Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Bustling modern-day Phnom Penh is a city rich with the legacies of kings and conquerors, both foreign and Khmer. Legend has it that Phnom Penh was founded when a woman called Penh discovered five images of Buddha inside a log washed up on the bank of the Mekong River. In 1373, Wat Phnom was built to house them. The town that grew around it became known as Phnom Penh. With phnom in Khmer meaning hill, the name literally means Hill of Penh.

Famous for Angkor Wat, its ancient capital, Cambodia has a long history. Around the first century BC a dynasty known to Chinese traders as Funan ruled. Impressive ruins from this great trading empire still stand at Angkor Borei & Phnom Da.From the sixth century, Funan's influence waned, and a new short-lived group of civilizations with a strong Indian influence called Chenla emerged along the Mekong and lower Tonle Sap Rivers.

In A.D. 802, Jayavarman II proclaimed himself a god-king and the Angkorian Empire was born. Construction of the first of the magnificent temples of Angkor began that same year and continued for almost six centuries. At its peak, the Angkorian Empire expanded to conquer most of the region, including large tracts of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. For reasons that remain unclear, Angkor eventually weakened--perhaps because of neighboring Thailand's rising might, frequent incursions from Thailand and Vietnam and distance from major trading ports. The elegant National Museum has a fine exhibition of artifacts from this period and preceding dynasties.

Oudong, 40 kilometers north, usurped Phnom Penh as the capital between 1618 and the mid-19th century, but it was Phnom Penh that was the seat of government when the French arrived in 1863. Their influence is obvious in many of the grand colonial buildings that dot the city, especially in the French Quarter around the Old Market. Colonial rule brought stability. During this prosperous time, in 1892, King Norodom constructed the stunning Wat Preah Keo (Silver Pagoda), paved with 5,000 blocks of silver.

In 1941 the current king, Norodom Sihanouk, was crowned at the age of 19. Believing that he would be easily manipulated, he was the choice of the French, but by 1952, King Sihanouk was spearheading a royal crusade for independence, which was granted in November 1953 and commemorated by Independence Monument. The years that followed were some of modern Cambodia's most prosperous. Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father to lead his ruling Sankum Reastr Niyum party as a politician.

War in Vietnam and growing leftist insurgency at home destroyed this "oasis of peace." In 1970, while Sihanouk was in France, General Lon Nol staged a coup and seized power. That same year, South Vietnamese and United States soldiers invaded Cambodia in an unsuccessful attempt to rout Viet Cong troops hiding there. The ensuing destruction only generated support for Cambodia's own communist insurgents, nicknamed the Khmer Rouge by Sihanouk. Cambodia quickly became the focus of world media attention. Sihanouk sided with the Khmer Rouge against Lon Nol, but when the Pol Pot-led communists took Phnom Penh in April 1975, he found himself held prisoner in the Royal Palace. Most of the rest of the population was herded into the countryside. There, thousands starved to death.

Both Khmers and foreigners took refuge in the French Embassy compound in the days following the communist victory, but the Khmer Rouge demanded the French expel the Cambodians or they would slaughter everyone inside. Khmers fled the embassy, many never to be seen again, while foreigners were evacuated. With the country to themselves, Khmer Rouge leaders implemented their radical Maoist doctrine, purging everyone they believed "bourgeois." Teachers, doctors, artists, monks--even hairdressers--were slaughtered in the name of the revolution. As the regime's leaders grew more paranoid, thousands more, including loyal party members, were tortured at a high school-turned-prison called Toul Sleng (S-21). Survivors of Toul Sleng were then taken to the Choeng Ek Killing Fields, where they were killed and buried in mass graves.

On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese troops took Phnom Penh and installed the government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea. The defeated Khmer Rouge fled to the jungle, where a guerilla war continued until 1998. In 1989, the Vietnamese withdrew. The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) soon arrived to prepare for democratic elections, which were held in 1993. The appointment of two prime ministers, Norodom Ranariddh (Sihanouk's son) and Hun Sen, proved to be intolerable to both sides, and in 1997, fierce fighting between factional troops broke out. When the dust settled, Hun Sen and his Cambodian People's Party were ascendant. He won the 1998 elections and currently remains Prime Minister.

