Tourist Attractions in Phnom Penh

Killing Field

Genocide Museum

Cambodian suffering under the Khmer Rouge Regime An attempt by Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot to form a communist peasant farming society resulted in the death of 25% of Cambodia's population from starvation, overwork and executions. Pol Pot was born in 1925 as So Lot Sar into a farming family in central Cambodia. In 1949 at age 24 he became interested in Marxism, and by 1953 he joined the underground communist movement in Cambodia. By 1962 Pol Pot had become the leader of the Cambodian Communist Party and was forced to flee into the jungle to escape Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the then leader of Cambodia. In the jungle, Pol Pot formed an armed resistance movement that became known as the Khmer Rouge (Red Cambodians) and commenced guerilla warfare against Sihanouk's government. In 1970 Sihanouk was ousted from government, not by Pol Pot, but by a US backed right wing military coup. The US then set up a republican government led by Con Nol. Sihanouk retaliated by joining his former enemy Pol Pot. During the same year the US invaded Cambodia to rid the Cambodian borders of the North Vietnamese army, instead this drove the North Vietnamese further into Cambodia where they allied themselves with the Khmer Rouge. From 1969 until 1973 the US bombing killed upto 150,000 Cambodian peasants. As a result, hundreds of thousands of peasants fled the countryside and settled in Phnom Penh. These events resulted in an increased popularity for Pol Pot. By 1975 the US had withdrawn it's troops from Vietnam, and Cambodia's government no longer had military support. Taking advantage of this, Pol Pots Khmer Rouge army stormed Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. He destroyed and toppled the Republican regime and effectively seized control of Cambodia. He declared 1975 to be 'year zero' with the intention that all capitalism, western culture, city life, religion, and all foreign influences were to be extinguished and a form of peasant community be favoured.

All foreigners were expelled, embassies closed, foreign, economic and medical assistance was refused. The use of foreign languages was banned, newspapers and television stations were shut down, radios confiscated, and mail and telephone use were forbidden, along with money. All businesses were shut, religion banned, and education stopped. There was no more health care and Cambodia was essentially sealed off from the rest of the world. Pol Pots military evicted all civilians from Phnom Penh and moved them to the countryside on foot at gunpoint. Phnom Penh was emptied. As many as 20,000 people died along the way. Millions of Cambodians who were used to city life were now forced into slave labour in the fields. Soon many began to die from overwork, malnutrition and disease, from not having enough food and water and no energy. Work in the fields was all done under the armed supervision of young Khmer Rouge soldiers who killed anyone for the slightest violation of rules. Sometimes men were made to prepare the fields with a plow instead of using cows or buffalo. Starving people were not allowed to eat any of the crops. Any stealing of food resulted in death. After harvest the Khmer Rouge trucked all produce away. Families could not stay together. Men and women were separated. Adult women and sometimes children were sexually abused. If anyone protested they were murdered. Men and women older than 16 were forced to marry unwillingly in collective ceremonies, sometimes more than 20 couples at a time. Throughout Cambodia, killing sprees were conducted to 'eliminate the old society'. The educated, wealthy, Buddhist Monks, police, doctors, lawyers, teachers and former government officials were all murdered along with their wives and children.

Anyone who was not loyal to Pol Pot including many Khmer Rouge leaders were killed.

Upto 20,000 people were tortured into giving false statements at Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh, a school which had been converted to a jail. Many others were shot without questioning.

On Dec 25, 1978, Vietnam launched a full scale invasion of Cambodia in order to end Khmer Rouge border attacks. On January 7, 1979 Phnom Penh was taken back and Pol Pot fled to Thailand with what was left of his Khmer Rouge army. The Vietnamese set up a government consisting of Khmer Rouge defectors.
Pol Pot continued to rage guerilla warfare against successive governments for a further 17 years but finally lost all control of the Khmer Rouge.
He died in April 1998, aged 73, before he could be brought to trial by the International Tribunal for the events of 1975-1979.
The Khmer Rouge reign resulted in approximately 2 million deaths.
Tuol Sleng Museum and The Killing Fields are testament to this brutal regime.

Silk Islands

Silk Island offers a peaceful rural alternative to the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh.  Travel time is approximately 45minutes to reach the island including a short  ferry across the Mekong river.

Take the opportunity to step back in time and relax in a typical rural Cambodian village dedicated to silk weaving.

The main silk weaving centre is just 1km from the ferry. Here you can see the whole silk production process from beginning to end.  See silk worms and their cocoons,  unravelling of the thread,  dying of the silk and the loom weaving process.

The silk weaving village has numerous houses where the weavers work at their looms producing silk scarves,  skirts and tableware.

You can wander around,  observe  the process and take the opportunity to purchase original handmade authentic silk products.

Weaving with loom skirt

Silk Island is also home to a local farming community. Travel through the villages and visit the local farmers.  A vast variety of fruit and vegetables is grown from mango,  potato, tomato, banana,  ginger,  corn,  rice,  coconut and more. See it all.

