Welcome to the capital of Cambodia!

People (tourists) usually link here to the genocide history, because it has two main memorials here and that is the reason why people visit here. Among that, the tourist attractions are limited, there is the royal palace and few temples and street markets.

We had very low expectations from what we read but actually quite liked the city. We again stayed in a poorer more local district, but it had the best food market nearby.

It is a very big city, we walked for the first day only, but then with the high temperatures, we had to switch to tuk-tuks!

The places we saw

Wat Phnom

This temple was built in 1373 and is dedicated to Lady Penh who is believed to have discovered four Buddha statues in the nearby river. It is an important centre of Buddhist worship in Cambodia, and many people come here to pray and offer offerings to the Buddha. The temple is also home to a large number of monks who live and study here

The temple is also surrounded by a lovely park, which is a perfect place for a peaceful walk, we could even see these crazy big exotic birds, called hornbills!

The monuments

We also saw the statue of Sihanouk Norodom:

And the monument of independence:

We will explain more about these in the article about the history of Cambodia!

Paris in Phnom Penh!?

We randomly visited Diamond Island, which is a man-made island located on the Tonle Bassac River in the southeastern part of the city. We were surprised to see numerous buildings replicating Parisian architecture. This place, called Elysee, is a new luxurious residence inspired by Champs Élysées Street in Paris, with cafes, luxury speciality shops and hotels. We suppose not everyone can have access to such a place, but we could at least visit it. There is even an Arc de Triomphe!

Our favourite spot, a local coffee

Our favourite spot was a street cafe, frequently visited by old local men (just like the Turkish kahve scene) and managed by women. Here you can sit on small low chairs and drink very strong coffee, served with hot tea!

And of course, there was a kitty, taken care of by an even cuter old woman!