The River Side Park in Phnom Penh - My Favourite Place in Cambodia

5 a.m. - is my most favorite time of the day in Cambodia! I cannot believe I would ever say that because I have never been an early riser my whole life. Never in my life had I ever gotten up before 5a.m., except might be for a very unusual circumstance such as catching an extra early morning flight out of the Canada or something. Otherwise my normal wake up time is 9ish in the morning now that I am a retired person.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

But all that change after I landed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Maybe it is due to the time difference, or I have been getting to bed early because there is no TV at the church house where I am staying. It is a positive change, a change I have always wanted – getting up early and watching the sun rise.

Watching the sunrise over the Mekong River, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I have achieved this dream of watching the sun rise, ironically, not in Canada but in Cambodia and have been enjoying a fantastic time of being physically active every morning at the river side park since I arrived here a week ago.

The park by the river side is my most favorite place for my daily morning walk in Phnom Penh.

The Park by the River - a Perfect Place for Morning Exercises

Carol knows that I need to do my daily exercises, therefore she goes with me everyday to the park – a beautiful and busy place in the morning. Because the sun is very strong already by 8 a.m.,  in order to beat the heat, there are lots of people doing their morning exercise in the park by 5:30a.m.

I was surprised at how many people were there when we got there!  People in the tropics do get up early and take advantage of the sun as it sets early. By the time 6 p.m. arrives, the sky is completely dark in Phnom Penh, unlike it is in Toronto, Canada, my home town, where the sun is still there at 8:30p.m. and does not get dark until 9 or 10p.m.

People were doing all kinds of physical activities at the park. We found people, young and old, running in groups or by themselves. 

People taking turns working out on the exercise machines provided free of charge at the river side park. Instructions are posted to inform people how to use them.








There were group exercises going on such as a Tai Chi Club whose members showed up dressed in their smart white uniforms, performing their slow but elegant moves accompanied by soft soothing music playing in the background.

This lady here was demonstrating some line dancing steps to her group of friends while they were waiting for others to arrive and join them.

Like many others who come to the park to do their exercises and enjoy the fresh air, Carol and I look forward and enjoy our daily early morning walk. Though there is no weight scale at the church house to show that I have lost weight, I could feel my clothes fitting better and roomier.

This is a pleasant surprise for me as I did not expect to find such a beautiful place to do my daily exercises close to where I am staying on my Cambodia trip!

R.T. Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Nov. 2012