The light and dark sides of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I had heard quite a lot of negativity from fellow travellers about Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. But we went anyway as we wanted to see the Killing Fields and S21 Genocide museums, which are not to be missed if you’re in the country.

We hired a tuk tuk to take us to both and it took up an entire day. It’s by no means a fun day out – the tragic stories and things you see are haunting. Hearing how people were tortured and beaten to death brought tears to my eyes, especially for the children. It’s tough but it’s important history, and it means a lot to the Cambodians that the millions they lost are remembered.

I knew what we were getting with the Killing Fields. But for the rest of the city I had fairly low expectations, and was actually quite pleasantly surprised! Admittedly there were places where rubbish was piled up and not all parts of the city smelt too good to say the least. You can definitely tell there is a lot of poverty here with plenty of beggars and the odd person rummaging through garbage. But when you consider their recent history this is unsurprising, so it is unfair to be judgemental. It was generally much like a lot of Asian towns and cities – with just as much buzz and character as there are bad smells!

There was plenty of going on and lots of opportunity for street food eating and people watching, especially around the city centre. On an evening the very green and pretty parks between the palace and the independence monument come alive with twinkling lights, music, dance classes, food and people playing ball games. I was amused by one popular game where people used their feet to fire a shuttlecock back and forth! There are absolutely loads of food stalls to choose from along the western side of Wat Botum Park (Oknha Suor Srun St) – most of which have plastic seating and tables. We got some very cheap baguettes with barbecued chicken and pork from just down the road from here, on street 9, which is also crammed full of street food. Then we stopped at Wat Botum Park to get some very cheap and very delicious, freshly prepared donuts.

We ate them watching the dancing going on in the square – it’s a great place to spend an evening! There is also work going on to turn the riverside area in front of the Grand Palace into a similar public space.

Phnom Penh, to me, told a story of great hope and potential despite immense suffering in its past that is still felt by many. It was hard to see the bad but inspiring to see the positivity of so many!