Cambodia Travel Guide

At times beautiful and beguiling, at times chaotic and charmless, Phnom Penh is a crossroad of Asia’s past and present, a city of extremes of poverty and excess, but one that never fails to captivate the visitor.

Phnom Penh sits at the confluence of the Mekong, Tonle Bassac and Tonle Sap rivers. Long considered the loveliest of the French-built cities of Indochina, its charm, while tarnished, has largely managed to survive the violence of its recent history and the current crop of property speculators.

Most of Phnom Penh’s tourist attractions are low-key, which means that many travelers spend only a short time here. This is a pity; Phnom Penh is a city that is rediscovering itself and, after the obligatory sightseeing circuit is completed, a fascinating place to take in at leisure. The French left a legacy of now-crumbling colonial architecture, some of which is being tastefully renovated; the wats (Buddhist temple-monasteries) have come back to life with a passion – monks in saffron robes can be seen wandering around carrying alms bowls; and there are great restaurants all over the city, an Ideal warm-up for the lively nightshift.

The riverfront area in Phnom Penh is undoubtedly one of the most splendid in Asia, lined with swaying palms and billowing flags, the mightiest river in Asia, the Mekong, converging and diverging as a backdrop. After many years of neglect, Phnom Penh at last seems to be on the move and, if it can learn from the mistakes of its large neighbors, it could once again become the ‘Pearl of Asia’.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tread lightly upon the 5000 silver floor tiles at the Silver Pagoda in the Royal Palace
• Step back In time at the National Museum, home to the world’s finest collection of Angkorian sculpture
• Check out the Art Deco masterpiece that is Psar Thmei, Phnom Penh’s central market
• Discover a darker side at Tuol Sleng Museum, a brutal reminder of the pain of Cambodia’s past
• Soak up the city by night, with a happy hour cocktail, a fine meal and a crawl through the city’s bars

Phnom Penh is a small city and most of the major sights are fairly central. The most important cultural sights can be visited on foot and are located near the riverfront in the most beautiful part of the city

Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda
Add: Samdech Sothearos Blvd – Admission US$3 – Open 7.30am – 11am & 2.30pm – 5pm

Royal Palace

The Royal Palace is a striking structure near the riverfront, bearing a remarkable likeness to its counter part in Bangkok. It stands on the site of the former citadel, Banteay Kev, and looks out on to Samdech Sothearos Blvd between Ph 184 and Ph 240. Visitors are only allowed to visit the palace’s Silver Pagoda and its surrounding compound. It is an extra US$2 to take in a camera and US$5 for a video camera. However, photography is not permitted inside the pagoda itself.

Silver Pagoda

The Silver Pagoda, so named because the floor is covered with over 5000 silver tiles weighing 1kg each, is also known as Wat Preah Keo (Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha). It was constructed of wood in 1892 during the rule of King Norodom, who was apparently inspired by Bangkok’s Wat Phra Keo, and was rebuilt in 1962.

The Silver Pagoda was preserved by the Khmer Rouge to demonstrate to the out- side world, its concern for the conservation of Cambodia’s cultural riches. Although some 60% of the pagoda’s contents were destroyed under Pol Pot, what remains is spectacular. This is one of the few places in Cambodia where objects embodying some of the brilliance and richness of Khmer civilization can still be seen. 

National Museum
Admission US$3 – Open 8am-5pm
The National Museum of Cambodia is home to the world’s finest collection of Khmer sculpture. Located just north of the Royal Palace, the museum is housed in a graceful terracotta structure of traditional design (built 1917-20), with a lush courtyard garden providing the perfect backdrop to an out- standing array of delicate objects.

The museum comprises four courtyards, facing a garden. The most significant displays of sculpture are in the courtyards to the left and straight ahead of the entrance. Some highlights include the eight-armed statue of Vishnu from the 6th or 7th century AD, the statue of Shiva and the sublime statue of Jayavarman VII seated, his head bowed slightly in a meditative pose. The museum also contains displays of pottery and bronzes dating from the pre-Angkorian periods of Funan and Chenia (4th to 9th centuries), the Indravarman period (9th and 10th centuries), the classical Angkorian period (10th to 14th centuries), as well as more recent works. There is a permanent collection of post-Angkorian Buddha, many of which were rescued from Angkor Wat when the civil war erupted.

