The Best of Cambodia & Laos

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PHNOM PENH
5
PHNOM PENH ATTRACTIONS
add-ons. The Fat Boy sub packing 2 pounds of meat is for real aficionados of the sub at
its finest and indeed its largest.
The Deli at No. 13 St. 178 (& 012/851-234) is a favorite among the expats in town
for a good sandwich and excellent pastries.
The Shop is a stylish cafe on popular Street 240 (& 023/986-964) and now has
a new location on the north end of Sisowath Quay. Come here for baked goods (try the
raspberry chocolate tart), filling panini, fresh soups, tea, and coffee in a friendly and
comfortable storefront at each location. There are neat details like butcher-block tables
and fresh flowers, and they can arrange picnic lunches for day trips from Phnom Penh.
Chocoholics must visit Chocolate by The Shop (No. 35 St. 240; & 023/998-638)
next door, which serves fantastic truffles and bonbons all for reasonable prices. The fiery
chocolate sprinkled with pepper from Kampot makes a great gift.
Sugar Palm (No. 19 St. 240; & 023/220-956) serves good Khmer dishes at streetside
or from their upstairs balcony. It’s a gallery that features good local crafts and a good
place to relax and enjoy real Khmer atmosphere and good treats.
4 PHNOM PENH ATTRACTIONS
Phnom Penh is fairly compact and most sights are not far from the central riverfront area.
You can walk, but be prepared for a fairly nerve-racking time dealing with the traffic.
Alternatively, you can hire a tuk-tuk or motodup for the day. The Russian market is in
the south of town away from the center. Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields can be visited
together, and arrangements can be made at any hotel lobby. For information on companies
that run tours, see p. 86.
Central Market This Art Deco (called Psar Thmei in Khmer) behemoth, built in
1937, is a city landmark and, on any given day, a veritable anthill of activity. The building
is a towering cruciform rotunda with four wings. The eastern entrance is the best spot
to find T-shirts, hats, and all manner of trinkets and souvenirs, as well as photocopied
bootlegs of popular novels and books on Cambodia. Goldsmiths and watch-repair and
-sales counters predominate in the main rotunda, and you can find some good deals.
Spend some time wandering the nooks and crannies, though, and you’re sure to come
across something that strikes your fancy, whether that’s a chaotic hardware shop, a cobbler
hard at work with an awl, or just the cacophony and carnival-barker shouts of salesmen
and haggling shoppers. Be sure to bargain for any purchase. The Russian Market or
Psar Toul Tom Poung (p. 87) is actually far better for shopping, unless you are after
luxury goods, in which case stick with Psar Thmei.
Btw. sts. 126 and 136 in the town center. Daily 5am–5pm.
Independence Monument Built in the late 1950s to commemorate Cambodia’s
independence from the French on November 9, 1953, this towering obelisk is crowned
with Khmer Nagas and was designed to deliberately echo Angkorian architecture. The
area is at its most majestic when all lit up at night.
South of the town center at the intersection of Norodom and Sihanouk.
The Killing Fields & Choeung Ek Memorial This was originally a Chinese
cemetery before becoming an execution ground for the Khmer Rouge during their
maniacal reign under Pol Pot from 1975 to 1979. Choeung Ek is one of many mass