Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is often overlooked by visitors to Cambodia who head straight for the temples of Angkor at Siem Reap. However, this capital city has a certain charm with its colonial buildings, wide boulevards, pagodas and riverside walks.

Those who take time to visit Phnom Penh will find a bustling city, emerging with renewed confidence from troubled times. Much of the city was badly damaged and its treasures thrown into the river in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge, and when its citizens returned in 1979 they found just shells of buildings in which to live.

Decades later city life has improved and there is optimism in the air, with the expat community and visitors providing employment opportunities for many.

They city is now dynamic and evolving all the time, with stylish restaurants, bars, shops and hotels opening, and there is a new found confidence in its future.