Phnom Penh is a lovely Southeast Asian city that was referred to as Pearl of Asia during its heyday in the 1920′s. If wars and conflicts did not hamper its growth for decades, Cambodia could very well be one of the leading Asian nations today. Although just a tiny developing city, Phnom Penh is rich in cultural and natural resources, and surely deserves international attention for its tourism.

River cruising in Phnom Penh starts at the Passenger Port near Street 104 and Wat Phnom along the Sisowath Quay. It is not difficult to miss since there are a number of docked boats of varying sizes, not to mention the large placard pointing out that this is the Passenger Port. If you wish for more convenience, you may pre-arrange the cruise at your hotel.

Cruising along Tonle Sap River, you slowly move along the central riverfront area where you get a stunning view of the picturesque Royal Palace, National Museum, and the entire stretch of the Sisowath Quay. You will also see the Silver Pagoda, National Museum, and a number of restaurants, pubs and galleries. You then move up the Mekong River where you get to pass by a number of floating fishing villages. The cruise costs US$10 per boat per hour.

Meanwhile, the more romantic sunset cruises begin at 4:00 PM every day. The sunset cruise costs US$4 to US$5 for each person sharing the boat. If you decided not to take the sunset cruise, the next best time of the day is early morning when the sun warmly bathes the riverfront area and the Royal Palace façade.

If you enjoyed the cruise so much and wanted to extend it, move a bit further or linger along, you may do so by asking the boatman to move slower. Simply describe to the boat operator exactly what you like and then negotiate the price. You may ask for an upriver tour deeper into the paddies and villages, arrange a romantic dinner cruise with a special friend, or take a special tour to Silk Island or Mekong Island.

If you wish to go on style, you might want to try dining at the Kanika Floating Restaurant Bar, a luxurious experience in dining and river cruising in Phnom Penh that is fully equipped with a bar and restaurant. It serves lunch and dinner daily, and is available for chartered private cruises. This unique floating restaurant is located behind the Himawarwi Hotel.

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Southeast Asia is known for its refreshing and therapeutic Oriental massage. Asia has very distinct massage traditions, most notably those in Thailand that may have easily crossed the border to Phnom Penh. Cambodia’s capital city is littered with massage parlors. The challenge for tourists is not where to look for massage but which massage center is most appropriate to one’s relaxation needs. There are several types of massage therapies to choose from, which include Khmer, Thai, Japanese, medicinal, herbal and that kind of massage which could not be offered openly in public.

Situated mostly along Sisowath Quay and Boeung Keng Kang 1, a typical massage center offers steam bath, sauna, aromatherapy, jacuzzi, and beauty treatments inside a much pampered environment with soft music, soft lights, clean white linens and minty, therapeutic scents. Some offer other services such as hair treatment, manicure, pedicure and make-up. Below is a list of some of the leading places to get good massage while in Phnom Penh.

The popular Bodia Spa pampers its guests inside a cocoon-like shelter with warm lighting, inspiring music and soothing scented oils, and using 100% natural massage oils. ChamPei Spa is well-known for its Khmer-style massage, as well as herbal, aroma, Swedish, therapeutic and oil massage. Its additional services include facials, hair treatments, manicure, and pedicure, among others. Aziadee offers two unique kinds of massage: Egyptian and Indian. It also does body scrubs, wraps and facials. In-Style Spa is exclusively for women and offering Hong Kong, Thai, Swedish, and Bali types of massage. Another traditional Khmer massage parlor is Sayana Rumdul Spa located near Wat Langkar. Finally, there are the two oldest massage establishments in Phnom Penh: Islands Massage and Spa Bliss.

Aside from these traditional massage places, there is a growing trend to empower and quip people with less capabilities in life. Blind people are natural massage attendants. They have a heightened sense of touch, which makes them very effective masseuses. Appropriately called Seeing Hands, this company employs and provides employment opportunities for the blind. So far, guests and visitors have been very satisfied from receiving quality massage from the blind. Today, there are three Seeing Hands massage parlors in Phnom Penh, charging US$6 per session, not including gratuities.

In addition to massage centers, fitness centers are mushrooming in the city as more and more locals and tourists are become conscious of their personal wellness. Most fitness centers, clubs or gym are located within major hotels, but most popular are Clark Hatch Fitness Center and Amrit Spa.

With so many massage services to choose from and that are quite easy to locate, tourists should not worry about making the most of their time while on vacation. They can shop, swim and stroll around for one whole day only to be relaxed inside a very cozy massage parlor later in the day. Massage in Phnom Penh is slowly but steadily making itself a staple in every Cambodia vacation.

