Phnom Pehn, the capital of Cambodia
Phnom Pehn is the capital of Cambodia, a quite filthy and creepy city in my opinion, in which I did not feel safe, mainly because all of the bad stories I’ve heard about stealing, especially on the riverfront. Basically, I’ve never felt more paranoid in any other city I’ve ever visited in this world. 2 nights in Phnom Pehn were more than enough for visiting the city and see the most important parts (The Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields).
This is a tuk-tuk ride in Phnom Pehn:
Things to do and see in Phnom Pehn
- The Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields – the most important and interesting thing to see, Phnom Pehn is worth visiting just for this!
- The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda (The Royal Palace is the residence of King Sihamoni. The Silver Pagoda has this name because its floor is covered in more than 5000 silver tiles (you can see them only next to the entrance, because the rest of the floor is covered by carpet).
- The riverfront – kind of smells like urine as you walk there. I’ve seen European older men with young Asian girls and men staring at me from head to toes. There is also an aerobic session every evening – this was actually nice to see).
- Wat Phnom – is built on the only hill in Phnom Pehn. Legend says that Madame Pehn discovered the pagoda built on this hill in 1373, in which there were 4 statues of Buddha.
- Psar Thmei (the Central Market) – an art-deco building with a huge dome and good ventilation inside. They sell everything from jewelery to food and clothes.
As I said in the beginning, Phnom Pehn is a dusty and dirty city. I didn’t like it too much. The contempt grew even more when I saw the huge contrast between the Royal Palace (imposing, golden, big, fancy) and the rest of the city.
Interesting fact: there are no crossings for pedestrians and the drivers don’t really care that you are in the middle of the street trying to cross (so different than Belgium!)
The following photos are showing only the nice parts of the city in the most touristic areas, where we felt more safe to have the cameras around our necks.
(Phnom Pehn e capitala Cambodgiei, un oras murdar si infiorator dupa pararea mea, in care nu m-am simtit in siguranta, mai ales datorita furturilor despre care am citit ca se intampla acolo, mai ales pe faleza. Practic, nu m-am simtit asa paranoica in niciun alt oras pe care l-am vizitat pana acum. Doua nopti in Phnom Pehn au fost mai mult decat suficiente sa vad orasul si sa vizitez esentialul – Muzeul Tuol Sleng si Campurile de Ucidere de la Choeung Ek).
De vazut in Phnom Pehn:
- Muzeul Tuol Sleng si Campurile de Ucidere de la Choeung Ek
- Palatul Regal si Pagoda de Argint – Regele Sihamoni locuieste in Palatul Regal, iar Pagoda de Argint – se numeste asa pentru ca are podeaua acoperita cu peste 5000 de bucati de argint, ce se pot vedea langa intrare, restul fiind acoperite cu covor.
- Faleza – miros de urina te invaluie pe tot parcursul falezei; am vazut barbati europeni trecuti de prima tinerete (daca nu si de a doua) de mana cu tinere asiatice; alti barbati ma scanau din cap pana in picioare (brr); Ce mi-a placut a fost sesiunea de aerobic, ce are loc in fiecare seara (o sa vedeti in poze).
- Templul Phnom – construit pe singurul deal din oras, a fost denumit dupa Doamna Phnom care a descoperit in acest loc o pagoda cu patru statui ale lui Buda.
- Piata centrala – cladire art-deco cu un dom imens si aerisire foarte buna. Aici gasesti orice de la bijuterii pana la haine si mancare.
Cum am spus la inceput, Phnom Pehn e un oras plin de praf si murdar. Nu mi-a placut in mod deosebit, iar dispretul a crescut si mai mult cand am vazut marele contrast intre Palatul Regal (impunator, auriu, mare, ingrijit) si restul orasului.
O chestie intersanta: in Cambodia nu sunt treceri de pietoni. Ca sa traversezi trebuie sa o faci sperand ca nu vei fi calcat; soferilor putin le pasa ca tu esti in mijlocul strazii si vrei sa traversezi. Atat de diferit de Belgia!
Pozele urmatoare vor arata partile frumoase ale orasului Phnom Pehn din zonele turistice unde ne-am simtit mai in siguranta cu aparatele foto, dar tot eram cu ochii in patru.)
On the riverfront / Pe faleza.
