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<\/p>\nPhnom Penh: the name can\u2019t help but conjure up an image of the exotic. The glimmering spires of the royal palace, the fluttering saffron of the monks\u2019 robes, and the luscious location on the banks of the mighty Mekong; this is one of Asia\u2019s undiscovered gems. But it\u2019s also a city on…<\/p>\n
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Phnom Penh: the name can\u2019t help but conjure up an image of the exotic. The glimmering spires of the royal palace, the fluttering saffron of the monks\u2019 robes, and the luscious location on the banks of the mighty Mekong; this is one of Asia\u2019s undiscovered gems. But it\u2019s also a city on the move, as a new wave of investors move in, perhaps forever changing the character, and skyline, of this classic city. Phnom Penh is a crossroads of Asia\u2019s past and present, a city of extremes of poverty and excess, of charm and chaos, but one that never fails to captivate.<\/p>\n
Phnom Penh can be an assault on the senses. Motorbikes whiz through the backstreets without a thought for pedestrians; pungent scents float up from stalls and markets; and all the while the sound of life, of commerce, of survival, reverberates all around. But this is all part of the attraction. It\u2019s not just another metropolis, the identikit image of a modern capital; it is an older Asia that many dreamed of when first planning their adventures overseas.<\/p>\n
Once the \u2018Pearl of Asia\u2019, Phnom Penh\u2019s shine was tarnished by the impact of war and revolution. But that\u2019s history, and Phnom Penh has risen from the ashes to take its place among the cool capitals of the region. Delve into the ancient past at the National Museum or struggle to make sense of the recent trauma at Tuol Sleng Museum. Browse the city\u2019s markets for a bargain or linger in the beautiful boutiques that are putting Phnom Penh on the style map. Street-surf through the local stalls for a snack or enjoy the refined surrounds of a designer restaurant. Whatever your flavor, no matter your taste, it\u2019s all here in Phnom Penh.<\/p>\n
Climate
\nThe climate is hot year-round with only minor variations. City temperatures range from 10\u00b0 to 38 \u00b0C (50\u00b0 to 100 \u00b0F) and experiences tropical monsoons. Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May to October. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season, which lasts from November to March. The city experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest period occurring from January to February.
\nIt has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures rise up to 40 \u00b0C (104 \u00b0F) around April and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can drop to 22 \u00b0C (72 \u00b0F). The best months to visit the city are November to January when temperatures and humidity are lower.<\/p>\n
Money
\nThose looking to change cash into riel need look no further than jeweler stalls around the markets of Phnom Penh. Psar Thmei and Psar Tuol Tom Pong are the most convenient.
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\nA number of up market hotels offer money-changing services, although this is usually reserved for their guests. Many travel agents can also change traveler\u2019s checks and offer credit-card advances for a 5% commission or higher. Most banks in Phnom Penh are open from roughly 8.30am to 3.30pm weekdays, plus Saturday mornings.<\/p>\n
Dangers & annoyances
\nPhnom Penh is not as dangerous as people imagine, but it is important to take care. Armed robberies do sometimes occur, but statistically you would be very unlucky to be a victim.<\/p>\n
Should you become the victim of a robbery, do not panic and do not, under any circumstances, struggle. Calmly raise your hands and let your attacker take what they want. Do not reach for your pockets as the assailant may think you are reaching for a gun. You will most likely get any documents back later via your guesthouse or embassy, as the robbers often want only cash and valuables. For the time being, even passports and credit cards seem to be returned. Do not carry a bag at night, as it is more likely to make you a target.<\/p>\n
It pays to be cautious in crowded bars or nightclubs that are frequented by the Khmer elite. Many pampered children hang out in popular places, bringing their bodyguards along for good luck. This is fine until a drunken foreigner treads on their toes or they decide they want to hit on a Western girl. Then the problems start and if they have bodyguards with them, it will only end in tears, big tears.<\/p>\n
If you ride your own motorbike during the day, some police may try to fleece you for the most trivial of offences, such as turning left in violation of a no-left-turn sign. At their most audacious, they may try to get you for riding with your headlights on during the day although, worryingly, it does not seem to be illegal for Cambodians to travel without their headlights on at night. The police will most likely demand US$5 from you and threaten to take you to the police station for an official US$20 fine if you do not pay. If you are patient with them and smile, you can usually get away with handing over US$1. The trick is not to stop in the first place by not catching their eye.<\/p>\n
