Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh for kids and families

23 April 2014 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

It seems like most cultures outside the West are kid-friendly. It’s easy to go out or travel with kids in Asia. You won’t be met with glares and attitude as soon as you enter an establishment with a toddler in tow, or signs banning kids from restaurants. When ours were babies, restaurant staff would even take and entertain them so we can enjoy our meal together, then give the baby back with the bill! Same with getting a massage, manicure or pedicure.

So on top of other things that make Cambodia attractive for an expatriate post, in the past eight years the options for families with young kids have improved significantly. My favorite things to do where I can take the kids with me:

For a great manicure/pedicure with a glass of wine, and where the staff are awesome with the kids:
- Chanails #46 St 352
- July Salon #67 Sothearos Blvd, almost across from Almond Hotel
Khmer Desserts:
- Shaved ice desserts
- Coconut ice cream
Restaurants:
- Java Cafe, with a special kids’ room #56 Sihanouk Blvd
- Romdeng – they won’t normally take the kids, but they have a great kids’ room #74 St 174
- La Cita Urban Mex Restaurant (they serve Peruvian and other Latin American fare) #12 St 282

Here is a list of more kid-friendly activities in Phnom Penh. Don’t forget to check the various listings around town for kid-friendly events during the various holidays, like Easter egg hunts, Purim parties, Eid Al-fitr feasts, the myriad new years (International, Chinese, Khmer, Hindu), etc.

(If another Phnom Penh resident sees this and has others to add, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll include it!)

Activities for the family –

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center – see my previous posts on visiting and having a birthday party there.
Soun Soben and the other stocked fish ponds for a day of fishing and picnicking.
Cambodia Country Club – horseback riding, swimming and other activities.
Lyla Center – a sport and family recreational center – sports a kid’s lagoon in a swimming pool, an indoor playground, a separate adult’s swimming pool, Zoomba and other fitness classes, a spa, and restaurant.
Cambodia Country Club – swimming, tennis and badminton courts, horseback riding, futbol/soccer field, volleyball courts St 2004 Group 6 Toeuk Thla Contact 023 885 591/023 885 592/ 023 883 861/ 023 883 862
Sovanna Phum Khmer Shadow Puppet Theater – #166 Street 99. Performances every Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm. Contact 099 211 168.
Sorya Shopping Mall – roller skating, arcade, cinema (includes western films), karaoke at the top floor #11-13 St 63 (near Central Market)
Kambol Go-Karts – Kambol Village, Kandal (past the airport) Contact: 012 804 620
Super Bowl – Parkway Square Centre N° 113, Mao Tse Tung Blvd (St. 245)
National Museum Nightly light show

Playgrounds and Playgroups –

Lyla Center – (see above)
Kids City – science center, ice skating, climbing walls, play gyms (has Gloria Jeans’ Coffee and a Kids’ Closet), go karts, laser tag
Monkey Business – swimming pool and indoor playground for kids up to 8 years old(?) – #16 St 370 Open daily 9am-7pm. Contact: 016 818 283
Hun Sen Park across from Naga Casino – carnival atmosphere with street food, games, rides for children under 12
Sambo’s Club House – Breastfeeding Support Group Saturday mornings and Tot play area -#14 St 398 Contact: 023 211 044
Social playgroups – every Tuesday 3-5pm at Gasolina
outdoor playgrounds – veal hong (off Sothearos Blvd and St 240), by Wat Phnom
chase pigeons in front of the Royal Palace
at the supermarkets (Lucky on Sikhanouk, Lucky at City Mall, Bayon, and other malls) there are small playgrounds for toddlers

Kid-friendly swimming pools –

Lyla Center – (see above)
Himawari Hotel Apartments – #313 Sisowath Quay Contact 023 214 555
Raffles Hotel Le Royal – Contact: 023 981 888
Cambodia Country Club – (see above)
Dragon Water Park – Koh Pich (Diamond Island) next to Elite Golf Club entrance. Open daily 10:30am-8pm. Contact 023 45 54 023
Monkey Business – (see above)
Eureka Villa – #24 St 184 Contact: 023 699 9020 (on one of the streets behind the Royal Palace)
Splash Inn – #5 St 244 Contact: 023 986 174 (next to Wat Bottum)

