Escape the madness by heading to the riverfront in Phnom Peng.
Phnom Penh has its detractors, yes she can be a noisy dirty beast, but there is also a lot to love about this big city, and if you look hard enough you can find a little bit of solitude here.
One of the best things you can do on any evening is stroll or sit by the long stretch of riverside in Phnom Penh that encompasses the city and of course The Mekong Delta all the way up to Vietnam and beyond.
People watching at the Riverfront in Phnom Penh
It’s worth remembering that Cambodia is far from a rich country and AC and even fans can be a luxury for many. This is not the case at the Riverside in Phnom Penh, where even at its hottest the evenings provide a cool breeze for rich and poor alike.
It is also a great place of people watching, with the early evening providing a very family like affair. Alas the later it gets more crazies start to come onto the scene. Late at night this is not he place to be when drunk! Keep your phone in your pocket and if someone says hello, assume the worst.
The closer you get to places like street 130 and the other “girly bar” areas and if you are a fella by yourself then you shall be approached by “freelancers”. They tend not to be too pushy and a simple “no thank you” should suffice.
The riverfront in Phnom Penh is a great place to eat and drink
As far as the river stretches you will see hawkers selling drinks, beer costs 75 cents and a whole array of street food, not the best in Phnom Penh, but enough to keep hunger at bay.
And overall it is a great way to just a kill a few hours, grab a beer and some food, watch the dancers, watch the norms, watch the freaks and just enjoy the madness and serenity of the place.
There really are worse places to be than on the riverside in Phnom Penh.