Tonlé Bati

Tonlé Bati is a small lake, 30km south of Phnom Penh. It is one of the favorites locations for khmer people, that use to spend their weekends chilling out on the lakeside. You can rent a little hut for less than $1 and have a picnic with your own food on the lake. In alternative, you can order some fresh food at one of the many small restaurant that you will find on the lakeside.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

One of the darkest pages of the history of Cambodia are the "three years, eight months and twenty days" of the Kampuchea Democratic Republic, that between 1975 and 1979 brought to death over 1,5 millions people. 

Photo of the inside court (Wikipedia ©)

Most of the evidences of this atrocity can be seen at the Tuol Sleng museum, also known as S-21, an old school used by the Khmer Rouge as an high security prison at first and then transformed into the main custody camp and torture structure of the country, where over 17,000 people - rebels, intellectuals as well as some foreigners - have been imprisoned and killed during the regime.

It is located on street 113 and the entrance costs $2. The complete tour will take around one hour, and is something that I strongly recommend if you want to understand something more about the recent history of the country. It is, by the way, something very strong. If you are sensibles, maybe you should consider the idea of not going there.

The structure is divided into 4 buildings that surround a central court, where today you will find the 14 graves of the very last victims of Pol Pot's army, killed when the Vietnamese army was liberating Phnom Penh.

The very first thing that you will see entering the site, is a list of the rules (in a literal translation from khmer) that had to be followed by prisoners:

1. You must answer accordingly to my question. Don’t turn them away.
2. Don’t try to hide the facts by making pretexts this and that, you are strictly prohibited to contest me.
3. Don’t be a fool for you are a chap who dare to thwart the revolution.
4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reflect.
5. Don’t tell me either about your immoralities or the essence of the revolution.
6. While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all.
7. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting.
8. Don’t make pretext about Kampuchea Krom in order to hide your secret or traitor.
9. If you don’t follow all the above rules, you shall get many lashes of electric wire.
10. If you disobey any point of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge. 

Building A

Is the first building that you will visit if you follow the direction of the tour. It was the area where tortures took place. Some of the instruments, as well as the camp bed where prisoners were enchained, have been left there. On the wall, the photos of the last tortured bodies that have been founded by the Vietnamese. Traces of blood are printed indelibly on the floor.
Detention cells can be founded as well.

Building B

The second building has been used as exposition site: all the photos of the victims can be founded here (often before and after the tortures), as well as the witnesses of the survived. Many panels have been installed to explain the history of the regime and of the camp.

Building C

The third, was a detention one. Small cells (1x2m), made in bricks or in wood. Try to get inside and to close the door. If you feel some empathy, you can imagine how hard would have been to be forced to live in there. The whole building is covered by barbed wire, to avoid prisoners to commit suicide.

Building D

Torture instruments can be founded here, together with some witnesses and photos of the victims.

The National Museum of Phnom Penh

If you want to discover the ancient history of Cambodia, then you should take sometime to visit the National Museum. A beautiful building in the very city centre, built around the 1920, where you will find the most beautiful sculptures and tools of the khmer culture, since his very beginning.

It is divided in four areas, that surround a nice inside garden where a statue of Buddah is standing.

The inside garden

Most of the sculptures represents the Hindu's gods and goddess. Three are the main figures : Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. These three, part of a trinity, have each one a defined role. Brahma is the creator of the universe, Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer.

Once you are inside the museum, there are several statues that you cannot miss. One of the first that you will find is the upper part of a bronze-made Vishna, which dates the Angkor period (XIth century).

If you proceed in the direction of the tour, you will pass through a big room where you will see the evolution of the khmer sculpture, from the pre-Angkor period. You will notice the transition from the human forms (influence of the Indian culture) to the spirituals (around the Vth and the VIIIth).

Two of the most impressive sculptures that you will find on your way, are the Vishnu with eight-arms and the Harihara's, where the attributes of Shiva and Vishnu merge together.

Statue of two fighting monkeys

Then, you will find is an enormous statue of two monkeys fighting (picture), and the wonderful statue of Jayavarman, considered the first king of the Khmer empire, sitting in a meditative posture, with his head slightly recumbent.

You will also find a huge number of potteries and bronzes, as well as more modern tools and objects, such as a wonderful royal barge.

The entrance price is $5 (photos are not allowed inside), and for a few dollars more you will get a guided tour as well.

Meta House

The entrance of Meta House

The Meta House is probably THE cultural centre of the town. An open-air theatre managed by Germans, that offers everyday (around 7pm) a rich range of documentaries and shorts, mainly focused on the problems of Cambodia, as well as of other south-eastern countries. Often, you will also find nice concerts and expositions.


