|
|
Sisowath
Quay
Phnom
Penh
|
|
is the center of nightlife in town, formerly Karl Marx Quay, the waterfront street at
the Tonle Sap, this strange water body which flows sometimes up
and
sometimes
down. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The crowd is out on the large flat concrete
space between the road and the river. Behind the road are
buildings with dozens of restaurants, hotels and bars in the
side streets, the hottest is 131th street with plenty of bars
and bar girls.
Since it’s cool in the evening people start all kind of
activities including aerobic with a lady in front to give the
rhythm, every evening two or three dozen of Cambodians come
together and dance. Some have a bit of a problem to move the
overgrown butts and bellies but strong dedication can move mountains.
Lover wander along the promenade and some guys try to pull
foreigners into a discussion with the idea to ask for money. Some river vessels carry freight and passengers up and
downstream and a double decker sightseeing boat move midriver.
|
|
|
This is somehow a charming stretch along the water, a few houses
still show some elegant colonial architecture but the most
interesting are probably the bars and restaurants. A bit further
south of the nightlife “mile” is the National Museum and the
King’s Palace, almost a must to visit on a Cambodian trip. Close
by is the University of Art and there are plenty of art shops
selling paintings, Buddha statues and Khmer native art. |
|
|
The jetty with the river boats for Siem Reap is at the northern
side, it might sound like a good idea to use the boat from Phnom
Penh to Siem Reap but effectively it’s not, on the wide Tonle
Sap not much is seen, it’s more exiting to use the bus there
various insights into the scenery is possible. On top of it the
bus is much cheaper than the boat.
A couple of streets behind Sisowath Quay is the Central Market
the bustling biggest market in the city, in the last couple of
years a Tsunami of Chinese stuff settled on this market. This is
a wet and dry market including gorgeous flowers, textiles,
clothing, shoes, various jewelry items and more, also most buses
to elsewhere in the country leave from nearby. It’s definitely
worth a half day trip, the problem are only the streets around,
they are in a real mess which is somehow amazing considering
that this is the center of the capital of Cambodia.
|
 |
|
|
At the
riverside is one restaurant after another with a wide spectrum of good food, a good start is the
Riverside Bistro with western food and local food. They have
pretty girls working there and a great ambience and decoration
plus a pool table a bit into the back and two huge screens
showing football and concerts, there is also a open air area
just in front.
Several other
bars, clubs, lounges, restaurants
etc. are
along the quay road. Walking down a bit to 136 street plus the
small streets before and behind opens the real Phnom Penh
nightlife with dozens of beer bars with pretty Cambodian girls
waiting for something will happen, guess what they expect will
happen. If you find a pretty lady pay some drinks and if a
agreement is reached
take her with you,
there is usually now problems in the hotels, they just charge $
10,- more per night. There is always
something going on, maybe live music or a DJ make the sound, in
almost every bar is a PC which can be used, usually the ladies
play around mostly facebook. Noisy places because of plenty of
girls, there are other bars and restaurants in between and some
supermarkets a late shopping.
Further behind is
Central Market,
the actual center
of the city but not open in the evening. Sisowath Quay is rather
large
boulevards with a wide walking area from street towards
the water; in the early evening locals do some aerobics
to get the body moving. This is the best place in town
to enjoy an evening or night. Another positive subject
is everything is relatively cheap, prices are somehow
similar as at a bar or club at the Phuket nightlife
scene or other places in Thailand or Myanmar nightlife.
It’s compact and safe, also for foreign ladies since
there are always people around and Cambodian people are
usually nice people. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
