PHNOM PENH - means Penh's Hill

Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, was surprisingly more pleasant than anticipated. Most of my pre-conceived notions of Phnom Penh were based on horror stories from the days of the Khmer Rouge.
First time l visited there was about 10 years ago & Phnom Penh was still in recovery.
Since then each time l return I see more optimism in the faces of the Khmer people. They now believe that education is of optimum importance to their children. An attitude that was difficult for them to accept when for years, the Pol Pot regime murdered anyone who was intellectual or educated.  But as Cambodia has embraced the new world and gradually become part of the global village, the people realize that for Cambodia to survive & excel economically, it is imperative that their children be educated & also learn English.
 In 2011 in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian Stock Market was opened for first time trading.

Also I have noticed  that there is an interest in politics & the right to vote that was not as evident 10 years ago. I feel that the people felt helpless against their government & showed little interest in what was not within their control, having little say over their destiny. Again due to the dictatorships that had  been enforced upon them for so long. Their major concern always, of course was just to survive & some how feed their families.
But now they display with pride their inked finger on voting day which is a proof that they have already voted.  The right to vote and have a say in their country's government & future is an empowering feeling for them. Or for any one of us. But more so when the Khmer people have endured one of the worst genocides in all of human history. About 2.5 million people were killed or died from the results of the Pol Pot regime. The population now is 14 million, most of them born since the regime. Judging by those figures, every family that survived, suffered unbearable losses. They are still scarred.
But on the surface from a tourists view, Cambodia appears to be getting on with life.

Phnom Penh was a ghost town during the regime as most people were killed or evacuated from the capital. Tuol Sleng High School was converted into S-21 prison camp where people were tortured & then taken to the notorious Killing Fields for mass executions. Both places now are museums & are a 'must see' to appreciate how the atrocities impacted its people and the Cambodia of today. As my guide said, 'We must never forget this. We must never let this happen again.'

One of the highlights of Phnom Penh for me was visiting the Royal Palace & the Silver Pagoda. I was totally unaware of the rich history of Cambodia & its royal family. The amount of gold & diamonds is an eye-opener. One solid gold Buddha statue is adorned with over 5000 diamonds! The Silver Pagoda has over 5000 silver tiles, all weighing a kilo each.! The history & traditions are well documented throughout the complex with stunningly ornate architecture & artifacts of Cambodia.









Phnom Penh is very much a river city, situated on the Mekong River & Tonle Sap Lake. In
the evenings, families & foreigners stroll along the wide park-way next to the river, catching a cool breeze & generally soaking up the unique atmosphere of Phnom Penh. Remnants of its French colonization are evident in its maisons & restaurants. French bakeries producing delectable brownies & baguettes along wide boulevards. Combined with congested markets offering frogs & deep-fried bugs. The Russian market is well known for the sale of gem stones such as rubies & sapphires but you would have to know what you are buying & its value. The Russian market was the foreign market during communist occupation when Vietnam fought against the Khmer Rouge. Central market is the other main market. Genuine name brand apparel with small flaws are sold cheaply there. Many famous name brand companies own factories in Phnom Penh.



 Phnom Penh is easily accesible by bus. It's a 6hr bus trip from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in the SE, a 6hr bus trip to Siem Reap in the NW, and a 6hr bus trip to the Cambodian beaches & islands in the south.  Most buses for that distance cost about $10 or $12. Money in Cambodia is Riel & there is approx 4000 riel to the US dollar. Cambodia uses both currencies.

All round Phnom Penh is a pleasant & extremely interesting city. Locals are hospitable & hard working. It's a very flat city in a very flat country & easy to get around. The highest point of land in Phnom Penh is  Wat Phnom which is 27m high. Built by a widow in the 1300's after finding ststues of buddha washed up from the river, it now bares her name. Her name was Penh & phnom means hill. Phnom Penh means Penh's Hill

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