Responsible Tourism in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

It’s ironic that I had a conversation yesterday about not judging a book by it’s cover. This saying is true for Phnom Penh. It’s a city that most people see quickly on the way to island paradises. At first, it’s easy to see why no one wants to spend time here. Scams are at large and bag snatchers are a serious problem. If you walk down the streets at night, you’ll see a plethora of prostitutes waiting for single men. These are the things that make you want to stay in your hotel and never go outside.

Due to a few reasons, I somehow ended up in Phnom Penh for eleven days. I was a bit run down, and the weather at my next stop was not ideal. I decided to stay at my hostel in Phnom Penh and catch up on work by the pool. The great thing about staying in a place for too long is that you get to hear whenever someone has a great experience. If I hadn’t stayed here a whole week, I would have missed out on the beauty that Phnom Penh holds. If you take the time to look past the negatives, you’ll see that there is just as much good happening in this city as there is bad.

These two restaurants are run by Tree Alliance. This organization takes at risk and marginalized youth and trains them to be chefs and waiters. Most of these children have had very hard lives and resort to begging on the street. These restaurants give them the opportunity to train in a career and provide for their families in a sustainable way. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).