Phnom Penh tours and excursions
Phnom Penh tours
Boat tours
Lunch, sunset and dinner cruises are available on the Kanika catamaran and are an ideal way to watch life on the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers during the day. They are also good for seeing the sun set over the Royal Palace or for views of Phnom Penh lit up at night. The lunchtime cruises offer an Asian buffet and dinner cruises offer an extensive Asian and Western a la carte menu.
Tel: +855 89 848 959.Website: http://www.kanika-boat.com
Car tours
Tours by car with a guide can be arranged through Exo Travel (formerly Exotissimo Travel) and Diethelm Travel. A standard tour will take in the National Museum, Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda in the morning and an afternoon excursion can be made to the killing fields at Choeung Ek or Tuol Sleng.
Tel: +855 23 218 948; +855 23 219 151.Website: http://www.exotissimo.com
Phnom Penh excursions
Udong
An hour west of Phnom Penh is the abandoned royal city of Udong, which was the capital of Cambodia from the early 17th century until 1866. Several temples, stupas and other buildings cover three hills from which there are sweeping views of the Cambodian countryside. One of the stupas contains the remains of King Monivong (1927-1941). Many of the stupas are badly damaged after they were blown up by the Khmer Rouge, but there is on-going renovation work. At the base of one of the hills is a memorial to the Khmer Rouge victims who were found in mass graves nearby.
Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre
This is the location of one of the many killing fields to be found around Cambodia, situated 15km (9 miles) from the city. Thousands of people were executed here, many brought from the notorious Toul Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, and there are 129 mass graves where around 9,000 bodies were exhumed. A moving memorial stupa contains the skulls of many of the victims found at the site. The location itself is very tranquil but it is disturbing to walk along the paths between the excavated pits, as evidence of small human bones and remnants of clothing still remain.
Tel: +855 23 305 371Website: http://www.cekillingfield.org
