Russian Market, Phnom Penh

Not to be confused with the Central Parket (Psah Thmay), the Russian Market (Psar Toul Tom Poung) is best reached via tuk-tuk or moto. It is located south of Mao Tse Tuong Boulevard, and offers tourists a range of great bargains. Silk scarves are dirt cheap, and it is easy to find curios, souvenirs bargains and the infamous $3 silk hammocks - perfect gifts for friends and family back home. It's best to go early or later in the evening as it gets unbearably hot inside the market during the day. Shoppers who cant take the heat should head to one of the nearby cafés lining the market for a delicious fruit cocktail. The market was named the Russian Market as this was where tourists (mostly Russians) shopped when visiting Cambodia just after the fall of the Khmer Rouge.

Lakeside, Phnom Penh

Lakeside is the backpacker hub of Phnom Phen. It is located on the shore of Boeung Kak Lake, a short taxi ride from downtown. The cheapest rooms are available for a couple of dollars but upgrading is a good idea. The guesthouses with the best laid-back atmosphere are spread far into the water with nice decks to lounge away the heat or soak up the night air. Check out the guesthouses creatively named #9 and #10. All the similarities of 'backpakerville' are here: cheap eats, travel agencies and alternative bars with cheap beer and unique cocktail names.

Cambodia Cooking Class, Phnom Penh

It is always wonderful to return from your time abroad with a skill you didn't have when you left home in the first place - and the Cambodia Cooking Class, one of Phnom Penh's most popular tourist attractions, offers tourists to Cambodia the chance to do just that. Khmer cuisine distinguishes itself from Thai and Vietnamese cuisine with its delicate use of spices and aromatic herbs, used to create finely-balanced flavours that run the gamut from sweetness, to saltiness, sourness and spiciness. The Cambodia Cooking Class is operated from the Frizz Restaurant in downtown Phnom Penh, and prides itself on a 'small classes, maximum attention' philosophy (space is limited to 16 participants per day). During the full day lesson (9am to 4pm), visitors will learn to prepare a full-course Khmer meal, as well as learning useful tips about the blending of spices and the decorative aspects of Cambodian cuisine. Included in the price, is transportation to and from the restaurant; and a full-colour recipe booklet, so you can try your new culinary skills on your friends and family once you return home.

Opening Times:
Advance booking essential – check website for details

Admission:
$15 (half-day), $23 (full-day). Includes transportation to and from the Frizz Restaurant and a recipe booklet

Shooting Range, Phnom Penh

Amuse your inner warrior with Phnom Phen's best carnal pleasure: shooting big guns. Whatever one's taste, be it automatic rifles and rocket launchers or grenades, they are all a possibility. It is said that for extra money targets can become live farm animals, although this controversial practice may have stopped in recent times. At about a dollar a bullet, make sure Rambo instincts are kept in check. All guesthouses and taxis can provide a trip to the shooting range, which is located close to the airport.

Memphis Pub, Phnom Penh

Memphis Pub is a cool venue to hear great cover bands put their spin on old classic rock. It is a thumping place, usually packed with expats and tourists until late. There isn't much Khmer about the style but a taste of home is fun for a night. Memphis is on riverside, making it a central and safe area to stumble home from.

Opening Times:
Monday to Saturday evenings

Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields), Phnom Penh

Choeung Ek was the extermination camp where the prisoners from S21 (now the Tuol Sleng Museum) were transported to and executed. Also known as the Killing Fields, after the movie of the same name, about 17,000 people were buried here in mass graves. A tall Memorial Stupa was constructed to commemorate the dead and more than 8,000 skulls are displayed behind the glass. At the entrance, a handwritten sign in Khmer and English summarises the atrocities caused by the Khmer Rouge.

Opening Times:
Daily

Admission:
US$2

Tuol Sleng Museum, Phnom Penh

When the Khmer Rouge came into power in 1975, they commandeered and converted a secondary school into a primitive prison where they detained and tortured anyone suspected of anti-revolutionary behaviour. Between 1975 and 1979, an estimated 20,000 victims were imprisoned in Security Prison 21, or S21, as it was known. The museum was established after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and today it appears exactly as the fleeing Khmer Rouge left it, and serves as a testimony to the crimes and atrocities of the organisation. It is a tremendously depressing experience, and the pictures, instruments of torture and bloodstained walls give a thorough idea of the extent of the pain and horror borne by the Cambodian people. Thousands of victims were transported from here to the extermination camp outside the city, Choeung Ek.

Opening Times:
Open daily, from 8am to 11.30am, and from 2.30pm to 5pm

Admission:
US$2

Foreign Correspondents Club, Phnom Penh

A pleasant way to spend the evening is on the balcony of the FCC. The well-located bar and restaurant sits on the banks of riverside overlooking the converging Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. Prices are more expensive then its neighbours, but the colonial-chic style gives an invaluable French flair to the night.

National Museum, Phnom Penh

The museum houses the country's most important collection of ancient Cambodian culture and Khmer art. It is made up of four galleries containing relics, sculpture, art and crafts covering history from the pre-Angkor period (4th century) until the present. The pieces are arranged in chronological order and the collection continues to grow as new treasures previously hidden from the Khmer Rouge are discovered. There are also original relics and sculptures from the temples of Angkor.