Books, Movies –

Flicks – weekend kids sessions every Saturday and Sunday morning 10am
French Cultural Center – Cartoons and Children’s library every Saturday
Open Book (library for kids st 240 by an NGO looking to promote a love of reading) #41 Street 240. Open daily 10-5pm. Contact 012 876 623

Instruction – Private and group classes are plenty, just hearing from other parents, seeing the posts online or the signs around town. But most are by word-of-mouth through friends, because there are lots of informal groups in the city among both Khmers and foreigners. Many are happy to provide instruction in an expertise area, and even go to a client’s house. For more formal classes, a simple google search might pull up some options, as will a search through the Cambodia Parent Network and Expat Advisory archives.

Music Schools – Srornos, Simphony, or private lessons in voice, piano, violin, etc
Dance Arts – Central School of Ballet, other dance schools
Martial Arts – tae kwon do, bokator
Sports – Tennis, Swimming (Australian Standard Swim School and many private instructors)
Language – Khmer, French, English, Mandarin are the most popular languages here, but other major languages are available for instruction. Again, do a search on the forums for a recommendation.
after-school classes for elementary grades and up – ISPP, Northbridge, Hope International, East-West School
after-school classes for the toddler through kindergarten ages – The Giving Tree, Gecko and Garden, DK Schoolhouse, iCAN

Other sources of info –

stocked fish ponds for a day’s getaway

19 April 2014 by Nathalie Abejero 1 Comment

More photos of Soun Soben at Keith Kelly’s Flickr

After a simmering hot week cranking out some CFCs in the office, it’s time to shift that carbon footprint to another activity. Why not take the family out of the city for a picnic and some fishing?

About 20 minutes outside Phnom Penh (along National Road #1 in Kien Svay district, Kandal) is a stretch of fully stocked ponds, with huts situated along the banks for “picnicking” while you fish. Soun Soben Fishing Lakes is one of these, and it is a popular getaway for Khmers and their families. This 70 hectar property boasts three stocked ponds with 90 fishing huts, several picnic huts and a restaurant. Roaming the grounds freely are peacocks, sambars (a well-fed Sambor deer looking for papaya salad), and other animals used to humans feeding them so they’re friendly. It’s a great spot for families who want to get away from the city for a lazy day in the shade with rods in hand (although weekends are when the rowdy and loud SUV crowds descend en masse upon them – go on a weekday!). The image above is from Keith Kelly’s photostream of Soun Soben.

The grounds are extensive, far enough away from buildings that a good breeze is constant. The tables and thatched-roof huts are sturdy, well-looked after, the grass is cut and maintained, and there are large trees and plenty of shady spots for a nice family picnic. A hut by the sides of the lake will set you back 10,000 riel (US$2.50), unless you buy food and drink.

Thinking of testing your patience against a scaly bluefin? It’ll set you back $3 for a fishing rod and a ball of bait which, yummy as a fresh mix of cornstarch and rice powder might sound, is easily stolen by that clever catfish who’s avoided the hook in all his years. (Bring your own bait if you’re serious about fishing!) Included in this price is that they will clean and cook your catch for you. There are plenty of large fish – you can see them in the water.

Feeding a family of four from their restaurant? A can of beer or a bottle of water is $1, fried vegetables are $2, snails of the large variety are $3.

The typical weekend there will see traffic of around 1000 people from the concrete jungle looking for a quiet and relaxing day in the park. But their clientele reaches 6000 people over the course of a holiday weekend (so avoid it during the New Years!).

(Another popular fishing “resort” is Boeng Chhouk, but there are plenty along this road in Kien Svay district.)

