What do you do in Phnom Penh?

What do you do in Phnom Penh?
Ageing ceramics at the National Museum
“Do you think it’ll just be full of old pottery?” my friend asked as we set off for the National Museum, our first stop in the Cambodian capital. Now I won’t lie to those averse to aged ceramics, there is pottery. But there is also a sublime collection of Khmer sculptures and art, which, had the Khmer Rouge had their way, would not have survived to this day. It’s one of the most absorbing national museums I’ve visited, just large enough to be comprehensive yet compact enough to see it all in a couple of hours, and bizarrely, a simple map illustrating the former domination of the Khmer Empire draws the largest crowds, united in astonishment upon realising just how far and wide it once ruled. Tours Indochina Cambodia
The surprise factor on Sisowath Quay
Phnom Penh is all about this surprise factor. On a walk along Sisowath Quay, the city’s pedestrianised riverfront, you’re likely to witness an aerobics class, local boys skateboarding or the serene sight of monks strolling, clad in orange robes. At the weekend, you’ll probably end up at the Phsar Reatrey night market where chocolate waffles, cold beer, kebabs and fried insects are all abundantly available.
More traditional sights are on the menu too, though, as colourful wats and pagodas (temples) are scattered around the city, and for those who have visited Bangkok’s Grand Palace, the architecture of Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace and glittering Silver Pagoda will ring a bell. Its murals, wats and gardens, and Baccarat crystal Buddha, are reminiscent of those found in the Thai capital. Cambodia travel packages

The sobering Genocide Museum
The colour and pomp of the Royal Palace is in stark contrast to another much-visited spot – the S21 Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It’s one of the more sobering things to do in Phnom Penh, but essential for anyone who wants to understand what happened between 1975 and 1979 when Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge created an atmosphere of suspicion and terror. This former high school was one of about 150 security prisons from those dark days, now home to harrowing exhibits, information panels, a video room and prisoner photographs. The history lesson continues half an hour outside Phnom Penh at Choeung Ek (better known as the Killing Fields) where an audio tour does a fine job of sensitively guiding you through these now-tranquil woods and fields, where over 20,000 mass graves lie, and to the Buddhist stupa (spherical mound-like structure) containing some 8,985 human skulls. It’s not easy listening, but it is done very well.
Cruise the Mekong
Located at the point where the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers meet, Phnom Penh is a great place to take a leisurely cruise along these famous waterways. Take a boat from Sisowath Quay to view the Royal Palace and National Museum from the water, or spend a couple of hours marvelling at the floating villages and this unique way of life. Tours will set you back about £6-9 an hour.
Eat Kampot pepper crab
Originating in the small riverside town of Kampot in the south-east province of Cambodia, this seafood delicacy has become somewhat of a national dish and you'll find excellent versions in the country's capital. A whole fried or baked crab, smothered in a sweet yet spicy peppercorn sauce, it's enough to tempt even the most budget-conscious backpacker away from street food; which is also superb in Phnom Penh, deep-fried tarantula being another delicacy must-try.
Sip a mojito at the Foreign Correspondents' Club
Fancy stepping back in time to colonial Cambodia? Sip on one of the signature cocktails offered at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, a hub for intrepid explorers, aid workers and international journalists throughout the city's colourful and chequered past. Sit and watch the sunset on the banks of the Tonle Sap River and swap tales with locals and toursits alike about the days gone by.

Mekong delta and Phu Quoc island travel guide

Mekong Delta
Once a hostile swampland, the French drained this region, transforming it into lucrative plantations, paddy fields and mines. Most of the chemical herbicides sprayed during the Vietnam War fell over the Mekong Delta, denying the Viet Cong cover and in the process decimating agricultural lands and mangrove forests. Yet today, the Mekong Delta is Vietnam’s most productive agricultural area, producing nearly half of the nation’s annual food crop. Tours Indochina Vietnam
Nutrient-rich deposits carried by the Mekong River and its comprehensive network of waterways and nine tributaries (hence the local name, ‘River of Nine Dragons’) makes this region extraordinarily fertile for rice, bananas, coconuts, trop­ical fruit and sugar cane. It’s this very luscious, intensively cultivated landscape and rustic way of life that make this area so picturesque and appealing. Secluded waterways with overhanging foliage lined with stilt houses, mangrove swamps, paddy fields, fruit orchards and welcoming locals make up much of the scenario.
Independent travel can be frustrating – transport is basic, time-consuming and water-based – so for less hassle, inclusive tours are the best way to experience this area. Many tours incorporate visits by small boats to fruit orchards, cottage industries, Khmer temples, early-morning floating markets, or penetrate deep into a labyrinth of narrow waterways. Increasingly, some incorporate bicycle trips, home stays or one-way boat tours terminating in Phnom Penh (Cambodia). South Vietnam travel packages

Places to visit on the Mekong
My Tho y is the first stop out of HCMC; done to death by tourism over the years, westward hubs like Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Cai Be and Can Tho afford more authentic experiences, less rushed in multi-day tours. Further west, Chau Doc offers Khmer ethnic communities, floating fish farms and Sam Mountain, with sacred pagodas and sweeping views. Across the Cambodian border, Ca Mau National Park and Tram Chim National Park are important havens for water birds. The more remote west coast is far less touristy, with the sleepy fishing port of Ha Tien, plus Rach Gia, the launch pad for Phu Quoc Island, 62 nautical miles west.
Phu Quoc Island
Sitting in the Gulf of Thailand, the island of Phu Quoc is about the same size as Singapore and is the largest of all the Vietnamese islands. The island offers visitors a mix of mountains, lush forest covered hills, waterfalls, bubbling streams and some of Vietnam’s best beaches. It is also one of the few places in Vietnam that you can enjoy the sun setting over the sea.
Phu Quoc Island has long had the natural ingredients that one expects from a beach holiday but now it has the hotels to match.
Long Beach is the star and it is bearing the brunt of the boom. In the dry season, the 20-plus kilometre stretch of yellow sand that runs from Duong Dong town down the central west coast of the island is the liveliest beach of the island, the entire length offering beachfront accommodation and places to play, laze and dig into seafood while digging your feet in the sand. Being one of the few beach destinations in Vietnam with a western coast, at the end of the day everyone gathers here to worship the memorable sunset.
If beach bustle isn’t your scene, it’s possible to find that wild, unspoilt feeling that first drew travellers here. Phu Quoc’s freshly paved arterial roads coupled with dramatic scenery make it a fantastic place to explore by motorbike. Ong Lang, Bai Vung and Bai Sao are just a few of the beaches you should consider staying at or at least visit. Anyone with a window seat on the plane will be struck by how staggeringly green the island is. More than half of it is national park and in 2006 the island was included in the UNESCO designation of Kien Giang as a World Biosphere Reserve. The north and east coast remains relatively untouched by tourism. If you want to experience what the island was like just 10 years ago, head out on the dirt roads that will take you past lush jungle and the island’s many famed pepper plantations.