Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Cambodia’s capital city is a bit rough around the edges, with kind of a bad reputation among the backpackers that I’ve met. Because of that, I didn’t have very high hopes for Phnom Penh. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by the smiling people, unique architecture, and rich culture of the city. Before I dive into my two days in Phnom Penh, I will give a brief overview of what I’ve learned about Cambodian culture:

• The Khmer ethnic group is native to Cambodia, where the native language is Khmer.
• Cambodia’s National currency is the riel, although they also use USD. 4000 riel is equivalent to $1USD. They do not, however, use coins. Instead they use riel for cents, so if your change is $1.50, you will be given $1USD and 2000 riel.
• Cambodia is a predominantly Buddhist country.
• The cuisine is both similar to Thailand, and very, very different. So far, my favorite dish has been lok lak (stir fried beef in brown sauce). Other popular dishes I have tried are fish amok (similar to green curry), vegetable spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce, kuy teav (noodle soup), banana flower salad, and Khmer curry (which is far less spicy than its Thai counterparts).

See, super brief! Now back to Phnom Penh…

My first day in the city I found a map online for a self-guided walking tour. Despite the heat, the few hours I spent wandering around Phnom Penh were very pleasant. I admired the various French colonial style apartments, the colorful tuk tuks at every corner, the massive indoor central market, and I stopped for lunch at one of the organic cafes in the center of the city. Phnom Penh combines small town charm with big city conveniences. One street might be lined with Western fast food chains (they have Burger King, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, etc.), and the next is a beautiful park monument near the Cambodian Grand Palace.

Also, while searching for free things to do in the city, I came across an event called ‘Nerd Night’. Nerd Night is an event where people gather (usually at a bar) to listen to speakers present 5 minute slideshows about whatever topic they want. The Phnom Penh Nerd Night happened to fall on the night I arrived at a pub 5 minutes away from my hostel, so my friends and I had a few beers and listened to speakers present on topics like the state of journalism in Cambodia, fake news, and how social media affects our culture.

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Although the city today gives little clue, Cambodia’s recent history is dark and tragic. After gaining power during the Cambodian civil war that started in 1970, the Khmer Rouge (the name given to the Communist Party of Kampuchea) took control of Phnom Penh and ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979. Lead by the Marxist leader Pol Pot, the regime attempted to convert Cambodia into an Agrarian society by forcing people out of cities and into communal farms on the countryside. The extreme social change led to mass disease and starvation. The Khmer Rouge outlawed religion, money, and private property, and targeted anyone thought to be an intellectual (often for some reason as simple as wearing glasses) for torture and execution. During their four years in power, the Khmer Rouge executed or otherwise killed over a quarter of the population of Cambodia.

I spent my second day in Phnom Penh visiting Tuol Sleng, the notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, learning about the horrible things that happened there. Out of respect, I took very few pictures and won’t be posting them. Prior to visiting Cambodia, I had never heard of the Khmer Rouge or the horrible genocide that happened so recently. I encourage everyone reading to look up more information about what happened.