36 Hours in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Last year, I spent 3 weeks traveling through Cambodia. My first stop was Phnom Penh, the capital and largest city, where I spent a short amount of time.

Day 1 – A Sunset Walking Tour

I arrived in Cambodia from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in the early afternoon. I had booked a bus ticket through Giant Ibis Transport, and the ride was organized and smooth. After arriving in Phnom Penh, I took a Grab (which was a tuk-tuk instead of a car) to Mad Monkey Hostel. I checked into my room and then went to the nearby Pu Rock Cafe, where I had fried rice and a really good mocha.

My mocha from Pu Rock Cafe

Later that day, I joined an evening walking tour organized through my hostel. First, we rode a ferry back and forth across the river which gave us scenic views of the city. We then stopped for some beers and learned that you should always check your Cambodia Beer tabs; some of them offer prizes for free or discounted beer and even money! The tab on my beer can gave me a discounted beer which was exciting.

Next, we walked to one of the main squares and admired the Royal Palace of Cambodia lit up in the evening. We also tried crickets, silk worms, prawns, and frogs. The crickets and frogs were surprisingly good! Our last stop was a square where we watched the locals dancing and even joined in at one point. Most of the group ended up hanging out more at the hostel when we got back, and I ran into friends I had met in Vietnam which made the night even better.

Our evening walking tour

Crickets, prawns, frogs, and other “delicacies”

Day 2 – S-21 and the Killing Fields

I woke up early for another tour with my hostel, where we would be visiting S-21 and the Killing Fields. First we went to S-21, otherwise known as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, for two hours. This museum was used by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 until 1979 and was the most notorious of the interrogation centers. Over 14,000 prisoners were detained here, but only 12 are believed to have survived. It was a very sobering and depressing visit, but it was important to learn about the atrocities that occurred.

Afterwards, we rode a tuk-tuk for 45 minutes to the Killing Fields, which was an execution and burial site for victims of the Khmer Rouge. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed here. This was another important site to visit, even though it was emotionally difficult to walk through the grounds.

After visiting those museums, we headed back to the hostel and had a quiet lunch together as a group. I spent the rest of the day resting and reflecting on the morning’s excursions. It was a really sad but important day, and I think it’s worth visiting Phnom Penh just for these museums. I learned a lot about Cambodia’s culture and the resilience of its people.

The Royal Palace at sunset