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The Khmers believe that they invented kickboxing, not the Thais. They claim that several bas reliefs on Angkor Wat prove that ancient Khmers have engaged in the sport many years before it reached Thailand. In 1975, however, Cambodia entered the four darkest and most regrettable years of its history. Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army took control of the country and practically drained Cambodia of everything that it should be proud of, including its unique style of boxing. Together with all other forms of Khmer culture and traditions, Pradal Serey almost became extinct since Pol Pot banned the sport and ordered the execution of many boxers. The merciless dictator murdered the rich, educated, cultured, skilled and everybody else that posed some kind of threat to his proposed agrarian reforms.

After Pol Pot, the country slumped into a 20-year civil war, which allowed the national sport to re-emerge but slowly. The first avenues of its resurrection were in Phnom Penh private schools, where young students were made to learn the sport. Until today, economic recovery is very slow for Cambodia, and so, too, Pradal Serey has not yet made its mark in international recognition.

Today, Khmer boxers start young, as early as 7 or 8 years old. In fact, some have turned pro at the age of 14. Many of them will compete in hundreds of fights in the succeeding years, which show how better conditioned they are than professional western boxers who only get to fight 5-8 fights a year. Khmers train hard and they firmly believe that they are the best fighters in the world, although not a single Khmer fighter has fought in an international K-1 or MMA fight. They also have not joined the World Muay Thai Council because they resent the name “Muay Thai” to refer to kickboxing. They believe it should be Pradal Serey.

Meanwhile, the most popular local competitions typically take place in Koh Kong, Most of the top boxers, including Eh Phouthong, the national champion, come from this province.

Aside from Pradal Serey, two other local fighting styles are the Bokator and Japbab Boran Khmer. Bokator is more dangerous than Pradal Serey since fighters may use weapons in addition to their punches, kicks, elbows, knees and grappling. Also, in place of boxing gloves, they wrap their hands with ropes or scarves. Allowable weapons are the double swords, double sticks, long staff and scarf.

The least practiced Japbab Boran Khmer, on the other hand, is Khmer-style wrestling, the goal of which is to force the opponent’s back to touch the ground.

International fighters and enthusiasts may learn kickboxing in Phnom Penh at Paddy’s Gym, the most popular training gym in the city. Classes are only worth US$5, and each class includes cardio fitness and striking techniques using the hands, elbows, knees, and feet. The gym is located near the Russian Market.

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Simply named The Shop, this café and bakery is well known for its breakfast, specifically the banana and honey crumpet with latte, which to many tourists and expats is the best way to start a day. The Shop is located just behind the Royal Palace and is open from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Another well-loved café is Café Fresco, a little sidewalk café along the famous Sisowath Quay near the National Museum. It opens early since many people come for breakfast, specifically for coffee, sandwich, smoothies. (Sisowath Quay is a 3-km boulevard that is a popular hang-out for tourists and expats.)

The Java Café and Gallery, on other hand, offers something extra. As customers eat white chocolate walnut cookies and drink tea, they are treated to an exhibit of gorgeous artworks. It is located along Sihanouk Boulevard. By the way, this café’s cookies are said to be among the best in Southeast Asia.

Speaking of café, coffee and cookies, two more breakfast shops to visit are Metro Café in Sisowath Quay and T&C, which has four stores scattered around the city. T&C serves authentic Vietnamese Trung Nguyen coffee worth US$0.70 to US$1.00. Metro Café, on the other hand is known for its Asian coffee and lunch.

Tourists, especially western tourists, would definitely like to taste the local Khmer cuisine. Malis is the place to go. Located on Norodom Street, Malis is considered the best Cambodian restaurant in all of Phnom Penh for its delicious foods and famous chef, Luu Meng. The traditional Cambodian desserts are to die for.

For tourists who prefer a wide choice of international dishes, they might want to try K West near the river; Sa, serving French food and located at the Royal Palace Explanade; 102, another French restaurant and considered by many to be the best restaurant in Phnom Penh; and Riverhouse, serving Mediterranean food and located along Sisowath Quay. Riverside also serves an array of the best wine choices in Phnom Penh.

A restaurant with a humanitarian twist is Friends. Located near the National Museum, Friends is run by a humanitarian foundation that teaches homeless children how to operate this restaurant. The foods are reasonably priced.

Tourists who are low on cash would discover that eating and drinking in Phnom Penh need not be expensive. There are tons of back-alley restaurants such as Mamak’s Corner (with quality dishes below US$2), Seven-Seven (serving Indian and Filipino food), Moderate (Chinese restaurant serving exotic reptiles and mammals) and plenty more food stores along Monivong Street and across the Pailin Hotel.

