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PHNOM PENH

Phnom Penh at a glance | Phnom Penh History | Phnom Penh Attractions | Tours originating Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh Hotels at up to 75% discount over published rates

PHNOM PENH AT A GLANCE:

Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, is located at the confluence of three rivers - the Mekong, the Bassac and Tonle Sap.  The city is divided into three sections - the north, an attractive residential area; the south or the French part of the city with its ministries, banks and colonial houses; and the centre or the heart with its narrow lanes, markets, foods stalls and shops.  A Buddhist shrine in the 14th century, Cambodia's capital in the 15th and the French colonial center in the 19th, Phnom Penh's heritage is rich and varied.  Today visitors find a bustling, multicultural city at the confluence of these 3 rivers.  Phnom Penh has many places of exceptional interest for those with time enough to appreciate the city's attractions.  The population of Phnom Penh is around 1.3 million. It still retains an undeniable charm despite its tumultuous and often violent past.  The crumbling colonial architecture makes an attractive backdrop to bustling street side cafes and the redeveloped riverfront precinct - a particularly lively part of town on Friday and Saturday nights.  The city has several impressive wats (temple-monasteries), including Wat Ounalom (headquarters of the Cambodian Buddhist patriarchate), Wat Phnom (the hilltop pagoda which gave the city its name) and the newly painted Wat Lang Ka.  Pride of place goes to the spectacular Silver Pagoda, one of the few places in Cambodia where artifacts embodying the brilliance and richness of Khmer culture were preserved by the Khmer Rouge (although only 40% of its former glories were 'preserved').  The National Museum is another highlight, with outstanding displays of Khmer crafts.  Over the past few years, the city has undergone tremendous changes - businesses are springing up constantly and tourism is once again booming.  Cambodia has one of the most liberal investment laws to further boost investment.  Despite this, Phnom Penh has managed to retain its charm and character - cyclos that weave through traffic with ease, broad boulevards, old colonial buildings, parks and green spaces that reminds one of the country's French heritage, and above all its people who always have a smile for you.

HISTORY:

Phnom Penh is situated at the confluence of the Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers with the Mekong.  It was founded as a small monastery in 1372 by the rich Khmer woman Penh, after she had found four Buddha statues in a tree trunk on the banks of the Mekong.  She set up the monastery on a hill near the bank of the Mekong.  The Cambodian word for hill is Phnom.  Therefore the name of the town correctly translates as Hill of Penh. Rather significantly Phnom Penh's history is founded on an episode, in which the Buddhist religion played a part, contrary to the Khmer capital of that time, Angkor, which was shaped, and literally so, by Hinduism.  Nevertheless, Buddhism had, since the beginning of the 13th century, become the dominant religion.  (In Southeast Asia both religions are entwined to a much higher degree than first appears to be the case.  For instance, numerous Buddhist temples in Thailand house altars of Hindu deities, especially Brahma, and the details of the royal ploughing ceremony in Bangkok are determined by Brahman, not Buddhist, palace priests...  just like Thai coronation modalities). In 1434, after the Siamese conquest of Angkor in 1431, the Khmer nobility unwilling to submit to Siamese overlords fled from Angkor and established Phnom Penh as the new Khmer capital, just 64 years after the Buddhist monastery had been founded on Penh Hill.  However, the Khmer never succeeded in setting up a new kingdom to come close to the glamour of Angkor. In fact, for long periods of time the Khmer kingdom centered in Phnom Penh wasn't a sovereign country but alternatively a satellite state of, or directly ruled by, the Vietnamese or the Thais.  For more than 400 years - until the French made Cambodia their protectorate - the art of politics in Phnom Penh was just an exercise of balancing between the two powerful neighbors.  On April 17, 1864, the Cambodian king Norodom accepted for his country the status of a French protectorate.  King Norodom expected the French to protect Cambodia from the neighboring countries Siam (Thailand) and Vietnam. However, the French protectors did not prevent politically strong Siam from temporarily annexing western parts of the country, including the town of Battambang.  Nevertheless, by recognizing French rule, King Norodom preempted moves of Siam and Vietnam to entirely divide his country between them.  In past centuries the loss of territory to Vietnam had been more significant.  The Mekong delta, or rather the entire present-day South Vietnam, had been settled by Cambodians until well into the 18th century. During almost 90 years of colonial rule the French reshaped and extended Phnom Penh according to their architectural taste.  They built broad boulevards and the city received a touch of Mediterranean atmosphere. During the Vietnam war the city grew to more than 2 Million inhabitants, creating an atmosphere of an overcrowded refugee camp rather than a French metropolis. On April 17, 1975, 20 years after the end of French colonial rule, the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh.  Within weeks the city was emptied, its population forced into provincial labor camps; Phnom Penh became a ghost town. After an increasing number of incidents at the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, Vietnamese troops move into Cambodia and on January 7, 1979, take Phnom Penh.  Since then, many of the city's former inhabitants have returned, and new folks have arrived.  The city now, once more, counts over a million inhabitants. Since the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty in 1991, Phnom Penh experienced a great economic boom, despite the civil war still smoldering in far-off parts of the country.  Although streets and canalization - destroyed by the Khmer Rouge - are not yet fully repaired, a large number of modern hotels have been built. 