Unfortunately, photography is prohibited inside the museum. English- and French- speaking guides (from US$2, depending on group size) are available, and there is also a useful exhibition booklet, The New Guide to the National Museum, available at the front desk.

The Royal University of Fine Arts has its headquarters in a structure behind the main National Museum building.

Wat Phnom
Admission US$1
Set on top of a 27m-bigh tree-covered knoll, Wat Phnom is on the only hill in town. According to legend, the first pagoda on this site was erected in 1373 to house four statues of Buddha deposited here by the waters of the Mekong River and discovered by a woman named Penh. The main entrance to Wat Phnom is via the grand eastern staircase, which is guarded by lions and naga (mythical serpent) balustrades.

Today, many people come here to pray for good luck and success in school exams or business affairs. When a petitioner’s wish is granted, he or she returns to make the offering promised – such as a garland of jasmine towers or a-bunch of bananas, of which the spirits are said to be especially fond – when the request was made.

Wat Phnom Wall

The vihara (temple sanctuary) was rebuilt in 1434, 1806, 1894 and 1926. West of the vihara is a huge stupa containing the ashes of King Ponhea Yat. In a pavilion on the southern side of the passage between the vihara and the stupa is a statue of a smiling and rather plump Madame Penh.

A bit to the north of and below the vihara is an eclectic shrine dedicated to the genie Preah Chau, who is especially revered by the Vietnamese. On either side of the entrance to the chamber containing a statue of Preah Chau are guardian spirits bearing iron bats. On the tiled table in front of the two guardian spirits are drawings of Confucius, as well as two Chinese-style figures of the sages Thang Cheng (on the right) and Thang Thay (on the left). To the left of the central altar is an eight-armed statue of Vishnu.

Down the hill from the shrine is a royal stupa sprouting full-sized trees from its roof. For now, the roots are holding the bricks together in their net-like grip, but when the trees die the tower will slowly crumble. If you can’t make it out to Angkor, this stupa will give you a pretty good idea of what the jungle can do (and is doing) to Cambodia’s monuments.

Wat Phnom can be a bit of a circus. Beggars, street urchins, women selling drinking and children selling birds in cages (you pay to set the bird free – locals claim the birds are trained to return to their cage after- wards) pester everyone who turns up to climb the 27m to the summit. Fortunately it’s all high-spirited stuff, and it’s difficult to be annoyed by the vendors, who, after all, are only trying to eke out a living. You can also have a short elephant ride around the base of the hill, perfect for those elephant – trekking photos, but without the accompanying sore butt.

It is hardly the most stunning location you are likely to visit m Cambodia, but as a symbol of Phnom Penh, it is a popular spot.

Independence Monument
Add: Corner Norodom & Sihanouk Blvds
The Independence Monument is modeled on the central tower of Angkor Wat and was built in 1958 to commemorate the country’s independence from France in 1953. It also serves as a memorial to Cambodia’s war dead (at least those that the current government chooses to remember) and is sometimes referred to as the Victory Monument. Wreaths are laid there on national holidays. Nearby, beside Samdech Sothearos Blvd, is the optimistically named Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument, built to a Vietnamese (and very communist) design in 1979.

Phnom Penh has a cracking selection of restaurants that showcase the best of Khmer cuisine, as well as offering a healthy hitlist of international food’ that includes Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Thai and French. Visitors to Phnom Penh are quite literally spoilt for choice these days. Most local restaurants open around 6.30am and serve food until 9pm or so. International restaurants stay open later, until 11pm or so, but some close between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner.

The best bet for budget dining in Phnom Penh is to head to one of the city’s many markets. The dining areas may not be the most sophisticated in the world, but the food is tasty and cheap.

If the markets arc just too hot or too claustrophobic for your taste then look out for the mobile street sellers carrying their wares on their shoulders or wheeling it around in small carter.

Foreign Correspondence Club (FCC)

Local hole-in-the-wall restaurants are slightly more civilized but still very cheap. Many of the international restaurants around town, and there are plenty of them, are expensive by local standards, but compared with dining in the West, the prices are still absurdly reasonable.

Several of the guesthouses around town have popular restaurants and some tasty food, but with so much good grub available in Phnom Penh it seems a shame to get into the habit of chowing down at the nearest terrace.

Most of the big hotels have in-house restaurants with multinational menus, but prices tend to be high and tax and service is extra adding up to a multinational-sized bill. 
 
