Phnom Penh City – Cambodia

Phnom Penh City – Cambodia is the capital city of the country and is also the largest. The city is the cultural and commercial hub of the country and also the country’s center for business and economic activities.

Location

Phnom Penh City – Cambodia is situated along the borders of the Mekong River, within the south-central section of the country. The province of Kandal surrounds this capital city of Cambodia.

Getting There

There are several ways to reach Phnom Penh City – Cambodia: via plane, bus or boat. There is an international airport right in Phnom Penh and several airlines provide services in and out of the city to several destinations outside the country.

For bus services, there are two major bus companies that provide rides to and from the city to several destinations to neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, among others.

Boats on the other hand are available for travelers coming in from Vietnam.

What to See

There are plenty of sights that you can visit while in Phnom Penh. These include museums, temples and historical landmarks. Museums and landmarks here depict one of he country’s most important political history, albeit gruesome and tragic: the Vietnam War and the First Indochina War where thousands upon thousands of native Cambodians perished.

Of particular interest are the Tuol Sleung Genocide Museum a prison where fourteen thousand captives were tortured prior to execution at the

Killing Fields; and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where the Khmer Rouge executed thousands of their prisoners.

Other sights to visit are the National Museum of Cambodia; the Wat Phnom, a park with a temple on the hill; plus the Independence and Liberation Memorials that commemorate the departure of the French forces in the year 1953.

Brief History

Phnom Penh City – Cambodia was the capital city of the country from the years 1432 up to 1505 but it was later abandoned by the royal families because of internal conflicts.

The capital city of the country was then moved from one state to the next until 360 years later, in the year 1866, King Norodom I finally declared Phnom Penh City – Cambodia as the permanent capital of the country.

Under the French Colonial rule in the year 1870, various infrastructure developments took place which earned Phnom Penh City – Cambodia the title of “Pearl of Asia.”

The city came to ruins during the Vietnam War and the First Indochina War. By the late 1970s, reconstruction of the city began and with aides from the Asian Development Bank as well as the World Bank, the city started to get back on its feet.

Cost

Transportation costs in and around the city vary depending on your chosen mode of transport. From the international airport, taxis have a fixed rate of about nine US dollars while motorcycle taxi fares cost about seven US dollars.

Tuk-tuks are the most popular mode of public transport within Phnom Penh City – Cambodia. Rides can be anywhere from one to two US dollars up to ten to fifteen US dollars depending on the distance and the number of hours that you will be renting the tuk-tuks.

Motorcycle taxis that go around town usually cost about six to eight US dollars while regular taxis are from four dollars up to thirty-five dollars again depending on the distance and the number of hours that you will be renting the taxis.

Budget accommodations meanwhile start at ten US dollars up to twenty US dollars; mid-range is from thirty-five up to one hundred and fifty US dollars while luxury accommodations are at one hundred and fifty US dollars and above.