Phnom Penh is not a common travel destination for families, so when I was doing my research and planning for the trip, I couldn’t really find many things to do there. Then again, my expectations were not high – All I wanted to do was to spend quality and quiet time with the family, so even if we have to laze by the poolside for all four days, I was fine with that. Thankfully, I did manage to fill the trip with fun things to do and interesting places to visit. Turned out, Phnom Penh is a pretty child-friendly place. The Cambodians are friendly and hospitable people who made our trip a very enjoyable one. It was also a big surprise that Phnom Penh was much cooler than Singapore at only 23 degrees at night and 26 degrees by day. We loved it!
I booked Billabong Hotel from Agoda and got them to arrange for airport transfer (US$12/trip). I chose the hotel because they have family rooms with 1 king-sized bed and 2 single beds all in one room. It was perfect for my family of 3 adults and 2 kids travelling together. Plus, the hotel has a nice-looking swimming pool, which my kids would enjoy. It’s also a really small hotel with only 20+ rooms. When we reached the hotel, it looked more like a guesthouse and has a very homely feel. The surroundings were beautiful too. A bonus was that they allowed us to check-in even though it was only 10am in the morning – Thumbs up!
The room was a really long one and had all the basic amenities we needed. We were pretty happy with our room. :)
Breakfast was also included and it’s served at the cafe next to the pool every morning. Breads and coffee/tea/juices are free flow, and we can choose a main course (omelette/fried rice/egg with bacon/crepes) and a fruit platter to go with it. The food’s yummy!
One of the best things to do on a holiday is to enjoy a slow and relaxed breakfast. :)
The main mode of transport for local Cambodians is motorcycles, so they were everywhere on the roads. As for the tourists, we go by their tuk tuks everywhere we went. For majority of the places, we paid US$3 because there were 5 of us. It’s usually US$2 if you have only 2-3 people. The kids absolutely loved taking the tuk tuks – It was their highlight everyday! It was nice travelling around in this mode of transport as well because we could see the surroundings very clearly (no windows or doors!).
Because we took a very early flight into Phnom Penh, we didn’t really want to have a very packed Day 1. After checking-in into the hotel, we went out for early lunch at a recommended bakery by the lady boss, who marked out nice places to dine at on our map. The Shop is a laid back bakery cafe located on Street 240, that sells fabulous breads, sandwiches and salads. We walked through the indoor dining area to the back of the shop which looked somewhat like the courtyard but sheltered, and enjoyed our very delicious brunch.
However, even though the food was delicious, don’t expect them to be very cheap. Everything is paid in USD in Phnom Penh (Yes, prices reflected on the menu are all in USD), so our brunch came up to USD24 for 5 of us. It’s similar to cafe prices in Singapore.
To work off the tummy from a bloated brunch, we took a stroll along Street 240 and checked out some of the shops there. There was a free library (Absolutely FOC but the owner did encourage us to buy some books on display at the entrance if we would like), fashion shops and shops selling home furnishings and handicrafts. Pretty nice place to shop actually. :)
Then it’s back to the hotel for some napping before we made our way to our Sunset Dinner Cruise!
There are many such operators in Phnom Penh, but we settled for Kanika because they replied my enquiry emails fast & efficiently! :)
It was a little nerve-wreaking walking down this bridge to the boat – there were slits along the way!
The boat was scheduled to set sail at 5pm but we were slightly early, so we had a nice time enjoying the sea view and the breeze. It was such a therapeutic and soulful time. :)
I frankly wasn’t expecting to be able to see the sunset at all because the whole sky was overcast! There was not even a hint of light before we set sail. Then suddenly once the boat took off, we saw the most beautiful shade of orange glow and then for the next 30 minutes, everyone on board was just busy snapping and snapping away. =)
It was really a stunning sunset. Our first in Phnom Penh!
The Captain of the boat even let the kids wear his hat and drive the boat (and made many of us adults nervous actually) but it was so much fun for the kids!
Phnom Penh has really beautiful pink skies at sunset, and every evening there, we were amazed at its beauty.
Dinner was then served when we requested for it. At USD23/pax including the cruise ride, this was definitely not cheap. But it was Christmas eve and my MIL’s birthday, so I thought it would be a very nice experience for us. For those who did not order dinner, you can also order ala carte when you are on board. There’re finger food and beers etc.
Dinner was a three-course meal with baked curry fish & rice, tom yum soup and chicken satay with salad. It got pretty romantic as night falls.
It was a perfect 1st day in Phnom Penh. Stay tuned for more posts coming up!
