The City of Phnom Penh

Cambodia’s capital is a pleasant, low-rise city with many parks and trees. Laid out in the colonial era, Phnom Penh still has a French look about it, with wide boulevards and avenues, and sweeping roundabouts. Much less frantic than other Southeast Asian capitals, Phnom Penh has a surprisingly relaxing atmosphere. The city’s location and lazy, tropical ambience has led it to be dubbed “the last of the great Conradian river ports”. In the past decade the number of hotels catering to foreign visitors has skyrocketed, and there is now an excellent selection of accommodation. The large number of foreign aid workers has contributed to the establishment of many upscale restaurants where the standards are high. There are also local eateries that cater to tighter budgets.

Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda

Cambodia’s Royal Palace was constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on the site of an early 19th century fort. Said to have been inspired by Bangkok’s Grand Palace, it is an interesting architectural metamorphosis: much of the ornamentation of the Thai structures at the Grand Palace was influenced by ancient Cambodian temples at Angkor. Enclosed within mustard-colored walls, the palace complex is fronted by a pavilion with gracefully sweeping eaves. Inside, surrounded by gardens and reliquary stupas, is the Throne Hall, an impressive building with a soaring finial of a roof. The Throne Hall has been used for the coronation ceremony of Cambodian kings. The Silver Pagoda is named for the solid silver tiles that cover the floor of its interior. On display are treasures of the Cambodian monarchy, such a life-size Buddha image decorated with nearly ten thousand diamonds.

National Museum

No trip to Cambodia is complete without a tour of the National Museum. Much of the free standing sculpture that once adorned the temples at Angkor, Hindu and Buddhist deities cast in bronze and carved in sandstone, is now housed here. The oldest pieces of stone sculpture date back to the 4th century, predating the Angkor period. Angkorian period sculpture is well represented and well labeled. Post-Angkorian sculpture in wood takes up one wing of the museum. A special section was recently added to house works of art returned to Cambodia from abroad. The museum itself is an eclectic structure built in 1920, a mixture of Cambodian and European design. The high ceilings and thick walls keep the museum cool even during the hot season.

Markets

Bargains abound in Phnom Penh's lively and visually intriguing markets. The first to be noticed by visitors is the grand Art Deco monument formerly known as the Central Market, and now the New Market (Psar Thmei). Completed in 1937, the market is worth a stroll to get a look at the high ceilings of the interior. The majority of the wares in the New Market are clothing and housewares. Visitors shopping for souvenirs of all kinds will find much more to haggle over at the so-called Russian Market (Psar Toul Tom Pong). This market has the city's best selection of antiques and reproductions, as well as handicrafts and porcelain from Vietnam. Reproduction antique furniture is a good bargain here, as are traditional, hand-woven Khmer silk textiles. Remember to haggle patiently but persistently!

Toul Sleng Museum and Killing Fields

Memorials to the victims of the brutality of the Khmer Rouge regime, the Toul Sleng Museum is a former high school that was used as a detention and interrogation facility by the Khmer Rouge. There are photographs of the thousands of inmates who passed through here, and gave confessions under duress, before being taken to the Killing Fields outside the city. The Killing Fields mark the spot where mass graves were excavated after the Khmer Rouge were driven from power in 1978. A concrete and glass memorial stupa contains the skulls of eight thousand victims.

Buddhist Temples

Many of Phnom Penh's Buddhist monasteries are spacious and leafy, perfect for a stroll on a hot day. The oldest and perhaps most interesting is Wat Ounalom, founded in the 15th century and now the headquarters of the country's Buddhist Supreme Patriarch. An ornate stupa on the grounds is said to contain an eyebrow hair of the historic Buddha. Wat Moha Montrei is known for its fascinating murals, painted in the 1960s, which depict the life of the Buddha with a mid-20th century slant. This building also contains a whimsical lion throne from which Buddhist sermons are delivered. Wat Lang Ka has been restored after much abuse during the Khmer Rouge times, and features vividly painted Buddha images and colorful grounds.

Ta Promh at Tonle Bati

This temple of sandstone and laterite brick was built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, ancient Cambodia's most prolific builder. The bas-reliefs are crude but appealing, and this temple makes an interesting day trip for those who do not have the time to visit the ruins at Angkor. The temple is located 35 kilometers south of Phnom Penh.