Phnom Penh Overview

It may not have the glistening shopping malls of Bangkok or the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City, but Phnom Penh’s laid-back charm and tangible sense of history are slowly establishing the city among the most popular destinations in mainland Southeast Asia.

Those expecting a post Khmer Rouge hangover will be very pleasantly surprised. Although sites like the S-21 detention facility and the Killing Fields still fascinate tourists, the Cambodian capital is also making a name for itself for good food, great bars and a colonial chic that is increasingly difficult to find elsewhere in the region. Think high ceiling fans, pastel colours and refreshing cocktails on the waterfront and you won’t be far off, as seen at Phnom Penh’s ever-popular Sisowath Quay beside the Tonlé Sap river.

Indeed, the city has come a long way since those dark days between 1975 and 1979 when the Khmer Rouge turned the capital into a ghost town. Phnom Penh is slowly dragging itself into the 21^st century. The electricity supply improves by the year, internet cafés are now everywhere, and ATMs no longer look strangely out of place. This is a city that is slowly being transformed on the back of wholesale foreign investment and the money brought in from tourism, meaning that things are changing here at a lightening pace.

In the past, Phnom Penh has suffered from a reputation as a Wild West style city in which you were never more than few metres away from a firearm and therefore a dose of serious trouble. Those days have gone, at least partly. Although gun crime here is worse than the likes of Vientiane or Chiang Mai, foreign visitors rarely see the ugly side of the city, save the odd petty crime.

Phnom Penh did not begin life as a major settlement until after the Angkor period in which Angkor Wat and the surrounding cities rose to prominence. In the middle of the 15th century, then King Ponhea Yat fled a Siamese invasion in Angkor and settled in a part of what is today Phnom Penh, establishing a palace. Buddhist stupas were later added but the city was not made the official capital and seat of the monarchy until 1866 under King Norodom I.

Three years earlier, however, Cambodia had come under the protection of France and was soon a fully-fledged member of the French Indochina Empire that also included Vietnam and Laos. Under the full control of Paris, Phnom Penh prospered: previously little more than a village, the city was transformed as the French developed the waterfront.

Despite turmoil in many other parts of the country before and after WWII, Phnom Penh remained under the full control of France until 1953 when King Sihanouk negotiated independence in a wave of Khmer nationalism, returning to Phnom Penh triumphant. It did not take long for things to turn sour though. By the beginning of the 1970s, Phnom Penh was little more than an island of tranquillity in a Cambodian sea of war.

In 1975, the Communist guerrilla Khmer Rouge forces lead by Pol Pot took Phnom Penh to cheering crowds. A few days later they were packed off to the countryside as Phnom Penh was drained of two million inhabitants. For four years, it became the most desolate capital on the planet except for torture centres like S-21 and the few Khmer Rouge elite that lived there.

When the Khmer Rouge of Phnom Penh were pushed out in 1979, people slowly returned to a city in utter disrepair. As the full extent of what had happened emerged, the international community began to give aid and help rehabilitate the city as its population slowly increased. It was not until after the Paris Peace Accords in 1991 that full stability was restored to Cambodia.

In 1999, Cambodia joined the regional Southeast Asian grouping ASEAN, which further helped bolster foreign investment into Phnom Penh, beginning a new and positive chapter in the city’s recent history.

Phnom Penh is a hot and humid Asian capital. Unlike other areas of Southeast Asia, the monsoon season here kicks in very gradually around the beginning of April until September and October when it rains heavily before petering out again. At this time of year, foreign visitors will usually find themselves experiencing a humid dampness for much of the day, which is only alleviated by air-conditioning or a powerful fan. Wear light clothes accordingly.

The coolest time of year in the Cambodian capital is during December and January when temperatures usually stay around 25°C but drop lower at night. This is therefore the best time of year to make a visit to Phnom Penh. February remains fairly cool too by local standards but March and April can get unbearably hot, with highs of nearly 40°C sometimes.