Travel: 3 Days in Phnom Penh

Three days in Phnom Penh Cambodia is just the right amount of time. The city isn’t bike friendly, like Siem Reap, however, there are a lot of tuk-tuks for you to take. Overall, this was a hard location since we visited both the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (the Killing Fileds) and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, yet it’s worth the visit.

The Tea House

This is our delightful hotel for 3 nights and it only cost us about 32$ Canadian each night. Pool – check. Spa – check. Restaurant – check. The hotel had it all and the beds are comfy, too!

Russian Market

The first thing we did after checking into the hotel – visit the Russian Market, or the Tuol Tom Poung Market. It’s hot and full of knock-offs of all kinds. We bought wooden cooking tools – Bryce still uses it all the time.

Wat Phnom

This temple, Wat Phnom, is the tallest religious structure in the city and although it’s a bit run down, the view from above is beautiful. We visited in the late afternoon and it was so peaceful. Also, it’s 1$ to visit, so go – it’s worth it.

The Killing Fields

On a full day we hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day and we visited the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. I couldn’t eat lunch that day and had a hard time on both tours. It struck me after our tour of the Killing Fields when we were on our way to the Genocide Museum that our driver was about 45-50 years old. As such, born before 1975. It didn’t happen that long ago and I started to cry a bit. It’s sad to think of what humans can do to others. Heartbreaking.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

This tour was harder than the Killing Fields and the fact that it had once been a school simply seems so wrong. Although this day was hard, I felt as though it was worth seeing, learning, and remembering what happened.

We spend one full day of our three days in Phnom Penh Cambodia doing the two sites above. It’s going to take a lot out of you and I suggest taking your time and not rushing through it.

Independence Monument

The structure is simply iconic – we drove by it about 5 times and it’s just so beautiful in the bright yellow sun.

Phnom Penh National Museum

One afternoon we did the national museum, which is full of national treasure and is worth the visit. Plus, the elephant out front is just awesome.

The Royal Palace

Gleaming yellow and bright blue bring this place to life. The King of Cambodia calls this regal place home and boy, is it ever beautiful. Check it out and then walk along the water and enjoy the view.

Overall our three days in Phnom Penh Cambodia was a blast – hard, yet fun. The capital of Cambodia is a busy place and it had the best supermarket on our whole trip. The Lucky Supermarket has the best treats!