Ebinosekai: omakase sushi in Phnom Penh

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Lina Goldberg

When it comes to getting great sushi, Phnom Penh has its ebbs and flows. I’m happy to report that these days in Phnom Penh the sushi is flowing, and it’s better than ever. Ebinosekai on Street 63 offers an experience that’s as close to eating in Japan as you’re likely to get in Cambodia, and offers great value for money for the quality they’re serving.

A Cambodian sushi chef putting a single piece of nigiri sushi onto a plate.

A piece of chutoro nigiri as part of Ebinosekai’s omakase menu.

The highlight of the menu are the various omakase selections. The term omakase loosely means “I’ll leave it up to you,” and is an invitation to trust the chef to serve whatever is best that day. It’s served at the sushi bar, and the chef presents each piece, one by one, which feels more like an experience than a meal. Continue reading →

Pomelo Bar: a stylish Phnom Penh garden oasis

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Lina Goldberg

Pomelo Bar, a design-lover’s dream, opened just a few weeks ago in Phnom Penh and is already garnering rave reviews. Tucked away on a laneway off of Street 184 across from Plantation, Pomelo is housed in a 1990s villa clearly inspired by Van Molyvann and the New Khmer Architecture movement, with its characteristic VVV-style roof and accents. The laneway location gives the place a secluded feel; it’s like a secret garden oasis in the middle of the city.

Inside, Pomelo bar is stylish and inviting, and it’s clear that someone put a lot of thought, and love, into the design. The bar’s aesthetic blends mid-century modern and Scandinavian design, and could just as easily be in Stockholm as Phnom Penh. One of the owners, Drew, formerly of popular Siem Reap wine bar Balthazar, is passionate about architecture and interiors, and it shows. Continue reading →

Tuk tuk, bong? Navigating Phnom Penh transportation

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Susan Haythorpe

The traditional Khmer tuk tuk in all its quirky glory is one of the iconic images of Cambodia. Despite an influx of alternatives, these two-wheeled carriages, known as remorques from the French term for trailer, and usually drawn by the ubiquitous Honda dream, are still an appealing way to get around the city. Time was, remorques were the standard means of transport in Phnom Penh alongside the moto, or motorcycle taxi, and cyclo, the equally iconic Cambodian rickshaw. They first appeared in Cambodia in the 1990s as motorbike ownership grew and by the turn of the millennium were overtaking the cyclo as the staple way to travel.

Phnom Penh is teeming with tuk tuks.

The growing popularity of Indian Bajaj tuk tuks, also called autorickshaws, since the first fleet was launched in Cambodia in 2016 posed a threat to the future of the traditional remorque and has shaken up the capital’s public transport framework significantly. These dinky, agile LPG vehicles, greener, cheaper to use — and to buy and operate — truly came into their own when the first ride hailing apps were introduced the following year. It wasn’t just the remorques and their drivers who suffered the fall out, but the city’s motodops were pretty much put out of business, too. Continue reading →

How to get from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (and vice versa) in 2025

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Lina Goldberg

If you’re heading to Cambodia in 2025, you may be wondering how to to get from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (and Siem Reap to Phnom Penh).

Giant Ibis bus Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

Check out the view on a Giant Ibis bus between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

There are options to fit every budget, but some are nicer and more comfortable than others. I’ve tried all of these ways to travel between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, some of them many times (unlike most of the other sites who just copy my content, yawn). The journey by road usually takes between 5 and 7 hours, depending on your mode of transport, traffic, and the ever-changing condition of the road.

Table of contents

Summary

  • Taxi: Costs $80-100. Most comfortable option. Best balance of price and convenience. About 5 hours. → Book now.
  • Bus: Costs $10-18. Smoothest ride and best views. About 6 hours.
  • Mini-bus/van: Costs $10-13. Faster than the bus, but more cramped. About 5.5 hours. → Book now.
  • Plane: Costs $100-200. Fastest method, but domestic flights are unreliable. About 1 hour. → Book now.
  • Ferry: Costs $35. Best scenery, if you sit outside. About 8 hours, sometimes more. Not currently running.

Continue reading →

How to get from the new airport into Siem Reap

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Lina Goldberg

Gone are the days of quick Siem Reap airport transfers. The new Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport (SAI), opened last year to much grumbling and is 50 kilometers out of Siem Reap proper. With the new location it now takes between 50 and 90 minutes to get to and from the Siem Reap airport, not to mention it’s more expensive, so it’s worth doing a little research before your flight.

Everything you need to know about how to get to the new Siem Reap Airport.

Continue reading →

Top notch birdwatching: A world of beautiful birds on Phnom Penh’s doorstep

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Susan Haythorpe

One of the perhaps lesser-known wonders of Cambodia is the Kingdom’s abundance of exotic birdlife. The country is home — or host, in the case of migratory visitors — to over 670 different bird species, many of which are rare, and you don’t need to be a dedicated twitcher to see them in the wild. Nor do you have to travel far out of Phnom Penh for a fascinating birding experience as we — two enthusiastic but inexperienced birdwatchers — discovered when we took a half day birding tour with Vana Adventure Travel.

On the look out at Wat Pich Makot.

Thong was our friendly, knowledgeable guide; a bird-lover, keen conservationist and founder of the family-owned tour company. He and driver Narith picked us up from home at 5:30 a.m. (there’s a 2:30 p.m. alternative but we preferred to avoid the afternoon heat) and whisked us away to the wetlands of Kandal province, a short hop from Phnom Penh by ferry across the Mekong at its junction with the Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers, and a haven for winged wildlife. Continue reading →

Crowning Glory: Up-close Cambodian Royal Ballet performance is a visual treat

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Susan Haythorpe

A modern business park is hardly the typical backdrop for a centuries-old art form born in the royal palaces of Cambodia. Until the end of March, however, a compact studio at Aquation on Koh Pich is the go-to destination for a series of unmissable performances of Robam Preah Reach Trop, Khmer classical dance once seen only at the court of Kings.

King Jayarvarman VII and Queen Indradevi (Photo courtesy of Princess Buppha Devi Dance School)

The Princess Buppha Devi Dance School is a unique academy flying the flag internationally for the Cambodian Royal Ballet. Since the popular dance shows at the National Museum were discontinued, the school is also the only venue in the capital where you can currently see regular performances of the dance form that UNESCO added to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage — aspects of living heritage in need of safeguarding — in 2003.

Continue reading →

One-street shopping in Phnom Penh for the festive season

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Susan Haythorpe

Street 240 is a gift for Christmas shoppers! Christmas is coming, you can’t rely on Santa to do all the work, and time is running out. Forget the lookalike malls, there’s a pleasant, leafy avenue in Phnom Penh near the Royal Palace, where you can meet almost all your seasonal shopping requirements and then be spoiled for your choice of a lunch venue.

Need to get into the holiday spirit? Street 240 is where it’s at.

On Street 240, off Norodom Boulevard and close to the royal palace, lies a 200-meter-or-so stretch of retail joy. A hub for independent stores, many of which are social businesses with sustainable credentials so you can put something back into the community as you spend. Crammed into characterful colonial shop houses you’ll find everything from cute toys, stylish, individual clothing, and striking jewelry collections, to up-market interiors, hand-made homewares, and natural health and beauty products. Some brands you may know from other Phnom Penh locations, many you won’t. Continue reading →