Phnom Penh and around - The Rough Guide to Cambodia - page 88

1

W cambodia.usembassy.gov); Vietnam, 436 Monivong Blvd
( T 023 726274, W vietnamembassy-cambodia.org/en).
Emergencies Ambulance T 119 (from an 023 phone) or
T 023 217764; fire T 118 (from an 023 phone) or T 023
786693; police T 117 (from an 023 phone) or T 023
366841 or T 012 722067); hotline for the police to report
child exploitation (national and in Phnom Penh) T 023
720555 - English is spoken on all these numbers.
Hospitals Royal Rattanak Hospital, 11 Street 592 ( T 012
365555, W royalrattanakhospital.com), south of the
Tuolkok Market; or try Calmette, north end of Monivong
Blvd ( T 023 426948).
Internet There are internet cafés all over town. Rates are
typically around $1/hr.
Money Acleda Bank, 61 Monivong Blvd and 28 Mao Tse
Toung Blvd; ANZ Royal, cnr Street 114 (Kramoun Sar) with
branches around town; Canadia Bank, 315 Monivong Blvd;
Foreign Trade Bank of Cambodia (FTB), 3 Street 114 (Kramoun
Sar). There are 24hr ATMs at the Acleda, ANZ and Cambodian
Asia (branches around town) banks but they charge $4
handling fee for international cards. At the time of writing,
Canadia Bank had the only ATM that didn't charge a handling
fee. Western Union has branches all over town where you can
exchange travellers' cheques, receive/make money transfers
and get money on Visa and MasterCard (US$ only). Exchange
booths around town display their rates for dollars into riel;
some of the best rates are to be had at Psar Thmei.
Opticians Opticians cluster along Sihanouk Blvd near
Lucky Supermarket, and in general offer a speedy, good

service. Modern Optics, 181 Norodom Blvd, has a good
reputation ( T 078 787876), or try I Care Optical, 166-170
Norodom Blvd ( T 023 991148).
Pharmacies Pharmacie de la Gare, cnr Monivong and
Pochentong blvds (Mon-Sat 7am-7pm, Sun 7am-5pm),
has English-speaking pharmacists and a good selection of
Western drugs; they accept credit cards. Ucare has a
handful of branches with English-speaking pharmacists
(all daily 8am-11pm): cnr Sothearos Blvd and Street 178
( T 023 222499); cnr Sihanouk Blvd and Street 55 ( T 023
224099); cnr Norodom Blvd and Street 136 ( T 023
224299); and 207-209 Sisowath Quay ( T 023 223499).
Photography and film There are outlets all over town,
with some of the better ones (where you'll find items such as
digital memory cards) on Monivong Blvd, near Psar Thmei.
Post The main post o ce, on Street 13, between streets 98
and 102 (Mon-Fri 7.30am-5pm, Sat 7.30-11am),
provides the full range of services, including parcel post,
fax, telephones and poste restante. There's a booth where
you can buy aerogrammes, postcards, envelopes, writing
paper and stamps. EMS in the same building ( T 023
427428) offers an e cient and cost-effective courier
service. Alternatively, try TNT, 28 Monivong Blvd ( T 023
430922); DHL, 353 Street 110 ( T 023 427726); UPS, Hong
Kong Centre ( T 023 023 219213); or Fedex, 71 Street 242
( T 023 216712).
Visa extensions At the Department for Immigration
opposite the airport (see p.76). Almost all hotels and
guesthouses can arrange extensions for $5-10 commission.

Around Phnom Penh
Just a short journey from Phnom Penh brings you to a landscape of rice paddies and
sugar palms, scattered with small villages and isolated pagodas. The Chroy Chung Va
peninsula , the tip of land facing the city centre at the confluence of the Tonle Sap and
Mekong rivers, is home to a collection of villages and feels very removed from the
bustle of central Phnom Penh; its western side, facing the Royal Palace, is being
transformed into a riverside park. The southernmost tip is now the property of the
Sokha Resort group whose newest concrete monolith is rapidly growing. A short way
further northeast, reached by a short ferry trip from Phnom Penh, lies Koh Dach , a lush
green island in the Mekong, whose inhabitants weave silk and grow a wide variety of
produce on the fertile alluvial soil. Wat Champuk Ka-Ek , east of town off NR1, has a
remarkable collection of ten thousand Buddhas and can be tied in with a trip to Kien
Svay , a popular riverside village about 15km from the city. Phnom Brasat , some 27km
northwest of town off NR5, is home to a kitsch collection of pagodas, while further
north rise the distinctive hills of the old capital Oudong , dotted with the chedi of
various kings; you might want to combine a trip here with a visit to the scant remains
of nearby Lovek , its predecessor as capital.
A short moto-ride southwest of the city, the killing fields and memorial at Choeung
Ek make a logical, if macabre, progression from a visit to the Toul Sleng Genocide
Museum. Also south of the city, off NR2, the compact Angkorian temple of Tonle Bati
enjoys a riverside location, and is a good place for a picnic and a swim. Further south,
FROM TOP TOUL SLENG GENOCIDE MUSEUM, PHNOM PENH P.71 ; CYCLO, PHNOM PENH >