Today, Cambodia is considered relatively stable, and despite tremendous poverty there is also progress. Phnom Penh still carries evidence of its tragic recent past, but also of mighty ancient cultures and French colonial glory. Modern shops and restaurants peek from between beautiful, if crumbling, examples of French architecture. Cyclos and horse-drawn carts share roads with luxury cars. Cambodia is still dependent on foreign aid, but the kingdom was admitted into ASEAN in April 1999 and tourism is helping it to regain its economic feet. The ancient arts, such as dance, shadow puppetry and weaving, have been revived with the help of the handful of surviving exponents.

Cambodia has been ravaged by war, and although no one is forgetting the past, the country is also keen to modernize and to grow through the 21st century and beyond.

Cambodia has always taken ingredients from other cultures to blend with its own, and food is no exception. When it comes to dining out, Phnom Penh is cosmopolitan, and almost every cuisine in the world is represented in a restaurant somewhere in this town.

Khmer food is, of course, the most abundant and qualities range from street-side to luxurious. Local street food is everywhere, but it might not always be compatible with foreign tastes. Grilled silkworms, roasted sparrows and bong dia cohen (duck embryos), all local delicacies, might only be for the adventurous traveler, but for a few thousand riel (less than USD1) for any item, the adventure costs very little.

More mainstream Khmer food is available in several restaurants around town. Amok (fish or meat steamed in leaves with coconut milk) and lok lak (grilled cubes of beef) are classic Khmer dishes that usually leave foreign diners wanting more. On the riverfront, Pon Lok is one of the most famous restaurants specializing in these dishes. The Hotel Cambodiana offers a Khmer buffet so diners can taste the full range of this unique cuisine with an accompanying performance of Khmer classical dance.

Once part of French Indochina, the Gallic influence still runs deep in Cambodia. French bread is sold at the markets by the basket load, and baguettes with pâté are a popular snack. For up-market dining, though, there are French restaurants to match the finest anywhere. Topaz, on Sotheros Boulevard, is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in town. Less expensive but very atmospheric is Le Louisiane, with outdoor seating and attentive service. La Croisette is also an affordable but very appealing alternative.

The Tonle Sap, the river Phnom Penh is built along, is a center for international dining in the city. From near the Royal Palace, a succession of restaurants serving food from all over the world to accommodate every budget stretch for about two kilometers along the water front. Bali Cafe is, as the name suggests, primarily an Indonesian restaurant, but set on the first floor, the balcony makes it an ideal place to sit with a drink and watch the world go by even if you are not hungry. Almost next door is the Foreign Correspondents' Club, or FCC. Unlike FCC's in other countries, you do not have to be a journalist to come and enjoy the view from this stately French colonial building. Though, if there is a famous journalist, photographer or actor in town, you can bet on seeing them here sipping a happy-hour beer or snacking on international food including stuffed damper, pumpkin soup and Caesar salad at some point during their stay. Around the corner, real British hospitality, right down to the Scotch eggs and toad-in-the-hole, awaits you at the The Rising Sun.

Of course, the cuisines of neighboring nations feature prominently anywhere you go. In the restaurant strip on Sotheros Boulevard, Vietnam is represented with An Nam and Thailand is almost next-door at Chiang Mai. Up-market Chinese food can be found at the Intercontinental Hotel's Xiang Palace, which specializes in dim sum but offers a full range of Cantonese delicacies. The road to Central Market, as well, is paved with Chinese restaurants in what has become a regular diner's Chinatown. Indian food is available for all, too-from the USD2 Chi Cha Hotel to the Singaporean-owned East India Curry Restaurant to the stately Shiva Shakti, overlooking Independence Monument, where you might even find yourself dining with members of the Cambodian royal family! All three of these offer extensive vegetarian options and halal food.

There has been an explosion of international restaurants in Phnom Penh during recent years, so there are very few types of food one can't find here: Mexican food is offered at The Mex, Greek food at Athena Greek Bar and Restaurant, and even Mediterranean and Moroccan food at Riverhouse.

Whatever your predilections, little Phnom Penh can surely satisfy them with at least one option and usually a few, whatever your budget, however adventurous you are and wherever your home might be. So enjoy your meal or, as they say in Cambodia, Som Anh-cheunh pee-sa oy ch'ngang. The hardest part might be choosing what, exactly, that meal may be.