Almost everyone bound for the Cambodian coast passes through Phnom Penh, and the temptation is to treat it only as a connection. That is a small mistake. The capital, set where three rivers meet, is a river city with a long memory and a real pulse, and a night or two here is a fitting overture to the coast.
The river and the palace
The heart of the city is its riverfront, a wide promenade along the Tonle Sap where the whole town seems to gather at dusk to walk, eat and watch the water. Just back from it stand the golden spires of the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, and the National Museum, whose cool courtyards hold the finest Khmer sculpture anywhere. An hour among them is the best primer there is for the country you are about to explore.
The weight and the life
Phnom Penh does not hide its history. The sites of the Khmer Rouge years, Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields on the edge of town, are sobering and important, and worth the time if you want to understand modern Cambodia. The city that surrounds them is anything but heavy, though, full of markets, rooftop bars, art spaces and some of the best eating in the country.
The gateway
From here the coast is a few hours south, by road or by the revived railway that runs down to Sihanoukville. Phnom Penh is where the trip gears up and, on the way back, where it comes gently back to earth. It is a threshold worth lingering on rather than rushing through.
How to be here
Spend a night or two at the start or end of a coast trip, walk the riverfront at sunset, give the museum a morning, and eat well. Treat the capital as the opening chapter rather than the small print, and the whole journey reads better.