The riverfront area of Phnom Penh, particularly places with outdoor seating, attracts many beggars, as do Psar Thmei and Psar Tuol Tom Pong. Generally, however, there is little in the way of push and shove.<\/p>\n
Flooding is a major problem during heavy downpours in the wet season (June to October). Phnom Penh\u2019s drainage system is notoriously unreliable and when the big rains kick off, some streets turn into canals for a few hours. The Japanese government is currently reworking the drains and sewers along the riverfront, which may well ease things. The downside is that much of the riverfront promenade has been fenced off during this work, which is scheduled to continue until 2009.<\/p>\n
While you’re there
\nMedical services
\nIt is important to be aware of the difference between a clinic and a hospital in Phnom Penh. Clinics are good for most situations, but in a genuine emergency it is best to make for one of the hospitals.<\/p>\n
Transport
\nPhnom Penh International Airport (Phnom Penh) is the second-largest and second-busiest airport in Cambodia. It is located 7 km (4.3 miles) west of central Phnom Penh. Taxis, pick-ups and minibuses leave Phnom Penh for destinations all over the country, but are fast losing ground to cheaper and more comfortable buses. Phnom Penh also has rail service. There are two bus companies, Phnom Penh Public transport and GST Express, servicing to Sihanoukville, Kompong Chang, Udong and Takeo.
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\nAlso Phnom Penh Sorya Transport Co. offers bus service to several provincial destinations along the National Routes as well as Ho Chi Minh City. Motorcycles are a popular form of quick travel in the city streets.<\/p>\n
Although the city is 290 km (180 miles) from the sea, it is a major port on the Mekong River valley, and it is linked to the South China Sea via a channel of the Mekong delta in Vietnam. Local means of public transportation within the city most often include the cycle rickshaw, known in Khmer as “cyclo” and motorcycle taxis. Private forms of transportation include bicycles and automobiles.<\/p>\n
History
\nPhnom Penh first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire, moved the capital from Angkor Thom after it was captured by Siam a few years earlier. There are stupa behind Wat Phnom that house the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist statues from the Angkorean era. There is a legend that tells how Phnom Penh was created.<\/p>\n
It was not until 1866 that the reign of King Norodom I, that Phnom Penh became the permanent seat of government and the current Royal Palace was built. This marked the beginning of the transformation of what was essentially a riverside village into a city with the French Colonialists expanding the canal system to control the wetlands, filling in lakes, constructing roads and building a port.<\/p>\n
By the 1920s, Phnom Penh was known as the Pearl of Asia, and over the next four decades continued to experience growth with the building of a railway to Sihanoukville and the Pochentong International Airport (now Phnom Penh International Airport).<\/p>\n
During the Vietnam War, Cambodia was used as a base by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong, and thousands of refugees from across the country flooded the city to escape the fighting between their own government troops, the NVA\/NLF, the South Vietnamese and its allies and the Khmer Rouge. By 1975, the population was 2,000,000, the bulk of them refugees from the fighting. The city fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 17. Many of its residents, those who were wealthy and educated, were forced to do labor on rural farms as “new people”. Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s forces and was turned into the S-21 prison camp, where Cambodians were detained and tortured. Pol Pot sought a return to an agrarian economy and therefore killed many people perceived as educated, “lazy” or political enemies. Many others starved to death as a result of failure of the agrarian society and the sale of Cambodia’s rice to China in exchange for bullets and weaponry. The former high school is now the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum where Khmer Rouge torture devices and photos of their victims are displayed. Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields), 15 kilometers (9 mi) away, where the Khmer Rouge marched prisoners from Tuol Sleng to be murdered and buried in shallow pits, is also now a memorial to those who were killed by the regime.<\/p>\n
The Khmer Rouge was driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese in 1979 and people began to return to the city. Vietnam is historically a state with which Cambodia has had many conflicts; therefore this liberation was and is viewed with mixed emotions by the Cambodians. A period of reconstruction began, spurred by continuing stability of government, attracting new foreign investment and aid by countries including France, Australia, and Japan. Loans were made from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure. The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh’s population at 862,000; by the next census in 2008 it was 1.3 million.<\/p>\n