All the projections are completely free and, normally, after the show there is a debate with the producers. The public is mostly composed by Expats, NGO's workers and activists. It is the place you want to go to if you are someone involved in social.

Have a beer and eat some sausages, take your time to talk with the people around you. It will be a very enriching experience.

This is definitely one of the place that you can't miss if you are living the city.



For more information, visit the official website at meta-house.com

Koh Dach and Koh Okhna Tey, the Silk Islands

If you are looking for the "real" Cambodia, not far away from the chaos of Phnom Penh (5km north) you will find two little islands: Koh Dach and Koh Okhna Tey. These are most known by foreigners as the Silk Islands, due to the main activity of their inhabitants: weave silk.

Sunset on the ferryboat

To get there, you have to take an old ferry to traverse the Mekong river, and you will be there within 5 minutes. The price is 500r (less than $0.15) per person, plus 500r if you have a scooter/bike/car.

You will dock on the smallest island, Koh Okhna Tey, which has the best roads and infrastructures, whereas the biggest, Koh Dach, is much wilder, especially if you go all the way north.

People are very kind here. They don't see so many tourists around, so you will definitely the attraction of the day. Many of them will ask you to come and see how they work silk (and, of course, they hope you will buy something!). If you don't feel like going, you can just politely refuse (In my opinion, with a smile everything works better). Anyway, don't be afraid to take some time to talk to the locals, you will have an unique experience. Furthermore, if you have a camera and you are not afraid to use it, they - especially kids - won't be bothered at all to talk with you and/or pose for you.

                     

Koh Okhna Tey

The temple of Koh Okhna Tey

As I said, this is the smallest island. I strongly recommend to take some time to get lost on the island, as you will see some amazing things over there. You will find hospitals, schools and pagodas, as well as a wonderful - but unfortunately abandoned - ancient theatre and what remains of a monarch guest house.

The theatre is surrounded by wild nature, and if you follow the footbridge you will see a beautiful construction - that I guess it was some kind of temple long time ago. It is kept in good condition (and it is probably the only thing around here), with painted statues of Hindu Gods and Goddess.

Koh Dach

Koh Dach

The wildest and the biggest of the two island, it offers the best landscape and pictures of the area: big fields, lakes, small farms and grazing animals all over. If you go in the northern part, you will find a kind of "picnic" area, right on the Mekong, where you can spend some time relaxing and enjoying the wonderful view of the river, maybe tasting some fresh mango! And, if you are brave enough, you can also try to dive into the stream, as locals do...

Little Noodle Shop

The brand new signboard

The Little Noodle Shop is a nice small khmer restaurant in the city centre, just a few minutes away from the riverside.

The owner, a young cambodian girl, is very kind and speaks perfectly english. If you are around the area, you should definitely take some time to go there.

Noodle soup with pork dumplings

The main dishes are soups, dumplings and noodles, which are hand-made right in front of you by a young khmer (video). They taste delicious. [I strongly recommend the noodles soup with pork dumplings] 

Prices are affordable, around $2.50 per dish and $0.50 per beer.

Welcome to the pearl of Asia

The first thing that you notice arriving in Phnom Penh is his huge traffic jams. Scooters all over, tuk tuk driving in the middle of the road and huge luxury vehicles.

If you choose to go around with a tuk tuk (definitely the nicest way to move in town), and you take a look around, you will find since the very beginning the dichotomy of this country : huge villas with people sleeping on the road right in front of them, old scooters and brand new Lexus, lounge bars and street-made aperitifs, huge malls and small markets It is a strange mix of occidental and asian cultures. Something like an asiatization of the western culture.

But people here don't seem stressed at all. Especially if you are a gringo - and, trust me, you are easily recognizable - the first reaction of the khmers will be to smile at you. Most of them don't speak a word in english, but they use the universal language of the body to communicate with you.

Maybe it is because of their politeness, or maybe just because tourists are a huge economical resource, but they will always try to help you, even if they don't have any idea of what you are talking about. It is nice, as long as you are not in a hurry. But going around for hours on a tuk tuk before you realize that the driver has absolutely no idea of where to go, even if might be an unique experience, is not exactly what you are looking for. [You'd better have a map on you and show where you want to go in that case...]

Tuk tuk and scooters rule the town

If you have ever been to Naples (Italy) or to Morocco, you will see a lot of similitudes. Personally, I did. The huge number of scooters, the way they buzz like flies in the (perennial) traffic jams, the continuous sound of horns and the total anarchy at the traffic lights are only some of the point in common.

Life is on the street here. Everything seems coordinated by chaos. An harmonic chaos. You will have the impression that in this huge mess, everything is in the right place.