ATTRACTIONS:
Just 15 km south-west of Phnom Penh is the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek - a grisly reminder of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge.  In 1975,Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot's security force and turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21) It soon became the largest such centre of detention and torture in the country.  Over 17,000 people (including nine westerners) held at S-21 were taken to the extermination camp at Choeung Ek to be executed; detainees who die during torture were buried in mass graves in the prison grounds. S-21 has been turned into the Tuol Sleng Museum, which serves as a testament to the crimes of the Khmer Rough.  The museum's entrance is on the western side of 113 St just north of 350 St, and it is open daily from 7 to 11.30 am and from 2 to 5.30 pm; entry is US$2.  The remains of 8,985 people, many of whom were bound and blindfolded, were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves in this one-time long an orchard; 43 of the 129 communal graves here have been left untouched.  Fragment of Human bone and bits of cloth are scattered around the disinterred pits.  Over 8000 skulls, arranged by sex, are visible behind the clear glass panels of the Memorial Stupa, which was erected in 1988.  Like the Nazis, the Khmer Rough was meticulous in keeping records of their barbarism.  Each prisoner who passed through S-21 was photographed, sometimes before and after being tortured.  The museum displays include room after room in which such photographs of men, women and children cover the walls from floor to ceiling; virtually all the people pictured were later killed.  You can tell in what year a picture was taken by the style of number board that appears on the prisoner's chest.  Several foreigners from Australia, France and the USA were held here before being murdered.  Their documents are on display.  During the first part of 1977, S-21 claimed an average of 100 victims a day.  When Phnom Penh was liberated by the Vietnamese army in early 1979, they found only seven prisoners alive at S-21 (Only seven prisoners survived because they were sculptors and could turn out countless busts of Pol Pot).  Fourteen others had been tortured to death as Vietnamese forces were closing in on the city.  Photographs of their decomposing corpses were found.  Their graves are nearby in the courtyard.  The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek are 15 km from Central Phnom Penh.  To get there, take Monireth Blvd south-westward out of the city from the Dang Kor Market bus depot.  The site is 8.5 km from the bridge near 271 St.  A memorial ceremony is held annually at Choeung Ek on 9 May. Tuol Sleng is not for the squeamish.  The Royal Palace was mainly built by the French in 1866 on the site of the old town.  The entrance is on Samdech Sothearos Blvd via the Pavilion of Dancers.  Opposite the entrance are the walls of the royal residence and the stable of the with elephant.  The pagoda-style compound was build by the French, and since November 1991, has been home, once again, to Prince Norodom Sihanouk.  The main building on the compound is the Throne Room which was build in 1917.  It has a tiered roof and a 59 m tower, influenced by Angkor's Bayon Temple.  It was used for coronations and other official occasions such as the reception of foreign ambassadors when they presented their official credentials.  The Palace was built on the site of the Banteay Kev, a citadel built in 1813.  The Palace grounds contain several buildings: the Throne Room of Prasat Tevea Vinichhay which is used for the coronation of kings, official receptions and traditional ceremonies; the Chan Chhaya Pavilion which is a venue for dance performances; the king's official residence called the Khemarin; the Napoleon Pavilion and the spectacular Silver Pagoda.  This pagoda is worth exploring.  It owes its name to the 5,000 silver tiles weighing 1 kg each which cover the entire floor.  The Emerald Buddha sits on a pedestal high atop the dais.  In front of the dais stands a life-size Buddha made of solid gold and weighs 75 kg.  It is decked with precious gems including diamonds, the largest of which is 25 carats.  This Pagoda, formerly a wooden building, was rebuilt by King Sihanouk in 1962.  The pagoda's steps are of Italian marble.  In the center of the Pagoda is a magnificent 17th Buddha statue made of Baccarat crystal.  In front is a 90 kg golden Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, dating from 1906.  It was made from the jewelers of King Norodom.  Also on display at the sides are the coronation apparel and numerous miniature Buddha in gold and silver.  The walls surrounding the compound which is the oldest part of the palace, are covered with frescos depicting scenes from the Khmer version of the Ramayana.  A visit to the markets and market halls is a must as they give an opportunity to be acquainted with the country's local produce and also to buy textiles, antiques, gold and silver jewelry.  The four wings of the yellow colored Central Market are teeming with numerous stalls selling gold and silver jewelry, antique coins, clothing, clocks, flowers, food, fabrics, shoes and luggage.  This area, which includes Monirong Blvd, is the main centre for budget travelers, with cheap accommodation and plenty of food stalls.  Head to the city's half-dozen or so street markets to browse and bargain for jewelry, antiques or the ubiquitous kramas (checked cotton scarves).  For some good paintings or antiques, head for the Tuol Tom Poong Market also known as the Russian Market.  A word of caution though: you need to sharpen your bargaining skills as the prices here can be outrageously high.  The riverfront is the place to go for cheap beer and good food.  The National Museum was built in 1917 in traditional Khmer architecture and inaugurated in 1920 by King Sisowat.  It houses more than 5000 pre-Angkorian and Angkorian artifacts and it is the world best collections of Khmer archaeological, religious and artistic artifacts from the 4th to the 13th century.  The museum, built of red bricks by the French in a pseudo-Khmer style, is built around a courtyard.  The Wat Phnom is located on a man-made hill, 27 meters high, from which the city takes his name.  The pagoda was built for the first time by the lady Penh or it was discovered by a woman named Penh.  Thus, the name Phnom Penh, the hill of Penh.  The present temple was build in 1926.  The people believe that this temple is powerful in that anyone who makes a wish will have it granted.  It is not surprising to see many people coming here to pray for protection or healing.  Many bring lotus flowers as offerings for prayers answered.  At the bottom of the hill is a small zoo, but its most endearing residents, the monkeys, live free in the trees.  The Independence Monument was built in 1958 to commemorate independence from France in 1956.

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