I’m sipping a negroni at a rooftop bar, watching distant neon illuminations come to life as the sun dips over the horizon. Thirty-seven storeys below, honking traffic jams herald another chaotic Friday night as revellers head out on the town, searching for the next good meal or watering hole to wash away the stresses of the working week.
This scene, surrounded by a sea of skyscrapers competing for airspace, is one familiar to many bustling South-East Asian cities. But this is Phnom Penh – once the “country cousin” of the region, a formerly sleepy town emerging from decades of civil war and unrest, and a city historically ignored by mainstream tourism.
While in terms of visitor numbers it still plays second fiddle to Siem Reap – gateway to the incredible World Heritage-listed temples of Angkor – Cambodia’s capital has certainly come a long way since my first visit in 2009. Back then, the tallest buildings were the beautiful two- and three-storey French colonial mansions that once earned it the moniker the ″Pearl of the Orient″. All the tourist activity took place along the riverfront, where the lively FCC (Foreign Correspondents’ Club) was the place to herald the night.
