It is considered as one of must visiting places in Cambodia. It is a crossroad of Asia’s past and present, a city of extremes of poverty and excess, but one that never fails to captivate the visitor.

Legend has it that the city of Phnom Penh was founded when an old woman named Penh found four Buddha images that had come to rest on the banks of the Mekong River. She housed them on a nearby hill, and the town that grew up here came to be known as Phnom Penh (Hill of Penh).

The story, however, gives no hint as to why, in the 1430ss, Angkor was abandoned and Phnom Penh was chosen as the site of the new Cambodian capital. The move has been much lamented as evidence of cultural decline, but it made a good deal of practical sense. Angkor was poorly situated for trade and subject to attacks from the Siamese (Thai) kingdom of Ayutthaya.

Phnom Penh commanded a more central position in the Khmer territories and was perfectly located for riverine trade with Laos and China, via the Mekong Delta. The Tonle Sap river provided access to the rich fishing grounds of the Tonle Sap lake.