Phnom Penh; the busiest capital of Cambodia with a population of 1.5 million, was perhaps the most affluent part of the country. However, this bustling city was dangerous for a women (or anyone for that matter) to travel alone due to it’s high crime rates. Yet, I still find myself challenging society’s perception and made it one of my travel stops during my trip to Cambodia. (YOLO mindset)
I had the privilege to visit Phnom Penh for 2 days before heading home. One of them was spent visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum & the Killing Fields during the Khmer Rouge, which I will be covering in my next post. And this post will be about my brief glimpse of Phnom Penh.
After a 6-7 hours joyride on a bus from Siem Reap, I was tired and famished. My plan that day was to just spend a relaxing evening settling in, having dinner and chilling with some drinks. Okay, I did some nightlife exploration too.
After a relaxing day and night of shenanigans, I woke up late the next day for a nice brunch at this place called Creative Tapas as recommended by Peter from Toronto. It was a feast! Thereafter, I spent most parts of my afternoon reading travel guides and writing articles.
My next stop was initially the Royal Palace and Phnom Penh Museum. Unfortunately, I did not have enough covered clothes, I can only wander about the outskirts of the Royal Palace instead. On the upside, it’s free! No fees as I did not enter the Museum or Palace. Still worth the cheap tuk tuk rides across town for these pictures. haha
After some research and discussion with my tuk tuk driver for the day, I have decided to visit the only Wat I could that day: Wat Phnom. Entry: USD$1. I stopped for some awesome street-side ice-cream too!
As so you can see, I really just had a glimpse of this beautiful yet dangerous city. I can’t wait to visit Cambodia again and explore more areas in depth.
“Traveling is brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comforts of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things. Air, Sleep, Dream, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese
Hilary Travels 
dear Hilary, you have such cool photos, now I want to go to Phnom Penh ahah thanks for sharing! cheers from Lisbon, PedroL
LikeLiked by 1 person