Phnom Penh Off The Beaten Path Tips by ancient_traveler

TUKTUKS RIDE

(Motorcycle trailers, ‘Tuk-tuks,’ moto-romauks) ‘Tuk-tuks’ have become quite popular in Phnom Penh. Unlike their noisy, two-stroke namesakes common to Bangkok, the Cambodian ‘tuk-tuks’ offer a quieter, more pleasant ride. Tuk-tuks for hire gather in popular tourist areas such as the riverfront and at tourist hotels. $1-$2 for short trips and $10-$15 for the whole day. Prices vary depending on the number of passengers and where you pick up the tuk-tuk. Make sure to keep your bag toward the middle of the tuk-tuk to protect against bag snatching.

MONKS

The history of Buddhism in Cambodia spans nearly two thousand years, across a number of successive kingdoms and empires. Buddhism entered Cambodia through two different streams. The earliest forms of Buddhism, along with Hindu influences, entered the Funan kingdom with Hindu merchants.

Cambodian Buddhism was instrumental in fomenting Khmer national identity and the independence movement in the 20th century, leading to Cambodian independence as a sovereign state.

In their attempt to separate the Khmer people from their cultural allegiance to the neighboring Theravada kingdom of Siam, the French "protectors" nurtured a sense of Khmer identity by emphasizing Khmer-language studies and Khmer Buddhist studies. They established Pali schools within Cambodia to keep the Cambodian monks from traveling to Siam for higher education. These Khmer-language study centers became the birthplace of Cambodian nationalism.