit the local temples Wat Unalom and Wat Phnom for prayers and reflection. If you want (I didn’t), you can also go to the National Museum of Cambodia.
Next, head to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields. These are memorial sites dedicated to the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, which ruled the country from 1975 to 1979. During this period, around 2 million people died from mass executions, forced labor, and famine.
Lunch: At the Russian Market. A typical Asian market with a large food area inside. I love going to these places just for the food. “Give me the same as that gentleman is eating, and make it very spicy, please.” The soup was very hearty.
Why the Russian Market? Russian Market, or Phsar Toul Tom Poung, is a popular shopping spot in Phnom Penh. The market got its name in the 1980s when it was a favorite place for Russian diplomats. If you’re measuring Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana on cardboard, this isn’t for you — you can skip the Russian Market entirely.
Return to the hotel for a swim and air-conditioning, to survive the heat. Head out again closer to sunset.
Evening program: Cocktails and lunch on Bassac Lane (Street 308) — a small alley with trendy bars, cafes, and restaurants. Or a cruise on the Mekong.
Dinner: Of course, at the Night Market. The entrance to the Night Market is here, from Preah Sisowath Quay. Opens at 5:00 p.m., but it’s better to come later — who eats at 5?
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Choeung Ek Killing Fields
The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (Google Maps link) – ticket $5, is located in a former school building that was turned into S-21 prison, one of the most notorious prisons of the Khmer Rouge. Tuol Sleng was used to hold, torture, and execute thousands of Cambodians accused of political crimes. The museum displays photographs and documents, torture instruments, prisoner cells, and personal belongings of the victims.
The Choeung Ek Killing Fields (ticket $3) are located 11 km from the city center. This was a site of mass executions, where thousands of people who passed through Tuol Sleng were killed and buried in mass graves. There are about 129 mass graves in Choeung Ek, many of which have never been excavated. A tuk-tuk costs $15 for a round trip and waiting time, naturally paid at the end of the ride. Or you can go with a tour ($20 per person for transport and guide).
Wat Phnom
Or how the city of Phnom Penh came to be.
In the 14th century, in Cambodia on the banks of the Tonle Sap River, lived Dong Penh, or Lady Penh. An ordinary devout woman. One day, after a flood, Penh discovered a floating tree trunk in the river containing four bronze statues of Buddha and a statue of the Hindu god Vishnu. Believing it to be a sign of fate, Penh decided to build a shrine on a small hill to house the statues. That’s how “Phnom Penh” — Penh’s Hill — came into being.
Today, the hill is home to Wat Phnom. The bronze statues have not survived to the present day.
I realized… Wat is the word used in Southeast Asia for a Buddhist temple. So saying “Wat Phnom temple” is tautological. From now on, I’ll leave out “temple.”
At the base of Wat Phnom, there’s a small park where you can rest in the shade of the trees. If you’re not ready to crunch on grasshoppers yet, you can try lotus seeds, sold by street vendors in the park. They were picked from the temple pond. They taste like oily nuts — balut is tastier and more filling.
Wat Ounalom
Founded in 1443, it has survived numerous historical events, including years of civil war and the Khmer Rouge regime. It is one of the most significant Buddhist temples in Phnom Penh and all of Cambodia. One unique feature of the temple is the central stupa, which is said to contain a hair of the Buddha himself. Wat Ounalom is the residence of the Supreme Patriarch, or whatever the proper title is. It’s also a training center for monks.
For the collection of useless facts:
-
The Khmer language has one of the longest alphabets — 74 letters.
-
The longest word in Khmer is kompoalkunbonteaykosalkarsraevchivakpatchekvityeabhivoth (“កំពូលគុណបន្ទាយកុសលការស្រាវជ្រាវបច្ចេកវិទ្យាអភិវឌ្ឍន៍”), which can be translated as “technology development for research.”
