Phnom Penh

Food & Drink

• Majas Srok Restaurant – traditional Cambodian food, great for tourists and locals alike
• Bassac Street – a beautiful bar street
• Dad & Son Banh Mi Cart – yes, that's really the name; the sandwiches are so good, and you can sit by the river to enjoy them
• El Toro Grill – a tourist spot, but with a huge range of cuisines (the empanadas were unreal)
• Pub Street – touristy, but you'll find whatever cuisine you're craving

Sights

• Temples around the city, dress modestly — Wat Ounalom, Wat Langka
• Markets everywhere — Fresh Halal Spicy Mart, Central Market, Phnom Penh Night Market
• Made in Cambodia Market — a craft market (I picked up an art piece here)
• Riverside Night Market
• Independence Monument & Park
• Wat Phnom & Park — touristy, the monument itself is unremarkable but the temple is sacred to locals and the park is nice

Experiences

• Royal Palace of Cambodia (open 8–11am and 2–5pm) — get a tour guide, it's informative, and the palace is beautiful lit up at night
• Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum & Choeung Ek, the Killing Fields — dedicate a full day, get the audio guides; it will be one of the hardest days of your life
• A food tour (we did the Urban Forage Night Food Tour) — amazing, tried about 20 different things, including tarantula if you're brave enough
• Phare Circus — a world-record cultural storytelling performance; book ahead, go in the evening, don't skip it

Getting Around

• Chaiya Palace Hotel and Koulen Central Mall and Hotel were both excellent home bases, and helpful for arranging tours and TukTuks
• TukTuks are everywhere and easy to flag down

Travel Tips

• Commit a full day to the genocide sites and go in with the emotional space to process it
• Dress modestly for temples — cover your knees and shoulders

Overall Review

I was overwhelmingly surprised by my time in Phnom Penh. Going in, I had no real image of what to expect, only that the country is infamously known for the genocide of the 1970s. The city defied all of that — I found a westernized marvel with heaps of culture, delicious food, and a certain elatedness that was hard to overlook. I spent 3 days here across two visits, but I could easily see someone enjoying the city enough to stay a week or more.