Flying into the new airport of Phnom Penh (and getting the reasonably efficient airport bus), part-time pedestrian walk adds some much-needed public space, interesting skyscrapers (ie not boring blue boxes), and fake Paris update.
I visited Phnom Penh in December 2025, which was a year since my last visit. My previous trip involved getting the train from Bangkok to Ban Klong Luk Border, a van from Poipet to Battambang, and another train from Battambang to Phnom Penh.
Since then, Cambodia and Thailand have found themselves in a border war, which has closed the border to land traffic. A few years ago, it looked like a cross-border railway was going to be launched from Thailand to Cambodia, but it now might take years for relations between Thailand and Cambodia to improve.
Air travel between the two countries is still open, so flying to Phnom Penh gave me the opportunity to see the new airport.
These are my construction and transport notes from my visit to Phnom Penh in December 2025.
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