Peregrinations in Phnom Penh
The arrival in Phnom Penh is unforgettable. This capital materializes many of the dreams that our collective unconscious carries when we think of the Far East. The visitor is quickly bewitched by this city that is both restless and nonchalantly asleep. Phnom Penh has all the urban excitement you need without the oppressive frenzy of neighbouring Asian megacities. It is necessary to give him two days, to stroll as he pleases, to discover the inarguable Russian market, to visit the National Museum and to taste the phnompenhoise nights, along the Sisowath quay. Seen on a map, Phnom Penh has the shape of a gigantic spider's web. The prettiest, lively and commercial districts are located in the Wat Phnom triangle, Olympic stadium and Hotel Cambodiana, with Sihanouk Boulevard forming the base of this triangle
For your sustenance, Cambodia offers a varied cuisine with Thai and Chinese influences. The locals eat breakfast in restaurants or at street soup shops. They eat rice with sautéed pork cut into strips (baï sach chrouk) or chicken rice (baï sach maon). Chinese vermicelli soup (kuï tiv) provides almost a complete meal, and many fish dishes. Don't miss the national dish, amok, a tasty fish cooked in coconut milk in banana leaves
From the National Museum to the Russian market
If you were to visit only one museum, it would be the National Museum, because it is a masterpiece of traditional Khmer architecture and because it contains a unique collection of pieces from the Angkorian period (9th to 14th century)
Impossible to leave Phnom Penh without a detour to the Russian market. It's the big bazaar in the city. You can find everything at the best prices if you bargain dry: silks, antiques, souvenirs, fresh fish, pirate DVDs, jeans, teeshirts, tailor-made suits, jewellery... and of course kramas, this traditional red and white checked cotton scarf
Heading for Angkor
Now it is time to leave for Siem Reap, the town connected to the Angkor site. There are daily flight connections from Phnom Penh. The route is also possible, but we advise you to take the shuttle boat up the Tonle Sap. The minimum decent time to visit Angkor is three days, but you can easily devote a week to it by visiting different temples every day.
The site covers more than 600 hectares, and you can go from one temple to another by motorcycle-doup, touk-touk or taxi through a dense forest with huge artificial pools that bear witness to the hydraulic engineering of the Angkorians. For it was in the heart of a thick jungle that the kings decided to build their temple one after the other, each bringing together the best architects and ornamentalists of the moment to express their devotion and power. There is no other place on earth where the mineral built by man and the wildly potent plant have been so alchemy-mixed
What to visit?
A word of advice: beware of temple overdoses. Linger longer in one that you particularly like rather than trying to go through them all
You will be able to fully enjoy the luxury of each detail and soak up their atmosphere. The most emblematic one is of course Angkor Wat, which requires a real half-day. Protected by a moat and surrounding walls nearly 1,000 metres long, this temple-mountain rises majestically, crowned by five tiara-shaped towers, the central one culminating at 65 metres. What a vertiginous delight it is to walk through the galleries, several hundred metres long, which present an infinite number of apasaras, these dancing demi-goddesses, each of which is symbolised with a body, a look and a smile different from its neighbour. The bas-reliefs of the exterior galleries cover more than 2,000 m2 of surface area
Among the other must-see temples is of course the Bayon, with its famous smiling faces, representations of King Jayavarman VII in his divine aspect. The heads are tiered and superimposed in apparent disorder, placed on towers at different heights. It is impressive to see them appearing from all over, wherever you are in the temple, and displaying their mysterious smile
Change of mood in the Ta Prohm. This splendid temple sometimes seems to be engulfed by vegetation. The Preah Khan, whose immense galleries in succession evoke some Roman city, is immense and majestic. Invaded by the jungle too, you have to get lost in it and let yourself be carried away by the magic of the place. Very rarely visited, the Ta Nei is one of our favorites for its atmosphere. It is indeed one of the only temples left by archaeologists.
Go further
Among the so-called 'off-circuit' temples, i.e. far from the heart of the Angkor site, two are not to be missed. About 20 kilometres north of the Bayon, the Banteay Srey is a delight with its frescoes delicately carved in pink sandstone. Small in size, it offers a fantastic luxury of detail in all its ornaments. 70 km from Siem Reap, Beng Mealea, almost submerged by an ocean of vegetation, is a treasure as yet unknown
If you have time and are looking to relax after a busy Angkorian program of cultural visits, there are two options: sea or hiking. In a fortnight on the spot, you will be able to reconcile them. On the seaside side, Cambodia offers with Sihanoukville and Koh Kong some nice robinsonnades with white sandy beaches, a delicious sea, small deserted islands and diving spots still little frequented. Walking side and great nature, direction Rattanakiri, region of jungle, rivers, lakes and tribes with ancestral way of life. Enough to push further the discovery of this poignant country or to find good reasons to come back.
Smart info
When? All year round given the relatively mild climate. With a preference for the rainy season (heavy but short), from June to October, as this is the low season and the luxuriance of the vegetation reaches its zenith.
Getting there. From Paris, daily flights to Phnom Penh with stopovers in Bangkok, Saigon or Kuala Lumpur. Count 15 hours of flight time.
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Useful. To travel to Cambodia, you need a valid passport and a visa (valid for 30 days), which can be obtained from the embassy.
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