PHNOM PENH
Sisowath Quay: Walking Phnom Penh’s Riverside
Sisowath Quay is one of our favourite places for an evening walk in Phnom Penh. Running for around 3 km along the Tonle Sap River, the promenade is fairly quiet during the day but starts to fill up as the sun goes down, with Cambodian families, tourists, food sellers and people just out for a walk.
You might also hear it called the riverside. The quay is named in honour of King Sisowath of Cambodia, who ruled during the French Protectorate.
You can walk the whole length of the promenade in about 40 minutes at a slow wandering pace but there are usually lots of reasons to pause along the way. The Tonle Sap laps up against the promenade wall and it’s also a great spot to stop and watch the river. You can see across to Chroy Changvar and the Sokha Hotel, with the ferries regularly crossing the river in front of you. The night cruise boats are also coming and going regularly along this part of the river. At the Chaktomuk end you get a good view of all four river branches meeting here. The Tonle Sap, the Upper and Lower Mekong and the Tonle Bassac.
The best time to visit is in the evening, when the place swells with Cambodian families and tourists but you will also find people there early in the morning for exercise or even in the middle of the day. Some areas like the flower market and the shrines are busy all day.
You can really start a walk along here from any point, but if you want to walk the entire stretch, start at the Phnom Penh Night Market at the northern end, or the Chaktomuk Conference Hall at the southern end.
Walking along Sisowath Quay
We like to start at the Chaktomuk Conference Hall, so we can admire the Vann Molyvann-designed architecture in the daylight. The gate is generally closed but you can still get a great view of the Khmer-style triangular gables from the sidewalk.
Continuing north you will come to the start of Sisowath Quay and the toilets. Beyond that is the flower market and at this end is where you will find most of the food. In this section you will find fortune tellers, sellers of anything and everything on sticks and meats of many colours. It’s a great place to pull up a red chair and try some grilled squid or fried meatballs.
The Ponlea Chey Pavilion is the large ornate structure you will see next. This is where the king watches the Water Festival from. The pavilion is flanked by two small shrines, one with an avatar of Vishnu and the other a shrine to three local guardian spirits, Lokta Dambang Dek, Lokta Krahorm and Lokta Preah Chao.
It’s usually busy with people praying at these shrines, especially Preah Ang Dorngkeu, the one with Vishnu, where people come to pray for good luck. Around here you usually see people selling flowers, birds for releasing and offerings. It’s particularly popular during Khmer or Chinese holy days, or when students have exams. Historically, flags were raised on the huge flagpole beside the shrine to signal to passing boats that there was a place of worship here. It is a great place to stop for a bit and people watch but get there early, they generally close up at about 6.30pm.
On the opposite side of the road, the strip is lined with local and international restaurants, little shops and bars. We sometimes stop at River Crown or Touk for a drink, again a good place to sit and watch the world go past.
It also used to be where you would find the Foreign Correspondents Club, the FCC, which closed for renovations just before Covid. It never reopened and, despite plans for a new hotel, restaurant and bar, the building has remained closed and wrapped in scaffolding ever since.
About halfway, you come to the statue of Techo Meas and Techo Yort, riding their horses. These two are remembered as Khmer military leaders who fought against Siamese forces in the post-Angkorian period. Techo Meas is also connected to a legend about how Kampong Thom got its name. He was said to be a powerful official who regularly met with other officials at his house, but getting there meant crossing the river by boat, sometimes with ox carts, horses and elephants. The port became known as the port of the big meeting, which was shortened to Kampong Thom, or big port.
All along the riverside is a great spot to sit and people watch. You can see families walking along the riverside, people throwing corn to the pigeons, ice cream sellers pushing carts with little bells. It’s a lively atmosphere on any night.
Phnom Penh Walking Street
On Saturday and Sunday evenings, however, this section changes completely when Sisowath Quay closes to traffic from Chaktomuk Conference Hall to the Phnom Penh Night Market for Walking Street. Hundreds of stalls and tents sell Cambodian crafts, goods and food.
At the northern end of the quay, the promenade gets a bit quieter and then you’ll reach Phnom Penh Night Market. By this point we’re usually ready to stop walking.
Phnom Penh Night Market
The Phnom Penh Night Market makes a good end to the full walk along Sisowath Quay. It’s open every day from about 5pm until 11pm.
Filled with clothes, shoes, bags and accessories, it’s an easy place to wander through rows of stalls and haggle for a souvenir.
One thing we love doing here is spotting the fake designer clothes. You’ll find everything from Gucci sliders to ‘Abibas’ sportswear, mixed in with plenty of regular clothes, souvenirs and accessories.
At the back of the night market is the food area, where you can choose what you want to eat and then find a space on one of the large mats laid out on the ground. If you don’t fancy eating at the market, Hummus House is close by, serving Lebanese food, and is one of our favourites.
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