KHMER

Scattered around town are numerous Khmer restaurants that set up outdoor tables and chairs in the evenings. These places rarely have English signs and are as much about drinking beer as about eating, but they’re lively places for an inexpensive meal and the food is usually very good.

Daramasmey Restaurant
Add: 292 Ph 214, Phnom pleung – Price: US$3, mains US$2-5
Just off the main Monivong drag, this is the most popular cook-it-yourself restaurant in Phnom Penh, heaving with Khmers every night, and a lively ot to pass an evening as an amateur chef.

Chaay Heng Restaurant
Add: Corner Ph 125 & Sihanouk Blvb – Price: mains 6000r
A long-running local restaurant, this place offers a good selection classic Cambodian cuisine. Be prepared to be ambushed by ‘beer girls’ as soon as you sit down, with almost as many drink promoters as dishes on the menu.

Goldfish River Restaurant
Add: Sisowath Quay – Price: mains US$2-4
Perched on stilts over Tonle Sap, opposite Ph 106, this is a good Cambodia restaurant for authentic flavors and a cooling breeze. Crab with black pepper is a light, but there is something for everyone on the extensive menu. Save some space for e tasty banana flamebees.

Sa Em Restaurant
Add: 379 Sisowath Quay – Price: mains US$ 1-3
More of a spit-and-sawdust place than some, this atmospheric little diner on the riverfront is great value for the location. Simple dishes like fried rice and noodles are cheap and filling, and large Angkor beers are just US$1 

Amoc Café
Add: 2 Ph 278 – Main: mains US$3-6
Amoc Café is under the same ownership as Khmer Surin, with a similar theme, and is named in honor of one of Cambodia’s national dishes. It serves delicious amoc (fish coconut curry in a banana leaf), as well as a maze of Khmer and Thai favourites.

Sugar Palm
Add: 19 Ph240 – Tel: 220956
One of the newer venues on fashionable Ph 240, this lovely little restaurant-bar offers authentic Khmer flavours in refined surroundings. Warm up downstairs with a drink before heading up to the balcony for a memorable meat.
 
CHINESE

There are numerous Chinese restaurants around Phnom Penh, many offering an authentic taste of the Middle Kingdom. There are several real-deal Chinese restaurants along Ph 136, opposite the Phnom Penh Public Transport bus station, with names like Peking and Shanghai. These are the perfect place for a meal before or after a long bus ride.

Chong Qing Restaurant
Add: 727 Monivong Blvd – Price: mains US$1-5
This restaurant is popular with Chinese residents Phnom Penh always a good sights and specialties in Sichuan soup cooked at your table. For the uninitiated, the dining table has built-in pots shaped like Yin and Yang; one side is fiery chilli soup, the other a light broth, and ingredients can be dunked in either side.B
Tel: 364005 – Add: 753 Monivong Blvd – Price: mains US$5 & up, up, up
This place is a heavyweight Chinese dining experience, including delicacies such as goose webs and abalone. But meals here are very expensive by local standards.
 
THAI

Chiang Mai Riverside
Add: 227 Sisowath Quay – Price: mains US$2-5
The name gives away the prime riverfront location of this popular Thai restaurant, which serves the true taste of Thailand. On offer are tasty fish cakes and a good range of curries.

Baan Thai
Tel: 362991 – Add: 2 Ph 306 – Price: mains US$3-5
The name, Thai House, might not rate as highly original, but the setting is, housed within a classic Khmer house. It offers a choice of traditional floor seating or tables and chairs, and there is a lunchtime canteen downstairs for those eating on the cheap.

Boat noodle restaurant
Add: Ph 294 – Price: mains 2500 – 10,000r
Still the cheapest Thai restaurant in town, this place draws Cambodians, Thais and tourists in search of memorable meal. Soups and noodles are a bargain, but nothing will break the bank.

EID Restaurant
Add: Ph 310 – Price: mains US$1-3

Twice located in the last few years, who is to say it won’t move again! This is a long-running Thai eatery with a good selection of US$1 specials for a quick snack. 
 
VIETNAMESE

Pho Shop
Add: Sihanouk Blvd – Price: mains 3000r
For cheap and delicious pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup), try this local restaurant on the corner of Sihanouk Blvd and Ph 21. It does genuine pho with all the accompaniments. A bowl costs just 3000r

An Nam
Tel: 212460 – Add: 118 Sandech Sothearoi Blvd – Price: mains US$2-5
Currently the classiest Vietnamese restaurant in town, An Nam has a good range of dishes from central Vietnam and beyond. It looks more like a diner that a refined restaurant in la Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi.
 
