We spent a week in Cambodia, flying in and out of Siem Reap with a three day side trip to Phnom Penh, which we reached by bus. It’s not the most exciting of capital cities, but I’m a history nerd, so always intrigued to see places I’d read about in history lessons. So I thought it was well worth a visit. Dark tourism may not be to everyone’s taste, but I think it’s important to learn about our past.

Getting There

We travelled to Phnom Penh with Giant Ibis. They offer 3-4 buses a day departing in the morning, or late evening for the overnight service. It’s quite a long journey; the 200 mile trip took us 6-7 hours each way including all the stops. Tickets cost $17. This includes a complimentary pick up from certain hotels.

Note: We opted to fly in and out of Siem Reap with a return bus to Phnom Penh, but our daughter took a one way bus and flew out of Phnom Penh. The former worked out cheaper while the latter took less time – either are doable, it’s just a choice of personal preference.

Getting Around

We stayed close to Royal Palace and National museum, so visited those on foot. For the other destinations, we hired a taxi for a half day and the driver took us the The Killing Fields and Genocide Museum and waited for us. There are cheaper alternatives (the hop on hop off half day tour costs $15) , but there were three of and it was hot, so we opted for a taxi.

Where we Stayed

We stayed at the Plantation Urban Resort. It’s a beautiful hotel built around a garden courtyard – like a calm oasis in the middle of a bustling city. It’s also conveniently located. Our colonial style room overlooked a huge pool surrounded by greenery and was just what we needed after the heat of the city. Phnom Penh is very hot and humid, so if you can afford it, I would definitely recommend splurging a little and choosing a hotel with a pool!

Itinerary

Day 1	Bus to Phnom Penh Accommodation – Plantation Urban Resort x 2 Dinner at Panorama Mekong Hostel
Day 2	The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum The Royal Palace
Day 3	National Museum of Cambodia Walk along The Mekong Bus to Siem Reap

Attractions

1	The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek
2	Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
3	The Royal Palace
4	National Museum of Cambodia
5	Walk along The Mekong

Day 1

Bus to Phnom Penh

It seemed like a good idea at the time; a six hour bus trip from Siem Reap to the capital, Phnom Penh. It’s only 199 miles, so that’s an average of 33 mph. The old man and I reach the bus terminal. It’s rather chaotic, child no 1 has booked the complimentary pick up service and is nowhere to be seen, finally arriving a couple of minutes before the bus is due to depart.

We are late leaving; some American kid has his ticket on his phone which he forgot to charge. Then we have to make an unscheduled stop after a few miles; the American kid needs to pee and can’t wait. It’s going to be a long day.

The road is less rural than I’d expected; it’s lined with townships for most of the route. And litter – lots and lots of litter. The verges are thick with plastic bags and bottles.

After six hours, three scheduled stops at service stations and two unscheduled stops (Mr ‘I need to pee’ demanded to be dropped off when we passed a brewery) we reach our destination.

We take a Tuk Tuk to the hotel. We climb in, but the driver has parked over a tree root and can’t push the Tuk Tuk back onto the road, so we have to get out again. Still no success, so we have to help push. Then he asks me to stand in the middle of the busy road and stop the traffic so he can reverse.

Plantation Urban Resort

We make it to the hotel, but are greeted by guests making a run for the door, followed by staff. They are spraying insecticide round the pool. After a brief wait outside, we are issued with masks and allowed to check in. (Ironically, when I visited in 2018, this was the first time I’d ever worn a face mask – little did I know what the next few years had in store!)

Dinner at Panorama Mekong Hostel

Child no 1 is staying in less salubrious circumstances at the nearby Panorama Mekong Hostel. However, it does have a 4th floor bar overlooking the Mekong River. And sells cocktails at £1.35 each, so we join her by the river for drinks and dinner.

It’s a popular area, the river is full of boats and has a footpath lined with palm trees full of walkers and runners. As it gets dark, the boats light up and there are red and blue fairy lights on the palm trees which match the Cambodian flags along the street. It’s a magical sight.

Walking back to our hotel, we pass the Royal Palace, which is also illuminated at night.

Day 2

The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

Some may think it a macabre way to spend a day, but I studied history at university, so the first stop on today’s itinerary is a visit to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. In a site a few (around 11) miles out of town, are the mass graves of up to 20,000 victims of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge.

An audio tour takes you round the site of the graves. Some have been excavated, leaving huge dents in the ground, others left untouched, meaning bone fragments and teeth are randomly scattered around.

The tour finishes at a Memorial to the victims, which contains over 5000 victims’ skulls.

Choeung Ek is open daily betwen 7.30 am and 5.30 pm. Entry costs $6 including the audio guide.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

After this, we move on to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This former school became a prison (Prison S21) during Pol Pot’s regime. The four main buildings can be visited.

Building A was used for interrogation. Each former classroom contains a bed. Just before the regime was toppled, the final 14 prisoners were tortured to death and left in situ. There is a large photo in each room showing how its final victim was discovered, lying on the bed, covered in blood. You can still see traces of blood on the floor.

Building B contains thousands of mug shots of those who were detained here. There are photos taken when prisoners arrived (plus a gruesome set of photos taken post torture).

Building C houses the mass cells where inmates were shackled to the walls.

Building D displays many of the instruments and methods of torture utilised to make prisoners confess to crimes or give names of CIA/KGB agents. One survivor explains that he’d never even heard of the CIA yet managed to name over 60 agents under torture.

The museum is open daily between 9 am and 5 pm. Entry costs $5.

It’s been a long and draining morning, both emotionally and physically; we have spent four hours walking round the sites with temperatures in the mid 30s. So we return to the hotel and cool off with a swim.

The Royal Palace

Suitably refreshed, we set off to visit The Royal Palace – a huge complex containing many grand buildings.

Most opulent is the Silver Pagoda which is named for its silver tiled floor.

The palace opens twice daily; between 8 and 11 am and between 2 and 5 pm. Entry costs 40,000 Riels (around £8).

We round off our last evening in Phnom Penh with another round of riverside drinks and dinner.

Day 3

Today daughter No 1 departs Cambodia, which we catch a bus back to Siem Reap.

National Museum of Cambodia

First, just enough time to visit the National Museum of Cambodia. It houses a collection of Khmer artefacts. Entry costs$10 admission fee (plus a further $5 for an audio guide).

The museum doesn’t have air conditioning, so we only manage an hour before we are so sweaty our clothes are stuck to our bodies and we go in search of cold drinks and a cooling breeze.

The museum is open daily from 8 am until 5 pm. Admission costs $10 for foreigners.

Walk along the Mekong

We take a walk along the promenade which runs alongside the mighty Mekong, lined with flags and sculptures. Then it’s time to say goodbye to child no 1 and begin the long journey back to Siem Reap.

Bus to Siem Reap

We make it back to Siem Reap despite the kamikaze driving, the dodgy clutch, a torrential downpour and multiple stops to pick up and drop off passengers. It’s an intriguing combination of services; westerners pay in US dollars to be taken on a direct service from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. But Cambodians flag the bus down and get on and off at will without tickets. I’m not sure if this is an official policy of making foreigners subsidise Cambodian travel, or a little sideline run by the crew. Either way, the eight additional stops mean we are 20 minutes late arriving in Siem Reap. This means that the final part of the journey is in the dark; a hair raising experience as there are no street lights and head lights are very much an optional extra.

• Trip Taken: April 2018
• Updated: March 2022