Cambodia’s Beguiling Capital: Phnom Penh

Sizzling in the sun or drenched in monsoon rain, Phnom Penh takes you by surprise. Chaotic and relaxed all in one, with bustling lanes and tree-lined boulevards, Buddhist temples, exotic markets and three rivers, the Mekong, the Bassac and the Sap, meeting within sight of the Royal Palace.

The Mekong is the stuff of legends but it is the Sap which flows closest to the city and gives it a particular charm. There are fishing craft painted like rainbows, houseboats, fast ferries to Angkor Wat, cargo vessels, sampans and frail tourist boats bobbing at anchor. Sail down to the Mekong and you discover bamboo houses along the shore and floating villages where children dive in brown waters and fishermen haul in their nets in the setting sun.

The city roofs glow coppery gold across the water and when the cool evening breeze sweeps along the promenade, locals come down to the river, friends holding hands, families sharing a picnic, hawkers selling incense and lotus bloom for the shrines. Flags from many nations fly high above it all and across Sisowath Quay, outdoor cafés with plush cushions and rattan chairs add a whiff of colonial days.

Phnom Penh’s main attractions are conveniently close to the waterfront. Built during the French protectorate, the Royal Palace is a delightful oasis of lawns and trees, dotted with colonnades, spires and overlapping roofs. You find a pavilion donated by Napoleon III, an ‘Emerald Buddha’ made of crystal and a Pagoda claiming 5000 silver tiles, mostly tucked under a carpet. Visiting monks pose for photographs among the bougainvillea and marvel at the lofty flourishes of Khmer architecture. Others head for the nearby National Museum and its fabulous treasures displayed in a maze of lotus ponds and open galleries.

Today, Buddhism is back after the dark Pol Pot years and spirit houses and temples pop up all over town. Most popular is Wat Phnom, perched on the only hill around. On this spot some 600 years ago, Lady Penh found sacred Buddha images, thus giving the city its name, the hill (Phnom) of Penh. City folk climb up the steps, past mythological lions and snakes, to burn incense and make a wish. Fortune tellers make a brisk trade, monkeys scamper on the slopes and the resident elephant waits for his next ride around the park.

Phnom Penh is easy to explore on foot, as long as you don’t cross too many roads. Streets are on a grid pattern, enclosed by Parisian-style boulevards fragrant with frangipani. You find gold shops and shoe-shine boys, tailors and printers working on the pavements, smoke-filled barbecues and honking traffic ready to pounce at countdown lights. Rickshaws and bicycles weave through it all, laden with multicoloured balloons or household goods, orange-robed monks carry alms bowls and umbrellas and now and then a wedding party files through an entrance draped in lilies and silver bananas. What looks like bottles of squash at the roadside is motorbike fuel.

The old French Quarter is worth a peep for its leafy lanes and stylish mansions but for local colour, the markets are a must, whether you are looking for fresh fruit or fried spiders, bags, books, clocks, silk, fake designer goods or stone carvings. Bargaining is hard work but there is always time to relax at the end of the day and watch the sunset over the Mekong.

By Solange Hando

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