Considering it’s level of development, you would never think that Cambodia had a border with Thailand.I can’t think of any two neighbouring European countries where the disparity is so great.
Bangkok can match any Western Capital for its five star hotels,office skyscrapers and huge shiny shopping malls. Phnom Penh (PP) is in no way similar. It has a very obvious tourist strip running along the west side of the river (Tonle Sap), but step away from this narrow strip and the city disintegrates into a mishmash of ramshackled buildings, markets and workshops. I only discovered one air-conditioned modern shopping mall in the central part of the city (Sorya Centre Point), but on a tiny scale compared to Bangkok; more like a large department store. I was also surprised at how few people I found in this shopping centre over multiple visits, perhaps a sign of the lower incomes here.
So it was, with some interest, that I returned to Cambodia 17 years after the previous visit. 2002 was the first year I went digital with my photos (All stored in Cloud) which has allowed me to do “then and now” comparisons. What surprised me about PP is just “how little” it has moved on. Sure, there are a number of new skyscrapers built and being built, but it is still a city dominated by street markets, small shops and old, bland buildings. There seems to be little or no urban planning to develop this city in some integrated way, and a non-existent public transport infrastructure; Tuk-Tuks are the dominant form of transport. Again, step back from the Riverside Strip and there is limited streetighting. Most streets are lite by the small businesses on either side, so when they close, it is darkness.
PP is a bit of a nightmare to get around. Other than the broad Promenade along the Riverside (Tourist Strip) this is not a walking city. There aren’t pavements as we would think of them. Most streets have a paved area in front of every business (anything from 2 to 5 meters broad) but every inch of paved area is claimed by the business behind, such that the paved areas are littered with stalls, tables/chairs, motorcycles or cars. You frequently have to walk on the road to get from A to B. I think Tuk-Tuks drivers consider it a peculiarity that you are walking, and every minute you are asked by one of them if you want a ride.
Against my better judgement, I hired a motorcycle for three days. I’ve said before that motorcycling in Phuket is risky, but it is nothing compared to riding a bike in PP. You also can’t park on the road, or on the paved areas unless you are a customer of that business. There are a limited number of paid parking areas around the city. Anyway, I hired the motorcycle to visit places outside of PP. The trouble is, you have to go through the city first. On the few key arterial roads there are traffic lights, but the rest of the city, we’ll it’s just one big “free for all”; at crossroads, at roundabouts, everybody is just cutting in and out, no rules of priority, if you see a gap, you go for it. It seems that there should be an accident taking place every other minute, but somehow you get through it. I am just glad I survived three days without getting hit. It was certainly very stressful and exhausting as you needed to be acutely aware of everything going on around you, from every direction!!! Is there any wonder I saw no other foreign motorcyclists. As have said previously, Tuk-Tuks are the primary source of transport for tourists.
The upside of my experience was to be able to stay as long as I wanted when I reached my destinations; Killing Fields, Genocide Museum and several little villages on the outskirts of PP.
So far, I have painted what might seem a fairly grim picture of this place. Why would one want to come here? It is in no way an attractive city. Rubbish gets piled in bags and left on the streets. You see desperate people picking through the bags for something they can use. However, bin lorries circulate the streets late at night, and by morning all the rubbish is gone. It is in many ways the opposite of my last month in Thailand, with beautiful beaches, lovely scenery and viewpoints, excellent accommodation facilities (swimming & gym) and generally a very relaxed chilled out and beautiful experience. So Why?
It goes back to one of my sayings that “beauty is contrast in life”. It is fascinating to see how others live, even if distressing at times. It makes one humble and really appreciative of everything one has. When Westerners go to such countries, we are often considered to be Kings amongst men, millionaires in the eyes of the local people. I grant you that such experiences are not to everyone’s taste. Apart from specific sightseeing, which I’ll come onto, I am fascinated to just sit and watch the business of people earning a living unfold in front of me. As Jerome K Jerome said “ I love work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours”.
Some of the things I see people doing really make me smile. I was at Wat Phnom the other day, a small Temple. As is customary, you take your shoes off just outside before entering.