Now that K-1 and mixed martial arts are quite famous around the world, foreign tourists can better appreciate watching or simply passing by a brutal Bokator competition in street corners. Bokator literally means “pounding a lion”, and that’s exactly how the players are trained. They are trained in ground techniques, weapons, and hand-to-hand combat using all available bodily points such as the knuckles, elbows, knees, feet and head, as well as the shoulders, hip, palms, fingers and jaw, believe it or not.

To the Khmers, Bokator is not just a fighting system whose goal is to hurt one’s opponent. It is an ancient art form that requires intense discipline and focus. Oral tradition and ancient bas reliefs on the Angkor Wat temple suggest that this is the oldest existing form of fighting in Cambodia and probably the entire Southeast Asia. Townsfolk believe that their ancestors trained in the art more than 1,000 years ago, not as a sport, but a true fighting style whose aim was to kill the enemy.

Ancient Khmer soldiers learned to use Bokator techniques in the battlefield. They knew how to kill enemies and animals (perhaps lions in particular) using otherwise simple punches, elbows, knee strikes and shin kicks, as well as head locks and chokes. They were very skilled in the use of crude weapons such as bamboo staffs, short sticks, double sticks, double swords and scarves.

Traditional Khmer soldiers put on ceremonial pieces of cloth when fighting: a scarf called krama is folded and wrapped around the waist; also, blue and red silk cords are tied around the biceps and head. Called “sangvar day” in Khmer, the silver cords were believed to increase their strength. Modern Bokator fighters still put on these cloths but simply for ceremonial purposes.

Similar to other Asian martial arts such as Kung Fu, Karate and Kickboxing, Bokator follows sets of movements that mimic how nature or animals fight and move. There are 341 sets in all, which include the styles following a horse, bird, eagle, and crane, among others, and each style contains its own set of techniques. Bokator movements and techniques are very similar to kickboxing. Apparently, Cambodia has its own version of kickboxing. They call it Bradal or Pradal Serey.

Pradal Serey or Khmer kickboxing is Cambodia’s national sport. They believe that ancient Khmers invented kickboxing, not the Thai people. They believe that kickboxing should be more popularly called around the world Bradal Serey, not Muay Thai. For this reason, Bradal Serey boxers refuse to compete in the World Muay Thai competitions, and as a result their skills in kick boxing have never been showcased in an international arena. Bradal Serey has fewer moves than Bokator. Bokator is by far more dangerous primarily for the use of weapons.

Original Cambodian martial art forms, including a third one – the Japbab Boran Khmer or Khmer wrestling – may not get international recognition in the near future. Yet, Bokator in Phnom Penh is widely popular, perhaps as popular if not more popular than American pro football, soccer, the NBA, WWE or UFC.

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Phnom Penh is located at the confluence of the Mekong, Bassac and Tonle Sap rivers. Most of the city’s main attractions are its historical structures near the river, and three of the most important riverside attractions are the Royal Palace, Independence Monument, and National Museum. Biking along the quay, one gets to see a number of restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars, hotels, markets, shops and supermarkets, in addition to the historical sites.

While biking through several streets of this capital city is scenic and very cultural, traffic on the main roads is very hectic and chaotic. Cars, motorcycles and tuk-tuks rule the streets, often trying to beat traffic lights and other times ignoring them completely. Some major intersections, in fact, do not have traffic lights and are greatly in need of them. Some streets are narrow and the sidewalks are always crowded with vendors and shops. There are children and adults selling and begging for money or food. These may not be the sights a tourist hopes to see, but the experience is very real and significant. Alongside poverty, there are rows of first-class restaurants, hotels and shops.

Before beginning the bicycle tour to important attractions, bikers might want to pass by the bicycle shop on Street 302. An extremely important site is about 15 kilometers away, which is why it is necessary to fine-tune the bicycle before making the tour. The Killing Fields in Choeung Ek are a must-see whether on a bicycle or not. It is such a significant site that you could even walk all the way if you must.

The Killing Fields are a gruesome reminder of the bloody Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979. Approximately 20,000 innocent Cambodians were executed here and buried in shallow graves. Only after the inhumane regime ended that the field was discovered and was made known around the world by the Cambodian journalist Dith Pran and his 1984 movie, “The Killing Fields”.

The road leading to Choeung Ek is an easy 15-km bike ride on a flat road and very picturesque. The route begins at Charles de Gaulle, to Monireth, through the SOKIMEX gas station, and 5 more kilometers towards the Killing Fields. After SOKIMEX, traffic is light and biking is easy. Entrance to the field is US$2.00.

Bicycle touring in Phnom Penh is definitely the most scenic, laid back and eco-friendly way of seeing this promising Southeast Asian city. For tourists that are really up to the challenge, other worthwhile destinations outside the capital city are the beautiful riverside city of Battambang, casino city Poipet and the white-sand beaches of Sihanoukville. There are also several packages offering a guided bicycle tour to Laos and Vietnam.