Phnom Penh
Entertainment

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Active? Culturally inclined? Just want to dance and drink your nights away? Phnom Penh has as diverse a selection of entertainment choices as any city in the region, although it all comes stamped with this laid back town’s own inimitable style. Many events seem almost spontaneous, and the best way to find out what is on is by checking the listings on the back page of the English language Cambodia Daily each Friday.

Travelers interested in cultural entertainment can enjoy long, full days. Early risers can see Cambodia’s world-famous classical dancers rehearse most mornings at the Royal University of Fine Arts between 7:30 and 9:30a. Almost all of the kingdom’s dancers were culled during the Pol Pot regime, but enough survived to keep this beautiful legacy of Angkorian times alive. Sovanna Phum, located a little way out of town at 111 Street 360, stages occasional, highly recommended performances of Khmer shadow puppet theatre and Khmer circus. Productions of Khmer classical theater and circus are irregular and are best located by checking local magazines and newspapers. Combine dining with entertainment at the Sofitel Cambodiana Hotel, which offers traditional food and culture with its Khmer buffet dinner and traditional dance performance every Friday night.

There is culture of a more modern kind at the French Cultural Center, which sometimes hosts exhibitions, plays and other events and regularly screens a good range of French language movies, often with English subtitles. Other than that, there are almost no cinemas in Phnom Penh. Latest release foreign movies are often on television within days of release due to almost non-existent copyright laws, and Cambodia’s film industry consists mainly of karaoke video makers. However, tourists wishing to see a Khmer movie on the big screen can do so in relative comfort at the newly reopened Vimeantip Cinema on Monivong Boulevard.

Live music outside of karaoke parlors is as hard to find as films. Sunday is jam day at the Globe Bar and Restaurant and any musician is welcome to join. The Elephant Bar at Hotel Le Royal along with a few of the larger hotels such as Monirom Villa and Royal Phnom Penh Hotel stage regular cabaret-style or sedate piano performances.

The armchair sports fan though can usually find a good seat in Phnom Penh. During soccer season, Cambodian National Soccer League games and occasionally internationals are held at various locations-often at the Old Stadium in the north of town-and teams with names such as National Police Red Donkeys tussle earnestly in the blazing sun. Other venues are listed in the Cambodia Daily. Kickboxing is held on Sundays at the TV5 studios. Cambodians are passionate about their kickboxing, which is very similar to Thailand’s muay Thai, also believed to be a Khmer invention. Big crowds gather to watch local heroes, especially when they fight foreign contenders.

For those seeking fitness for themselves, there are fewer options. The Clark Hatch gym at the Hotel Inter-Continental Phnom Penh is probably the best equipped, or take a run in the Cambodian countryside by meeting the Phnom Penh Hash House Harriers. Another way to mix activity with sightseeing is to visit Alligator Ski Club on the Mekong River. Water or jet ski or just lounge in the floating bar and enjoy a weekend barbecue. More adventurous travelers can arrange a trip with Canoeing Cambodia River Tours or Adventure Canoes through Rising Sun Bar and Restaurant-anything from a short paddle near Wat Phnom to a marathon journey through the provinces.

For the homesick, the Western less-active favorites are all here. Bowlers should check out the Phnom Penh Bowling Club or Superbowl, which are both open until late. Prospective Formula One racers can try go-carting at Kambol F1 where budding anglers can also indulge at a pool out the back. The Walkabout Hotel hosts a pool competition every Tuesday night, but if you want to play with the locals, small pool halls of varying standards can be found down almost any street as the game is almost a national obsession.

The sedentary need not despair! River cruises are offered by several boats in various sizes and states of repair along the riverfront. Le Deauville II is the most luxurious, and often stops at small weaving villages along the way. These are great places to pick up a bargain if you are in the market for silk or traditional Khmer scarves. And if all this exercise (or just sitting and thinking about it) is just too much, Seeing Hands Massage, a co-operative of blind Khmer masseurs, practices the ancient art of Shiatsu massage.

Relaxation increases at the Foreign Correspondents Club, which has a happy hour between 5 and 7pm. This is the most famous in a strip of bars and restaurants along the riverfront that make superb places to sit and enjoy drinks as the sun goes down. That is when things really start to swing. Khmers tend to go to numerous bia hois (outdoor beer stands) and karaoke halls, such as the ones clustered around the Monivong Boulevard end of Street 184. Hip young locals head to Manhattan’s Nightclub, near the Holiday International Hotel, to boogie till daylight at what is probably the closest thing Phnom Penh has to a western disco. The expatriate crowd usually gravitates to one of a handful of bars and nightspots. Most famous are the Heart of Darkness, a tiny little hole-in-the-wall club with a dance floor, or Martini’s Disco, which also features a food court and outdoor movie screen.

For insomniacs who choose not to disco, dawn’s early light need not signal the end of the night. The Walkabout stays open all night as does Phnom Penh’s only casino, Naga Floating Casino, located in a former ocean liner and easily spotted on the river.

With culture, sport and social activities all on offer, boredom at any hour is not an option in Phnom Penh.