There was a little girl, maybe 8 or 9 years old, taking people’s shoes from where they left them and rearranging them into neat little rows between the two access points and expecting a small tip from tourists exiting the Temple. As if this service was somehow “adding value” to your shoe collection, when your shoes weren’t where you left them 
. But nonetheless Tourists were so amused by her behaviour and entrepreneurship, that they were giving her some lose change. Alan Sugar would be proud of this little girl 
, I’ve no doubt if she was put on “Junior Apprentice” she would find a way to win it
The Riverside Promenade is fairly empty between around 10.00 am and 4.00pm. There’s little shade and it’s too hot to be out in the open for long. You get early morning walkers and joggers. Between 5.00pm and 8.00pm is peak time when many local couples and families visit the Promenade and street vendors appear. Also several “free to join” Zumba type dance classes appear with portable sound systems. There are lots of people offering short ( 1 hour) sunset River cruises for $5. After 8.00pm,which seems quite early to me, the place becomes very quiet. Most of the people have gone, and “Freelancers” come out looking for business. One evening, about 6.00pm,I saw a group of 12 “street children” playing. Running around chasing each other in an apparently random fashion. I would put the age of these kids at around 10. I have a “sixth sense” sometimes when it comes to behaviours, and something just didn’t seem right about this group, I couldn’t tell you what, but just the way they were moving and circulating, their “play” overly contrived. I was briefly in the middle of this group, but immediately cut out to the side, hands in pockets and “puffed up”(that weight training came in handy); my instinct proved correct. Several minutes later, they had downed a guy on roller blades (Easy Target), like it was a game. Laughing and giggling, they kicked him, took his possessions and scattered to the four winds. It was all over in less than 30 seconds. Horrible little b****ds!!! I haven’t seen them again.
Apart from the “Street Life” (and I’m not referencing the above incident) a good reason to visit here is to spend sometime at both the Killing Fields site and the Genocide museum S-21, different locations. I visited both in 2002, but the huge improvement has been the really excellent audio guide that is now provided at both places,with testaments from some of the survivors. We all tend to be familiar with the Nazi Genocide perpetrated against the Jews, but in so many ways, what the Khmer Rouge did to the townsfolk and educated Cambodians was just as horrific. Estimates put the number killed at between 1.7m and 3.0m, so although not on the same scale as the Nazi genocide, it’s the sheer brutality of the killings that shocked me. Bullets weren’t used because of the cost, so people were slain with farm implements, beaten to death (blunt force trauma), speared or knifed. At the Killing Fields, there is a tree called “The Killing Tree” where babies were swung by their ankles and heads smashed against the tree. People were tortured on iron beds at S-21 until they signed fake confessions to invented crimes, but this was also their death sentence. There are so many parallels here with what the Nazis did and the indoctrination of those serving these evil regimes. After WW2, the World said this couldn’t be allowed to happen again, this wouldn’t happen again. And yet, under the very eyes of the World, in the second half of the 1970’s, the same atrocities were committed. Just as with Auchwitz, this is a place everyone should visit.
For those interested, you can read my reviews, with photos, in Google Maps.
The other main attractions in PP are The “Royal Palace” and the “National Museum” as well as evening performances of Cambodian Dance (Earth & Sky) performed at the national museum by the Cambodian Living Arts Foundation. I enjoyed this so much I went twice. I hired a guide at the Royal Palace for $10, a quite elderly woman. I showed her a picture of my guide back in 2002, a well spoken, pretty, young lady. Believe it or not, my elderly guide knew her and said she had married an Australian guy 5 years ago and moved out there.
It is cheap here, very cheap. But first a word about currency. This country, unusually, runs a dual currency system; the US Dollar and the Cambodian Reil which are completely interchangeable. A dollar is worth 4000 Reil. At all the tourist sites, and bars/restaurants along the Riverside, things are priced in dollars. Cash registers will show both Dollars and Reil, you can pay in either. Typically if say a meal costs $6.50 and you give a $10 note, you will get whole dollars as change with less than a dollar paid in Reil. Hence you would get 3 dollars and 2000 Reil change in the above example. The Reil is worthless outside Cambodia, so I make sure I give tips and pay for minor purchases (eg. cans of soda) in Reil. Sounds confusing, but you soon get used to it. The further you move away from the tourist strip, the more likely things will be priced in Reil and particularly at places like the street markets and anywhere mainly frequented by local people.
I use the “Laundry Index” as an example of difference in cost between Thailand and Cambodia. Having 1 Kg of Laundry done here costs £0.39 ($0.5), compared with £1.25 (50 Bht) in Thailand. A chilled draft beer costs $0.5, eating at bars behind the Riverside around $6 including 2 or 3 beers. On the Riverside, which has the highest prices, I never spent more than $18 for a main meal with 3 drinks. I’m paying $24/night for my hotel here, it’s basic (no swimming pool/gym) but the room is big, nice bathroom, fridge, TV and efficient Aircon. You can stay at a Hostel for $5/night (includes WiFi). So you can see, this is a popular place with young, budget constrained, travellers.