Opening Times:
Open daily, from 8am to 5pm (last ticket sold at 4.30pm)

Admission:
US$3

The Royal Palace, Phnom Penh

This is the principal attraction of the city and contains the best examples of 20th-century Khmer architecture. The Royal Palace is the official residence of King Norodom Sihanouk. Set among the perfectly maintained gardens is the exquisite Throne Hall, the Elephant Pavilion where the king's elephants were kept, the Royal Treasury and the Chan Chaya Pavilion, made especially for performances of classical Cambodian dance. Although mostly off-limits to the public, the Silver Pagoda can be visited. The highlight of the compound, the Silver Pagoda, takes its name from the floor of the temple, which is completely covered in silver tiles. The internal walls are decorated with frescoes depicting episodes of the Ramayana myth, painted in 1903 by 40 Khmer artists. Also called the Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha, the magnificent baccarat crystal image of the Emerald Buddha sits in the centre on a gilt pedestal. There are other intricately carved Buddha images on display, notably the life-size solid gold statue that stands in front of the pedestal, decorated with 9,584 diamonds.

Opening Times:
Daily, from 7.30am to 11am, and 2.30pm to 5pm

Admission:
US$3, with an additional camera charge of US$2

River Dolphins, Phnom Penh

Irrawaddy river dolphins, once in danger of extinction, are now saving the rural north-eastern town of Kratie. For years the dolphins were killed in now illegal fishing practices and hunted by the Khmer Rouge, but their appeal to tourists is bringing the welcome foreign dollars to the region. Kratie is accustomed to budget travellers, with a choice of cheap guesthouses. All of these offer motorbike drivers for the scenic 9 mile (15km) drive to the dolphins' river home. From the river shore, tourists can rent small boats to get closer. While the oarsmen retain a healthy distance from the surfacing animals, viewers can get near enough to see a similarity between Khmer and dolphin smiles.

Getting There:
Buses to Kratie are available from Phnom Phen

Krong Kep, Phnom Penh

From Sihanoukville, a great destination is the once-popular resort town of Kep. The Khmer Rouge did a number on this town, but the crumbling villas of past French and rich Cambodian tourists add to its ruinous mystique. A beautiful coastal road and nearby Rabbit Island provide present day visitors with a relaxed atmosphere. For the best restaurants in town, and best seafood in Cambodia, try the shack-like buildings near the water and order the crab. Kep is around a 3 hour taxi ride from Sihanoukville, or a 4 hour bus ride from Phnom Phen.

Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh

While this beach town doesn't have much to compare with Thailand's pristine coast, it does make a great getaway from the dusty or muddy (depending on season) rest of Cambodia. Sihanoukville is the country's only deep water port, making much of the city industrial and unattractive to tourists. But there are several secluded tourist beaches with all the requisite trappings: dishevelled beach bars, guesthouses and hawkers. As there isn't much to do in town, it is worth the extra money to stay in the quaint beachside guesthouses. Nightly beach barbecues prepare great food and offer cheap beer. The government is said to have plans to develop the area for larger resorts which will surely ruin its laid-back beach charm in years to come. Regular daily buses provide a three to four hour journey to and from Phnom Phen, along Cambodia's best road. There is also a ferry connecting to Koh Kong, the Cambodian/Thailand border.

Rantanakiri, Phnom Penh

Rantanakiri Province is Cambodia's version of the Wild West. Situated in the north-east of the country along the border with Vietnam, it is rather inaccessible, but definitely worth the extra effort. Visitors travelling to Rantanakiri will discover lush tropical rainforests, and the province is also known for its abundant wildlife (Asian elephants, monkeys, guar and many endangered bird species) and slightly cooler weather. Close to half of Rantanakiri province is a protected area, in the form of the Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary. One of the key tourist attractions in Rantanakiri is Yak Loum, a perfectly round crater lake with crystal-clear waters, surrounded by dense jungle foliage. The lake is great to swim in and a relatively short distance from the town of Banlung.

Central Market (Psah Thmay), Phnom Penh

Phnom Phen's most obvious landmark looks more in style with a Star Warstrading post then most earthly structures. Inside the tall dome is a host of goods, from watches, to jewellery, clothing and food. Much of the market's merchandise is the same, so comparing prices to find the real value is advised. One should bargain hard but good-naturedly. Surrounding the structure is a ring of tightly packed vendors selling similar wares. Its central location is walkable from about anywhere but all taxis know 'central market'.

Blind Massage, Phnom Penh

Cambodian travel can often be jarring; hard beds, bumpy roads and death defying taxi drivers can leave a body in ill shape. Seeing Hands is a business employing blind masseuses to work out those tourist kinks. Cambodia gives few opportunities to disabled workers and supporting Seeing Hands has its own karmic rewards, but visitors will be even more satisfied by the quality of the massage. The city offers a host of dodgy 'massage' houses and knowing a place is reputable is relaxing in itself. There are three Seeing Hands centres in town, all offering massages for about six US dollars, but don't forget to tip.

Admission:
From US$6