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Leaving Ho Chi Minh City by bus, it only takes about 3 hours to reach the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. This is also the first stop for a 3-night, 4-day weekend trip to the coastal city named after former King Sihanouk. You will go to the "heaven" Bokor, 1,080 m above sea level, before returning to the capital, Phnom Penh, to visit the palace, temples, and shop for souvenirs to bring back to Vietnam.
Cambodia is in the middle of the general election season, and on both sides of the streets of the country of pagodas, there are many images of party leaders running for the 5th National Assembly. The capital Phnom Penh these days is bustling with pentatonic music, and the cheers of people marching and campaigning echo throughout the streets.
The Royal Palace is also bustling every day with tens of thousands of tourists visiting the palace, admiring the artifacts at the Emerald Buddha Palace. This palace has a floor made of 6 tons of silver, inside there is a 90 kg gold Buddha statue and more than 2,000 diamonds, so tourists often call it the Golden Temple - Silver Temple.
The nature is wild, with old forests on both sides of the road, so tourists often encounter monkeys swarming onto the road during their explorations of the land of pagodas. Photo: Duy Khang
Leaving Phnom Penh, tourists arrive at the coastal city named after former King Norodom Sihanouk after traveling nearly 230 km along Highway 4. Sihanouk Ville City has a seaport that is convenient for trading goods, especially tourism development.
Located in the Gulf of Thailand, Sihanouk Ville is considered by international tourists as a "paradise" for its pristine beaches, fine white sand, and clear blue water. On the way to the coastal resorts, tourists cannot forget the image of monkeys from both sides of the forest spilling out onto the road to play.
At night, tourists who do not want to listen to the gentle waves can go to the bustling Western Quarter, which is strangely attractive with bars on the beach. Fresh seafood in Sihanouk Ville is very rich, just caught from the sea and processed in Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Indian styles... In this city, there is a golden lion monument because in Cambodian, the name of the former King is lion (Si-ha). Before 1955, the coastal city was called Kompong Som, but later the people here changed the name to Sihanouk to honor King Norodom Sihanouk who won independence for Cambodia from the French in late 1953.
After going down to the sea, visitors start going up the forest to explore the Bokor plateau. This place is called "the hump on the back of the cow" with an altitude of more than 1,080 m above sea level, about 15 km from Kampot town. The weather on top of Bokor is very cool, only about 20 degrees Celsius. In the afternoon, there is often light rain, thick fog, standing about 5 m apart, you cannot see your face clearly. At noon, visitors go to the Five Boats Pagoda or the place where the statue of the goddess Ya Mao is located to look towards Phu Quoc and admire the beauty of the Gulf of Thailand.
Luxury resorts located along the coast of Sihanouk Ville. Photo: Duy Khang
This plateau is also known as Ta Lon Mountain, located in Bokor National Park (Preah Monivong Nation Park) with many rare animals and plants. In 1917, the French colonialists built a resort on top of Bokor including a school, post office, church, entertainment complex with casino for the upper class when they wanted to get away from the heat in the capital Phnom Penh. After the ups and downs of history, including the Khmer Rouge genocide, Bokor was abandoned for decades, so the locals called it a "ghost town" because of its desolate, dilapidated appearance, containing many mysteries.
By 2012, the Bokor plateau was revived with the 5-star Thansur Bokor luxury resort and entertainment complex located next to the ruins. The French casino is being restored, and a commercial area is about to spring up, making the hump on the back of the cow in Kampot more and more vibrant.
Returning to Phnom Penh, visitors should not forget to go up to Lady Penh Hill located in the center of the capital. According to legend, in 1372, a wealthy widow named Penh discovered four Buddha statues drifting ashore in the Mekong River flood. Thinking that they were messengers of good luck, she ordered people to build a hill and built a temple on it to preserve the statues. In Khmer, Wat Phnom means "hill". Currently, this ancient temple, more than 600 years old, has become a symbol of the capital Phnom Penh (Lady Penh Hill).
The Golden Lion Monument in the port city. In Khmer, the word Si-ha in the name of former King Sihanouk means lion. Photo: Duy Khang
In addition to the traditional tourist routes from the capital Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and Sihanouk Ville, there are also new attractions along the route Phnom Penh - Sihanouk Ville - Bokor Plateau by road, Phu Quoc - Sihanouk Ville by boat. In which the 4-day route Phnom Penh - Sihanouk Ville - Bokor Plateau departs every Saturday with a price of nearly 3.8 million VND per person, 4-5 star hotel standards.
