Seeing 36 Hours: Phnom Penh in last week’s New York Times was just the kick in the butt that I needed to get back on track sharing the highlights from my trip to Cambodia last May. Even though I would have loved to have this guide for my trip, it is comforting knowing that we managed to hit a bunch of the great places listed in the article. Below are some of my person favs that correspond with the images above, and you can click here to see my entire Phnom Penh photo set on flickr.

1. Monkeys at Wat Pnomn – you can even feed them or be entertained by humping monkeys wandering the grounds of this central temple.
2. Friends – A local restaurant that trains students off the street to run a business and cook in the kitchen (read more about the incredible program here). A truly wonderful (and delicious!) place, there is a shop nearby with handmade goods (also by the kids in training) and a new restaurant –Romdeng – featuring Cambodian specialities a little bit further out from center city.
3. Street vendors -nothing beats living la vida loca!
4. Abandoned building – my favorite building in this city, a remnant of French colonialism, it was recently purchased (by the owners of the FCC) to be redeveloped into a luxury hotel.
5. Genocide Museum – an honest reminder of Cambodia’s difficult (and not so distant) past, this former school was used as a torture center in the 70s.
6. Buddha Factory – color, concrete and spirit
7. Fabulous shops and restaurants along Street 240 – I loved Water Lily Creation (great jewelry and bags), Subtyl (local designer bags), Bliss (clothes and spa) and The Shop (lunch).
8. The Russian Market – more souvenirs than you know what to do with (the recycled bags all over Cambodia were my favorite)
9. Foreign Correspondants Club, a.k.a. the F.C.C. know for it’s fantastic happy hour deals, view of the water and it’s no doubt the best way to unwind at the end of a long day

Click here for more posts on Cambodia.