Phnom Penh Things to Do Tips by pehsan

National Museum National Museum Review

if you have time and haven't been to Angkor Wat, you may pay this museum a visit. it located at the north of Royal Palace. it house the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture.

Admission fee: USD3
Opening hour: 8am - 5pm
**Photography is prohibited

Address: Between the 178. and the 184., in the 13th road

Directions: It's right by the Royal Palace.

Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda Royal Palace Review

Royal Palace is very much located near the river front. the stuckture look like building from Bangkok.
it's looks out on to Samdech Sothearos Blvd betwwen Ph 184 and Ph 240.

**reminder: no singlet, no shorts or short skirt are allow to enter the palace.

the big compaund consist of Chan Chaya Pavilion (performace of classical Combodian dance), Throne Hall (topped by 59cm high tower inspired by Bayon from Angkor) and Silver Pagoda (floor is covered with over 5000 silver tiles weighing 1kg each). Silver Pagoda also known as Wat Preah Keo (Pagoda of Emerald Buddha) was preserved by Khmer Rouge to show to the world that they concern for the conservation of Combodia's cultural riches. some relic buddha were brought from Sri Lanka and Myanmar. if you were interested with the structures and richness of Khmer civilisation, where they came from, i think this place is aptly for you. what impressed me was this artificial hill with a structure containing a bronze footprint of the buddha from Sri Lanka.

Admission: USD3
Opening hours: 7.30am - 11am & 2.30pm - 5pm

Address: Samdech Sothearos Blvd.

Directions: near rivel front

Killing Field Choeung Ek Genocide Centre Killing Fields Review

Visit to Tuol Sleng is depressing enough but experience to killing field is profoundly awful and melancholy.
Choeung Ek was an orchard and chinese cemetary. it located 15km southeast of Phnom Pehn. Prisoners despite of age were forced to match to the extermination camp. in order to save bullets and limitted places to keep prisoners, many were exhumed in mass graves in 1976-1979.

the first monument which lay in front of my eyes was the glass tower which displayed more than 8 thousand skulls arranged by sex and age. the memorial stupa was eracted in 1988. i have paid my respect with jossticks/incense served infront of the tower.
43 of the 129 communal graves here have been left untouched. fragments of human bones and bits of cloth are scattered around the pits.

the route in the genocide centre as follow:-
memorial charnel house - truck stop - dark and gloomy prison - executioners' office - concrete hall since 1960s - poison (DDT) storeroom - torturing tools storeroom - normal mass graves - mass graves with 116 headless bodies - mass graves with over 100 children and women's bodies - killing tree (tools to kill children) - magic tree (where a loud speaker was hung to mute moaning) - general mass graves.

it's about 20 - 40 mins drive from the centre of the city. you can get there with motor taxi, cyclo, car or bus)

Entrance fee: USD3 (sponsor for the poor and talented students)
Open hour: 8am - 5pm everyday
**it's a little creepy to visit the killing field in the evening, in my humble opinion

Address: Choeung Ek Commune, Khan Dangkor, Phnom Penh

Directions: there are 2 routes to the site. one is to take Monireth Street passing Steng MeanChey bridge at street 271. the other is to take Beng Tompun Street to street 271.

Other Contact: email: jcr@online.com.kh

Phone: (855)23 880 278

Website: http://www.cekillingfield.com

S21 Prison Camp - Tuol Sleng Museum Tuol Sleng Museum Review

School should be a safe place for kids to obtain knowledge and a play ground for them. you can never imagine this school eqiuped with roughly cemented partition into cell room that enough to fit a person, torment chair, bed, water tank, class room turn into torment room and etc. you can never imagine how brutal human being can be to figure out ways to torture their same kind. you think the cell rooms, handcaffs and chains on the bed disturbing enough, no.. there are more shocking scene whereby you can really SEE those people who got tortured then. there are photograph/pictures and stories shared by close family and friends on the wall, one by one, as if you were standing there watching the history live infront of your eyes.
there was this story about the school was actually haunted. believe it or not...
**you may request for a english/french/chinese/japanese speaking guide to bring you around with a little charges.

Documentation Centre of Cambodia (established in 1995) through Yale University's Cambodian Genocide Program to research and document the horrify history.

Admission: USD2
Opening hour: 8am - 11.30am & 2pm - 5.30pm

Address: Corner of Street 113 and Street 350

Directions: take a cycle rickshaw, known in Khmer as "cyclo" or motorcycle taxis