The relaxing means to explore Phnom Penh and its architecture starts right from the doorstep of your centrally-located hotel as we transfer you to the meeting point. It is here where you are welcomed by an English-speaking guide and well-trained ‘chauffeur’ who assist you in stepping into your private cycle (a Cambodian bicycle-powered rickshaw). The wheels slowly turn, creating a cool flow as you venture through the streets and alleys in search of striking buildings and characteristics in the capital’s architecture. Your knowledgeable guide offers a brief historical and cultural introduction to the city, as you make your way calmly with traffic passing by, specifically highlighting the colonial buildings from 1910 onward. You soon see that you are not alone using this laid-back way to move through the city: pedalled rickshaws still ply the streets as in colonial days and provide an excellent opportunity for sightseeing and people watching as well as the taxi service.

Not only those buildings of immense importance pass and landmarks on an ordinary half-day pass the revue. This 3-hour ride also includes a selection of private buildings, and some less obvious examples of religious architecture, both to be admired from the in- and outside. Guests may require to sometimes walk into smaller alleys, where cyclos cannot go, to get a glimpse of hidden treasures. Your cyclo driver slowly makes its way back to the central meeting after this extraordinary tour of seeing what is often not shown and where we scratch the historical surface of this dynamic city. From here, a car/van waits for you for the final stretch to your Phnom Penh Hotel.