Velkommen Inn - Phnom Penh

Riverside

Royal Palace

S 21

Short river cruises and dinner cruises along the Phnom Penh riverfront are becoming more popular.

A short cruise typically takes about 1-1/2 - 2 hours and runs up the Tonle Sap River along the central riverfront area providing a picturesque view of the Royal Palace, National Museum, parks and Phnom Penh skyline, and then across the Tonle Sap and up the Mekong River to view floating fishing villages. (Photography note: Best lighting in the early morning as the low eastern sun illuminates the front of the Palace.)

Tourist boats of varying size and quality wait along the riverfront between Street 178 and Street 130 (look for their small riverfront signs) and at the Passenger Port near Street 104. For a short riverfront cruise, just contact one of the tourist boats. Prices start at about $10/hour. The unique Kanika catamaran is docked opposite Street 136 - a spacious, modern boat offering a 'High-Tea' cruise from 4PM-6PM and dinner from 6PM-9PM. Private parties, charter cruises. Proceeds go to the Seametrey NGO educational and environmental projects. Tel: 012-848802 (See Restaurant listings for more.) Chenla Luxury Boat Restaurant & Bar runs lunch and dinner cruises by reservation on a deluxe river boat. Call for reservations: 012-758992

Royal Palace and ‘Silver Pagoda’ (Sothearos between Streets 240 & 184 - $3.00/person, $2.00/camera, $5.00/video cam. Open everyday, 7:30-11:00 / 2:30-5:00)

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh was constructed over a century ago to serve as the residence of the King of Cambodia, his family and foreign dignitaries, as a venue for the performance of court ceremony and ritual and as a symbol of the Kingdom. It serves to this day as the Cambodian home of King Norodom Sihamoni and former King Norodom Sihanouk. The Royal Palace complex and attached 'Silver Pagoda' compound consist of several buildings, structures and gardens all located within 500x800 meter walled grounds overlooking a riverfront park. Marking the approach to the Palace, the high sculpted wall and golden spired Chanchhaya Pavilion stand distinctively against the riverfront skyline. Inside the Palace grounds, street sounds are silenced by the high walls and the various Royal buildings sit like ornate islands rising from the tranquil, manicured tropical gardens. Except for the area of the actual Royal residence, the Khemarin Palace, most of the Palace grounds and Silver Pagoda are open to the public. Enter from the gate on Sothearos Blvd about 100 meters north of Street 240

Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) (Corner of Street 113 & Street 350 - $2.00 - Open everyday, including holidays, 8AM-5PM - Closed for lunch)

Prior to 1975, Toul Sleng was a high school. When the Khmer Rouge came to power it was converted into the S-21 prison and interrogation facility. Inmates were systematically tortured, sometimes over a period of months, to extract confessions, after which they were executed at the killing fields of Choeung Ek. S-21 processed over 17,000 people, seven of whom survived. The building now serves as a museum, a memorial and a testament to the madness of the Khmer Rouge regime. Much has been left in the state it was when the Khmer Rouge abandoned it in January 1979. The prison kept extensive records, leaving thousands of photos of their victims, many of which are on display. Paintings of torture at the prison by Vann Nath, a survivor of Toul Sleng, are also on display. The museum’s famous and controversial ‘skull map’ is no longer on display.

Russian Market

Royal Museum

Choeung Ek

This market is of far less architectural interest but has a larger and more varied selection of souvenirs, curios and silks than the Central Market.

Like the Central Market, it has a good selection of silver, gold and jewels, but also carries huge selection of curios, silks, carvings, etc. The Russian Market offers the largest selection of bootlegged VCDs, DVDs and CDs of all of the traditional markets. Most of the CD vendors are located on the south side near the southeast corner of the market. It’s also a good place to buy fabric for business and casual cloths to take to the tailor. Most of what the visitor might want is in the same general area on the south side but the rest of the market is well worth exploring. Food and drink stands in the middle of the market for hygienically adventurous visitors.

(Sothearos between Streets 240 & 184 - $3.00/person, $2.00/camera, $5.00/video cam. Open everyday, 7:30-11:00 / 2:30-5:00)

15 km southwest of Phnom Penh - Take Monireth 8.5 km past the bridge at Street 271)

From April 17, 1975 until January 7, 1979, the ultra-Communist Khmer Rouge (i.e. Red Khmer) regime, led by Pol Pot, controlled the whole of Cambodia. Under the Khmer Rouge regime the country was known as ‘Democratic Kampuchea.’ During the short reign of the Khmer Rouge, between one million and two and a half million Cambodians perished, some killed outright, others dying from disease, malnutrition, neglect and mistreatment. Many of the dead ended up in various ‘killing fields’ that can be found scattered across the country. The killing fields were essentially ad hoc places of execution and dumping grounds for dead bodies.

The memorial at Choeung Ek just outside Phnom Penh was an orchard and a Chinese cemetery prior to 1975. During the Khmer Rouge regime it became one of the killing fields - this particular killing field is the site of the brutal executions of more than 17,000 men, women and children, most of whom first suffered through interrogation, torture and deprivation in the S-21 Prison (Toul Sleng) in Phnom Penh. Choeung Ek is now a group of mass graves and a memorial stupa containing thousands of skulls. It’s about a 20-40 minute drive from the center of Phnom Penh. There are guides available at the site, and a small souvenir shop. For sake of historical context, combine your trip to Choeung Ek with a visit to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.