INDONESIAN

Bali cafe
Tel: 982211 – Add:  379 Sisowath Quay – Price: main US$2-4
Bringing a bit of Bali to the river- front of Phnom -Penh, this huge upstairs restaurant has a serious selection of Indonesian food. All the favorites are found here from nasi goreng; (fried rice) to gado (vegetable salad with peanut sauce) there are some special set menus.
 
ITALIAN

Happy herb’s
Tel: 362349 – Add: 345 Sisowath Quay – Price: mains from US$4
This is a Phnom Penh institution thanks to its special pizzas. The non-marijuana pizzas are equally good and don’t mess with the mind.

Nike’s pizza house
Add: 160 Ph 63 – Price: mains US$4
Definitely one of the better pizza houses in town, contrary to what you might k looking from the outside. There are nearly 50 variations to choose from and menu includes pastas, side salads and gnocchi. Free delivery.

Pop café
Add: 371 Sisowath Quay – Price: US$2-6
Blink and you’ll miss it, but this teeny tiny café authentic Italian cooking with the Mekong River as a backdrop. Soups, pastas and regional dishes make up the small menu.

Luna D’Autummo
Add: 6C Ph 29 – Tel 220895 – Price: mains US$4-10
The capital’s newest Italian eatery is housed in a beautiful building with a lush tropical garden. The outdoor kitchen fires up. The most authentic pizzas in town and indoors is a sophisticated restaurant with a huge walk-in wine cellar. Already hugely popular in Hanoi, it looks set for success in Cambodia.
 
JAPANESE

As is the case almost everywhere, Japanese food in Phnom Penh is expensive.

Origami
Add: 88 Samdech Sothearos Blvd – Price: set menus US$6-15
The best-value Japanese restaurant in town, this little place is full of character thanks to the charismatic owner. Set menus include the cracking-value origami set (US$6), beautifully presented sushi, sashimi (US$15) and tempura sets, and there is a small Japanese-style tatami (women matting) dining area.

Nagasaki
Tel: 218394 – Add: 39 Sihanouk Blvd – Price: mains US$5-15

The ambience is authentic; the individual rooms are decorated with tatami for group dining. The food has a good reputation, but there’s something galling about paying Tokyo prices for a meal in Phnom Penh.

FRENCH

Comme a la Maison
Add: 13 Ph S7 – Tel: 360801 – Price: mains US$3
Just like the name suggests, it’s like eating at home, although you’d be lucky if you ate this well every night. Succulent steaks, healthy salads and plenty of provincial French dishes make this a worth-while detour for those seeking the Gallic touch.

Le Deauville
Add: Ph 94 – Tel: 012 371227 – Price: mains US$4-8
The accent is predominantly French, with a menu of steaks and salads. Located on the northern side of Wat Phnom, it is often heaving with well-heeled expats.

Restaurant 102
Add: 1A Ph 102 – Tel: 990880 – Price: mains US$6-20+

If Cambodia awarded Michelin stars, this place would be near the front of the queue thanks to indulgent flavors such as scallops flambéed in brandy and imported Chateaubriand. Expect a Parisienne-sized bill though.
 
INTERNATIONAL

The number of international restaurants in Phnom Penh is multiplying by the year as tourism really takes off and between them they offer a tantalizing array of cuisines.

Foreign Correspondence Club (FCC)
Add: 363 Sisowath Quay – Tel: 724014 – Price: mains US$5-10, set menus US$10
The F, as expats like to call it, is housed in a grand old colonial-era building. It has a popular restaurant and bar on the 3rd floor with impeccable views of the Tonle Sap river to the east and the National Moseum to the west. Dishes come from all corners of the globe and the daily set menus are a good option for the undecided. There are also a couple of rooms to stay.

Sa Restaurant
Add: 1 Ph 184; mains US$4-12
Occupying the cutest little colonial-era building in town, this small restaurant has a rooftop terrace for cool breezes and a classic view of the Royal Palace. Dishes are predominantly French and include a good selection of imported cuts as well as innovative entrees.

Mekonq River Restaurant
Tel: 911150 – Add: corner Ph 118 & Sisowath Quay – Price: mains US$2-9
A relative newcomer on the riverfront, the US$6 thrt colirse set menus are great value and include several Asian and international choise. There is also tapas for inveterate snackers.
 