Wat Phnom temple

Wat Phnom is the heart of Phnom Penh, and the reason why the city is also known as Phnom Penh.The Wat was built in 1372. Standing 27 metres high it is the tallest religious building in the area.The legend goes that during the 14th century an older woman by the name of Penh was walking near the Mekong river and saw a large koki tree floating on the water.  She asked the local people to take a boat and get the tree.  Inside the trunk of the tree there were 4 Buddhist figures,  or statues.  In 1372 she encouraged the people living in the area to build a small hill and construct a temple on the top in order to keep the Buddhist statues,  and to pray. This became know as Phnom Penh,  meaning hill of the Lady Penh. In 1434 the King Ponhea Yart came to the area,  and as the city grew it became known as Phnom Penh city taking the same name as the temple.

Wat Onnalom

Wat  Ounalom is the most important Wat of Phnom Penh and the centre of Cambodian Buddhism.
It was built in 1442 and is one of 5 original monasteries in Phnom Penh.
In earlier years the pagoda served as the library of the Buddhist Institute housing approximately 30,000 books and scripts.
The most important artefact related to this pagoda is a hair from Buddha's eyebrow which is currently housed in a building behind the main Wat.
Before the Khmer Rouge stormed Phnom Penh in 1975 more than 500 monks lived at the Wat. The Khmer Rouge killed a large number of monks,  vandalised and ruined the buildings and their treasures including the library collection.
After the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 the Wat was restored and today again serves as the Centre of Cambodian Buddhism.

 Samdech Sangha Raja Jhotanano Chuon Nath (Preah Reach Chuon Nath) 11th March 1883 - 25th Sept  1969 (86yrs)
The son of Khmer farmers, Chuon Nath grew up to become a Buddhist monk, author, composer, poet and head of a Khmer Buddhist Reformist Movement. Revered as probably the most famous and knowledgeable Monk Cambodia has ever had,  he became a protector of Khmer identity, culture and history and a conservator of the Khmer language. In 1915 at the age of 32 he became a member of the committee by the Kingdoms Royal Order to compile a Khmer dictionary. The first edition being published in 1938.    As a master of Khmer language his achievements included printed sacred text, replacing hand written inscribed palm leaf writings,  translation of the Buddhist Pali Canon into Khmer, and introducing Monks to a greater learning in Pali and Sanskrit studies through the modernisation of Buddhist teaching methods. Other literary contributions of Chuon Nath include the founding of a series of curriculum for public schools,  Nokor Reach - the Cambodian national anthem, and Savada  Khmer - a Cambodian nationalist song. 2 years before his death he was awarded the rank of 'Doctor'.  He died on 25th September 1969 at the age of 86 yrs with his ashes being interred at Wat Ounalom  in Phnom Penh.





 

Oudong Mountain

 ~ Oudong Mountain is northwest of the modern capital Phnom Penh. approximately 2hours by tuk tuk and Oudong was the royal residence of Cambodia's capital for more than 250 years from 1618 until 1866. Take time to walk up and around the hills where you get a beautiful view of the countryside. Relax and soak up photo opportunities of the many pergodas dotted throughout the hills. The hills also have numerous stupas containing several Cambodian Kings including King Ang Duong (1845-1859), and King Monivong (1927-1941). The earliest structure is from the 13th century. These hills were also the site of some of the Khmer Rouge's most prolonged resistance against the Vietnamese army in 1979. Several new temples and shrines have recently been built on the hill. ~ Silversmithing villages are also located at Phnom Oudong. Here you can see local craftsmen working silver and copper by hand. The metal is not heated and poured into moulds but rather flattened in a machine then hammered into moulds. Decorating the silver pieces is where the extraordinary skill comes in. A variety of small tools are used to carve intricate designs. Some pieces take days to finish. Once the designs are complete they are finished off using acid solutions, silver coating and polishing. This is a fascinating education in itself, worth a visit, and a good place to purchase an authentic momento of your Cambodian experience. 

Chisor Mountain

 -Phnom Chisor is an ancient Khmer temple on the top of a mountain 62kms from Phnom Penh. It was built in the 11th century, approximately 1050, during the reign of King Suryavarman1 who practised Brahmanism.  It was dedicated to the Hindu  Gods Shiva and Vishnu. It was built of sandstone,  much of which is carved and covers an area 60m long and 50m wide.  There are 2 main galleries, one each side of the main inner sanctum. At the foot of the mountain is a site now used for Buddhist worship.

Zoo Mountain

-Zoo Mountain wich has 84 varieties of animals and bird. There are 150 four footed, 300 bird and 30 reptiles.


 

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre (PTWRC) is a wildlife centre located roughly 25 miles (40 km) by road south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The centre was established in 1995 and with an area of over 6,000 acres of protected regenerating forest, this is the largest zoo in Cambodia. Since 2001, PTWRC has been run by the government institution of Cambodian Forestry Administration in partnership with an environmental non-profit organization called Wildlife Alliance. Wildlife Alliance animal husbandry specialists, veterinarians, and care takers assist in the feeding and care of animals and operations. PTWRC currently houses over 1,200 rescued animals from 102 species including endangered Asian elephants, tigers, Pileated gibbon, Siamese crocodile, Malayan sun bears, among many others. Many of the species are listed as Endangered or Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).