 |
| DAA Industry Opt Out. |
Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a city re-awaking after countless years of war and the genocide of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge reign which decimated more than a third of the country. As the capital of Cambodia, it is quickly becoming a hot spot to visit. And hot it certainly is, with temperatures hovering well into the humid and sticky 90’s.
With a population of just over two million, Phnom Penh, which was once described as the Pearl of Asia, attracts the rugged traveler who uses it as a stop-over on the way to Siem Reap to take in the jungle temples of Angkor, or a midway point to Vietnam. But to sidestep this city is a mistake. It is fascinating not only for its recent history but for providing the opportunity to witness a city waking up to decide its future.
Runners have an ideal opportunity to see the city come alive as the dawning hours are the best (and coolest) time to run along the rivers. Phnom Penh is situated at the confluence of three rivers, the Tonlé Sap, Mekong and Bassac rivers. Runners who get out early, between 5 a.m. and 7a.m., are rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over the river as the local street scene and river life starts to unfold. The river promenade, which parallels Sisowath Quay where most of the tourist hotels are located, is festooned with colorful flags of all nations flapping in the morning breeze and lined with trees abloom with paper-thin pink petals.
|
| An elephant, out for a morning walk at 5am, too slow, unfortunately, to be a running partner. |
Phnom Penh is also noted for its French-colonial architecture that is seen in the buildings along the Quay. It’s extremely charming, but not much more than a facade. A few blocks inland from the river one finds bombed out buildings, reminders of the not so distant past.
One of the three main tourist attractions in town is the Tuol Sleng Museum, a one-time school house where Pol Pot harbored and tortured his victims. The other two are the Royal Palace and the Killing Fields, where the victims were buried in mass graves.
The city is extremely poor and beggars and homeless are everywhere, especially along Sisowath Quay. The streets are extremely dangerous to runners or to just about anyone trying to cross to the other side. There are no stop signs, traffic lights or police to patrol the renegade traffic that seems to flow in every direction at once in the form of cars, bicycles, motorbikes and the omnipresent tuk tuks, the vehicle of choice for tourists which is basically a golf cart atop a motorbike. Driving, walking, or running in this part of the city is conceivably life-threatening.
Which is why runners should stick to the tried and true. There are a few places to run safely within the city limits. The early rising runner can be found running along the Quay or doing loops in the park in front of the Royal Palace on Samdach Sothearnos Blvd.
For a good five-mile loop start at the quay down by the public dock and run along the river past the Royal dock to the end of the quay. Stay on the sidewalks until you reach the Buddist Institute. After making sure all wills and legal paperwork at home has been completed, carefully take a right
|
| Running past the Royal Palace on Samdech Sothearos Blvd.. |
and cross the intersection of Norodom Blvd and Preh Sihanouk Blvd. There is a long, grassy center island that runs in the middle of Preh Sihanouk Blvd perfect for running which ends at Independence Monument, built in 1958 as a monument to the Cambodian wars.
Runners share the path with the locals playing soccer and pick-up games of badminton. Circle the monument and repeat back to the public docks. For speed workouts, run the quay back and forth, but be careful of the vendors setting up their stalls and wares. Another option is to run at the Olympic Stadium, known as the National Sports Complex, near the intersection of Prea Sihanouk and Monireth Blvd. Built in 1966 for the Asian Games, it was never used for an Olympic event but houses facilities for track, boxing, swimming and gymnastics.
Phnom Penh also has a branch of the international running club, Hash House Harriers. They meet on Sundays at the train station at 2:45 and go for runs of various distances into the countryside. A $3 fee is charged to cover the refreshments served at the end of the run.
As far as race events in Phonm Penh and elsewhere in the country, there is the annual Angkor Wat International Half Marathon/10K in Siem Reap in December which attracts a total of just over 2,000 runners. There is one free race in Phnom Penh, a 5/10/21K sponsored by Vitamilk, a Thai product, and held also in December right before the half marathon.
Phnom Penh may no longer be the Pearl of Asia, but it certainly lives up to its new nickname, The Wild West of Asia. See it and run it before it gets tamed.