FAST FOOD

All Asian food is fast, but here we are talking about the sort of places that do burgers, French fries and the sort. The good news is that at present none of the big fast-food chains grace Phnom Penh, just a few copy- cats including Lucky Burger, part of Lucky Supermarket.

More popular than these copycats are the Khmer burger joints opening around town that pull in students between and after classes. There is a whole strip of them on Samdech Sothearos Blvd south of the Royal Palace, including Mondo Burger. Don’t expect McDonalds, but at least the food has flavour.

California 2 Guesthouse
Tel: 9892182 – Add: 317 Sisowath Quay – Price: mains US$2-4
A popular stop for bikers, Cambodia’s very own biker cafe even, this place has a small menu of burgers, steaks and Mexican favorites. Very, very cheap beer! 

Mex
Tel: 1360535 – Add: 116 Norodom Blvd – Price: mains US$1.50-4
The restaurant has had a serious atmosphere by-pass in recent years, but the takeaway menu (free delivery) may be an option if you want to eat Mexican.
 
CAFES

Garden Center Café
Add: 23 Ph 57 – Price: mains US$3-6
Excessively popular with expats for its massive breakfasts and home-cooked lunches and dinners the portions here are huge, and most meals include a side salad. The menu includes a lot of Western food, superb Sunday roasts, a selection of Thai dishes and some great desserts.

Java Café
Tel: 987420 – Add: 56 Sihanouk BIvd – Price: mains US$2-5
It is easy to while away time on the breezy balcony here thanks to a creative menu of salads and sandwiches, innovative and wholesome burgers and daily specials. Drinks are a speciality, including – surprise, surprise – coffee from several continents and great shakes.

The Shop
Add: 39 Ph 40 – Price: mains US$2-5
Anyone who loves delis back home will enjoy a visit to this little eatery. There is a daily selection of sandwiches and salads) plus some superb pasties if you leave the space. Don’t forget the lively shakes such as banana, date and molasses.

Chit Chat Café
Tel: 221535 – Add: 146 Sihanouk Blvd – Price: bubble tea 5000r.

The Mondulkiri Café
Add: 4 Ph 63 – Price: bubble tea 5000r.

Phnom Penh has some great bars and it’s definitely worth at least one big night on the town when staying here. Many popular bars are clustered along the riverfront, but one or two of the best are tucked away in the back streets. Many of the wooden guest- house platforms built over Boeng Kak double as great sunset bars with cheap drinks and offer much more atmosphere than other guesthouse bars around town. Most bars are open until around midnight.

Keep an eye out for happy hours around town as these include two-for-the-price-of one offers and the like that can save quite a bit of cash. Standard drink prices are US$1 to US$2 for a can of beer and US$1 to US$3 for spirits.

Elephant Bar
Add:  Hotel Le Royal, Corner Monivong Blvd & Ph 92
This joint has one of the best-known happy hours in town, from 4pm to 8pm. Drinks are two-for-one, including cocktails like Singapore Slings.

Foreign Correspondents’ Club
Tel: 724014 – Add: 363 Sliowath Quay – Breakfast-late
This is a popular stop for tourists and expats alike thanks to big views and bigger breezes. Both here and the FCC’s restaurant have a touch of colonial about the ambience, but the drinks list is contemporary. Happy hour is from 5pm to 7pm. There are plenty of other top spots on or around the riverfront.

Cambodia Club
Add: 359 Sisowath Quay – Breakfast-late
With a prime location opposite this bar was always destined for big things and has now expanded, giving it a huge section of riverfront balcony. Better still club has just opened as we speak, with it serious sounds proofed environment

Riverhouse Restaurant & Lounge
Tel: 212 302 – Add: Corner Ph 110 & Sisowath Quay – Lunch-late
Located above its noted restaurant, this lavishly decorated lounge bar is popular early evening drinks overlooking the river and late night drinks and a dance on weekend when they unleash the DJs.

Salt Lounge
Tel: 012289905 – Add: 217 Ph136
This is minimalist heaven – a trendy little Kali bar all finished in whites and limes. A new bar in town, it should do well as the concept is original for Phnom Penh, plus it is the most gay-friendly bar today.