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Center for a birthday party

2 February 2014 by Nathalie Abejero 2 Comments

We’ve been to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center several times and I’m always impressed with it. The grounds are large – it’s certainly possible to walk from one exhibit to the next, but a vehicle would be useful. They have many exhibits. I still haven’t seen all of them. Most animals have a fairly wide area to roam (they aren’t confined to small concrete cages as I expected). They’re rescued from accidents or illegal wildlife trade, and rehabilitated. Those that can’t be released back to the wild stay on the grounds. The center is staffed by dedicated conservationists, and they’re routinely visited by experts in specific species.

Our little boy and his friend celebrated their birthday together, so we took them to the Rescue Center with their closest friends. Our friend who’s Cambodia’s very own ‘Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter’ organized a fantastic day – we brought 20kg of meat for the crocodiles and tigers so we can see them up close. We ran into Lucky the elephant who was taking a stroll with her handler, so we fed her some of her favorite treats, coconuts and sugar cane. These huge creatures would crush the coconuts under their foot like it was an egg!

We also stopped by the breeding pen for Siamese crocodiles that continually releases juveniles back to the wild. Siamese are rare, as most of them have been hunted or are bred with other species of crocodiles to make better handbags. (Adam is a conservationist and as a crocodile expert made it an informative outing for all of us.)

This is the first time the kids ever saw a piñata too, so that was quite entertaining! They’re pretty lucky they have parents who’ll spend quite a bit of time making piñatas for them, one a stegosaurus and the other a chicken.

Santa Claus has come to the Penh

23 December 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

Our son’s first word (apart from mama and papa) was elephant – every time we pointed to an elephant in one of his books he’d say “peh-pet”. Last year he was still a bit young to appreciate the celebration of Christmas, and was afraid of Santa Claus, even when he arrived with his favorite creature, Sambo the elephant. This year we milked that naughty/nice list idea cuz it works like a charm – it’ll be a treat to watch this little boy on Christmas morning now that he knows better. Sambo, happily, is no longer a regular on Phnom Penh’s busy riverside. He retired this year to a zoo.

Popsicles from Malaysia

28 September 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

I love these popsicles once in a while. They’re one of the few interesting ice cream brands I’ve seen in Cambodia. By interesting I mean the flavors are local, not the typical imported vanilla chocolate strawberry. They carry red bean, sweet yellow corn, durian, taro (this is the least tasty flavor unfortunately), and black glutinous rice. I’ve only ever seen them in the bigger TELA gas station mini-marts or at the Paragon grocery store (behind the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh).

Cervical and Breast Cancer in Phnom Penh

10 September 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

I’ve been asked recently by a few Khmer colleagues about where to go for cervical or breast cancer in Phnom Penh. There is increasing expertise in the private sector, but it’s hard to refer people to those facilities when the reviews of the care is mixed. Below are two health and medical networks that have specialist teams on site who can do screening, diagnostics, counseling and treatment for cervical and breast cancers. They seem to have good reviews from the barang physicians I work with. Check on their website and/or call for more information or for an appointment.

HOPE Worldwide – https://www.hopeww.org There are three facilities depending on income level. There is also some grant funding to cover expenses if cost is an issue.

(1) Community Medical Center – located on Kampuchea Krom (between 169 and 139) (855) 23986609 The facility charges a sliding scale with fees structured according to income level.

(2) Embassy Medical Clinic – No. 18, Street 228 (between 51 and 57, around the corner from SOS), Sangkat Chak Tomouk, Khan Daun Penh (855) 23426091 Services are on the highest end out of the three clinics. Consultation was $15 last year when I took my toddler to the American pediatrician, Sutton Whittaker. (Unfortunately he has since left Cambodia :-(

(3) Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE http://www.sihosp.org/ – St. 134, Sangkat Vealvong, Khan 7 Makara Services for the very poor, located at the Center of HOPE hospital; these services are usually reserved for folks from the provinces that have exhausted all other health care options and have no money.

RHAC (Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia) http://www.rhac.org.kh/ They offer family planning, sexual and reproductive health services in 14 provinces in Cambodia. They have many facilities, and have funding to cover expenses for those in need of it.