We began the day with the sort of message no traveller wants before coffee: our hotel in Phnom Penh had cancelled our room. Just cancelled it. No explanation, no apology, no “sorry, a minor plumbing issue has turned the lobby into a koi pond.” Nothing. One imagines the hotel staff gathered around a phone, looking at our booking and saying, “Absolutely not,” the way you might reject a pair of trousers that make you look like a baked potato.

So we showered, ate breakfast at a speed that would alarm a cardiologist, and checked out. Before a frantic search for somewhere — anywhere — to sleep that night before our bus rolled in. A heartfelt farewell to the lovely reception staff who had, over eight nights, become the closest thing we had to extended family. Cambodia still sits firmly at Number One for Friendliest Country, and honestly, they’re going to be hard to beat.

A Light‑Hearted Dip Into Phnom Penh’s Past

Phnom Penh’s story starts with a woman named Penh who found four Buddha statues floating down the Mekong inside a tree trunk. As you do. She popped them on a hill, built a temple, and before long the place turned into a city.

Fast‑forward a few centuries and Phnom Penh has been ruled by kings, colonised by the French (who left behind baguettes and balconies), battered by war, and rebuilt with the kind of resilience only Cambodians seem to pull off with a smile.

Today it’s a mash‑up of temples, traffic, French architecture, and enough mopeds to populate a small planet.

The $17 Bus: Six Hours, Three Pees, One Pastry

A little shuttle bus collected us, already half full of travellers who looked like they’d been awake since the Khmer Empire. Ten minutes later we were transferred to the Giant Ibis coach — clean, calm, and not the chaos we’d mentally prepared for.

The driver handed out pastries and water, which was both thoughtful and faintly alarming. I always worry when transport companies feed you. It suggests they know something you don’t.

The journey itself was a six‑hour glide through Cambodian countryside, punctuated by:

• one quick pee stop

• One longer pee stop

• A food opportunity for anyone who didn’t bring a packed lunch and fancied gambling their digestive system on roadside snacks

For $17, it was practically luxury, assuming you enjoy sitting still and thinking about your bladder.

Arrival in Phnom Penh: First Impressions… Oof

We rolled into Phnom Penh at 2:30pm and hopped into a tuk‑tuk bound for Pooltop Phnom Penh.

Reception looked less like a hotel and more like an abandoned hospital waiting room — There were chairs, but they seemed unsure of their purpose. The lighting was fluorescent in the way that makes you question your skincare routine and the faint smell of disinfectant. Cities often reveal themselves in their entry points, and Phnom Penh’s message was clear: This is not a place that tries to charm you.

The room, however, was bright and pleasant, and the rooftop pool was genuinely lovely. This is one of the great joys of travel: occasionally, something is far better than it has any right to be.The rooftop pool and bar? Even better — the kind of place you could hide from the city for days.

The Neighbourhood Wander: A Whole Different Cambodia

A quick walk around the neighbourhood confirmed it instantly: Phnom Penh is nothing like Siem Reap.

Where Siem Reap is warm, walkable, and full of charm, Phnom Penh is… well… dirty, dingy, and filled with establishments that are definitely not restaurants, despite having menus and chairs.

Every street seemed to be a variation on the same theme: brothels disguised as bars, girls offering their services, and groups of older Western men wearing the kind of smug expressions that make you want to disinfect your eyeballs.

There is a heaviness to the streets — not dangerous, but watchful. A city that has seen too much and learned not to pretend otherwise.

We wandered up and down trying to find somewhere reasonable to eat, but unless we fancied a side order of neon lights and questionable intentions, the options were limited.

The “Huge” Market That… Wasn’t

The city boasts a market described as “one of Asia’s largest,” which is a bold claim. The art deco building is genuinely lovely, but the market itself is about as impressive as a medium‑sized garden centre. And inside it’s more “meh” than “mega.”

Dinner Back at the Hotel

After the sleaze‑tour of the neighbourhood, retreating to the hotel restaurant felt like the right call. The food was good, comforting, and came without a single suggestive wink.

Ending on a High: Phnom Penh’s Saving Grace

Just when we thought the day was a write‑off, Phnom Penh surprised us.

We took our drinks up to the rooftop bar and watched the sun melt into the skyline — a soft, golden glow settling over the chaos below. For a few quiet minutes, the city looked almost gentle. Almost charming. Almost… like it wanted to make peace or even an apology.

And that sunset, reflected in the pool and stretching across the rooftops, was the perfect reminder: The joy of travel,  even the most bewildering days end with something unexpectedly beautiful.

Thankfully didn’t come with extras. 

Hopefully we warm to Phnom Penh in the morning.