Pink elephant
Add: 343 Sisowath Quay
One of the original riverfront pubs, it draws lively crowd thanks to good tunes, cheap bear, tasty bar meals and free pool. The only drawback are the hordes of “soo-sine, Bang-Koh Poh, you wan buy flower, one doll-aah’ kids passing by all night. Enter the spirit (or consume the spirit) and it’s all good fun.

Walkabout
Tel: 211715 – Add: corner Ph 51 174 – Open 24hr
A couple of blocks down from the Heart, this huge bar has a loyal crowd during the day and draws an army of working girls and dedicated drinkers by night. Check out Friday’s ‘Joker Draw’ in which some lucky soul might walk away with thousands of dollars in cash. Now boasting two bars, this place never closes.

Elsewhere
Add: 175 Ph 51 – Open: Thu-Tue
Much further south on Ph 51 and a world away from the madness around the Heart is the oasis that is Elsewhere. Set in a beautiful French colonial-era villa with lavish gardens, this is the perfect spot to while away a warm evening. Low tables, lower cushions and a free plunge pool make this a top spot for the late afternoon happy hour.

Café Sonteipheap
Add: 234 Ph 63
This friendly bar-cafe is one of the most welcoming in Phnom Penh. Warm service, cool decor and a good soundtrack make it worth the journey south. Check out the Brit-style pub quiz every Monday or the regular comedy or cabaret nights. It may have relocated by the time you read this…

For news on what’s happening here while you are in town, check the back page of the Friday edition of the Cambodia Daily, or look at the latest issue of the Phnom Penh Post or the monthly Bayon Pearnik.

Night clubs

There aren’t many out and out nightclubs in Phnom Penh and the few there are tend to be playgrounds of the privileged, attracting children of the country’s political elite who aren’t the nicest people to hang out with. Among the many bars listed previously, the best dance spots are the Heart of Darkness on any night of the week, the River house Lounge on weekends and the Newcomer Cambodia Club.

Manhattan Club
Tel: 427402 Add: Ph 84 – Admission free – Open until daylight
Manhattan is Cambodia’s longest running full-on club with banging techno tunes, and is usually heaving most nights. Drinks are pretty pricey (US$5 a beer), so if you are feeling thirsty, pop across the road to the drink stalls where beer is available for just US$1 a can.  

Cinemas

There has been a renaissance of the cinema scene in Phnom Penh, following an appeal for the reopening of certain historic cinemas by King Sihanouk in 2001. However, then are almost no English-language films on offer, just a steady diet of low-budget Khmer films about zombies, vampires and ghosts.

Movie Street
Tel: 012913899 – Add: 116 Sihanouk Blvd – ticket US$10-12 – Open: 9am – 1am
This video shop near the Independence Monument offers private rooms with large TVs for that personal cinema experience. It pretty much has all the latest titles from Hollywood, the UK and Europe.  

French Cultural Centre
Add: Ph 184
The cultural centre has frequent movie screenings in French during the week, usually kicking off at 6pm. Check at the centre, where a monthly programme is available.

Classical Dance & Arts

Check the latest information on performances at the Chatomuk Theatre (Sisowath Quay), just north of Hotel Cambodian Officially, it has been turned into a government conference centre, but it’s occasional the venue for displays of traditional dance as is the Royal University of Fine Arts campus on Ph 70 in the north of the city

Apsara Arts Aisodation
Tel: 990621 – Add: 71 Ph 598
Alternate performances of classical dance and folk dance (US$3) are held here every Saturday at 7pm. Visitors are also welcome from 7.30am to 10.30am and from 5pm Monday to Saturday to watch the students in training (admission by donation).

Sovanna Phum Arts Assodation
Add: Ph 360
Impressive traditional shadow puppet performances are held here at 7pm on Friday nights. Tickets are usually US$5 depending on the story being told. On alternate Fridays there are classical performance costing US$5.

It is possible to watch students training I Royal University of Fine Arts. However, it is important to remember that this is a school of learning – noise and flash photography should be kept to a minimum.

Live music
Live music is pretty limited in Phnom Penh compared with the bigger Asian capitals. Several of the larger hotels have lobby bands from the Philippines, including the continental Hotel and Hotel Cambodian, but it is often more muzac than music.

Memphis Pub
Add: 3 Ph 118 – Open 5pm-1am
This place often looks closed due to the soundproof doors, but it is best live music venue in town right now. They have live rock’n’roll from Tuesday to Saturday nights, including a Wednesday jam session.

Riverside Bistro is another reliable venue for live music.