Bikes and motorbikes in Phnom Pehn
The riverfront / in fata Palatului Regal
Aerobic session every evening on the riverfront in Phnom Pehn/ Aerobic in fiecare seara pe faleza
The courtyard of the Royal Palace / In curtea Palatului Regal
The courtyard of the Royal Palace
Idem
Architecture in Phnom Pehn
Royal Palace – view from the riverfront
Take your shoes off when entering a Buddhist temple/ Trebuie sa te descalti la intrarea in templele budiste
The Silver Pagoda
A nice view of Phnom Pehn
Entrance at Wat Phnom with Naga snake/ Scarile spre templul Phnom, cu sarpele Naga7 capete
Buddha statue with money / Statuia lui Buda cu bani drept ofranda
Man brought gifts to Wat Phnom / Barbatul acesta a adus cadou templului Phnom
Wat Phnom/ Altarul templului Phnom
Wat Phnom
Psar Thmei – the central market with a huge dome / Piata centrala cu o cupola uriasa
Central market
The dome at Psar Thmei / Piata centrala si domul urias. Aici gasesti bijuterii si multe alte produse.
Jewelry and little Buddha souvenirs at Psar Thmei
A family on motorbike / O familie pe scuter
A flower for your patience to stay till the end/ O floare pentru ca ai avut rabdare pana la sfarsit 🙂
Don’t miss:
- The story of Cambodia (Tuol Sleng and Killing Fields)
- Life on a floating village (Kompong Phluk in Cambodia)
- Angels of Cambodia
- City life: Siem Reap
- Mysterious Angkor Temples
I really enjoyed your entry on Cambodia. I went for the first time in November, and I got to photograph the Killing Fields and the Prison, and I have to say it was by far the most depressing thing that I have ever seen. To photograph it was a great experience though, I think that its a good thing that we both captured it so that people that don’t know about what happen those dark days, can see and decide to find out more to make themselves aware of the atrocities that our world has suffered. I really enjoyed this read and I great photographs.
Thank you. I also think it was depressing, especially that it happened quite recently, not even 40 years ago. It could have happened to any of us at that time….
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Thanks for the heads up! If we don’t buy a house this year we are going to asia next year. I’ll be sure to plug my nose when I walk along the riverfront! lol BTW, I’m not sure why but when i clicked on this post to like it, I couldn’t find a way to like it. Hopefully it’ll do it from the reader which I’ve been having problems with lately.
😀 😀 😀 lol for the plug
I hope you buy the house AND visit Asia! Sending good thoughts your way.
P.S. I solved the “like” button trouble, thanks 😀
Thank you! haha and glad you fixed your likes. 😀
hey it’s nice pic ..i love your blog..
🙂
http://piyushpujara.wordpress.com
hey, thanks 🙂
🙂
There’s a long list of cities in which I simply feel uncomfortable and am constantly maintaining awareness of those around me: Rio, Paris, Lisbon, Rome, and Athens just to name a few off the top of my head. But I’ve found that if you avoid the obvious uncomfortable situation and pay attention to the locals you’ll generally be safe . . . except perhaps in Rio. Nothing about Rio makes me feel safe.
Great pictures, by the way. Really enjoyed them.
I know what you mean, each city gives you a certain feeling, some you like, some you don’t. Some are friendlier and others not so much. I liked Rome and Paris though, they are among my favorite cities I’ve visited so far 🙂
I agree with you, Phnom Pehn is probably one of my least favorite places, mainly because I felt so unsafe. And this is coming from someone who normally doesn’t feel that way! Siem Reap for me was far far better. I’m so glad we just stopped by Phnom Pehn for just a day – I was literally walking around clutching my bag and my camera as tightly as possible coz I got followed at least twice. Not a pleasant feeling when you just want to wander freely!
That’s exactly how I was doing, keeping the bag and the camera as tightly as possible, I’ve seen few men looking creepy at me. 🙂
To some extent, I am agree with you. And thanks for those tips. I will keep them in my mind. It is close to India and I may visit this year. However, your images show a different Phnom Pehn 🙂
🙂 It’s true that the photos don’t show the ugly, dirty parts that I was talking about. I didn’t feel safe photographing outside the main touristic areas 😀 Some people love Phnom Pehn though. If you ever go there I can’t wait to read your post about it 😛
Thank you so much 🙂
Very nice picture is post to u…
I totally agree with you about phnom penh. worth it for the must-see cultural sites but other than that, wholly forgettable.
Love your pictures, what kind of camera do you use?
I use a Nikon D90 and a D600 with various types of lenses (wide angle and prime lenses as well).