Phnom Penh runs on small money: a bowl of kuy teav costs 6,000 riel, most pagodas charge nothing, and the Mekong sunset is free from any riverside bench. Three days here can cost less than one museum ticket in Bangkok.
Headquarters of Cambodian Buddhism since 1443 and home to the Supreme Patriarch, this riverside compound of 44 structures is free to enter. Monks in saffron study in the open halls from dawn; the stupa behind holds an eyebrow hair relic of the Buddha.
Morning-to-midday rice noodle soup carts serve kuy teav with pork bone broth, bean sprouts and fried garlic for 6,000-8,000 riel. Add a plate of bread and free herbs. Plastic stools, no menu, point at the pot.
A 1932 French colonial Art Deco terminal with a vast clock-faced facade, free to wander. Trains to Sihanoukville and the airport still depart here; the airport line costs 8,000 riel, the cheapest airport transfer in the city.
The pedestrian lane of the Japanese Friendship Bridge crosses the Tonlé Sap with an open view back to the palace spires and the Mekong confluence. Locals jog and picnic here at dusk; vendors sell grilled corn for 2,000 riel.
The 1937 ochre Art Deco dome, one of the largest in Asia, costs nothing to enter. Four wings sell silver, watches, fabric and fruit; the food aisles on the north side do num banh chok rice noodles for 4,000 riel.
A working neighbourhood market two blocks from the river where prahok, river fish and morning greens change hands. Cooked-food vendors ladle samlor korko vegetable stew over rice for around 5,000 riel to market workers.
Cambodia's best-value market for factory-surplus clothing, DVDs and silverware, packed under a low tin roof. The central food court serves iced coffee for 3,000 riel and pork-and-rice bai sach chrouk plates for 6,000.
After dark this lane fills with charcoal grills doing skewered pork, chicken wings and grilled bananas for 2,000-4,000 riel a stick. Locals order beer at 2,500 riel a can and eat standing beside the carts.
The vehicle ferry from Prek Leap crosses the Mekong to a rural island of stilt houses and handloom silk weaving. Foot passengers pay 1,000-2,000 riel; weavers demonstrate on wooden looms and let you watch for free.
Cambodian baguette sandwiches layered with pâté, pickled papaya, cucumber and chilli sauce go for 4,000-6,000 riel from bicycle carts parked in the shade of the monument gardens. Grab one and eat on the lawn.
A shaded public park of frangipani trees, exercise machines and the 1442 royal pagoda whose gilded stupas hold ashes of the Norodom line. Free to walk; vendors sell coconuts for 2,000 riel and sugarcane juice for 1,500.
Phnom Penh's public buses charge a flat 1,500 riel per ride, air-conditioned, running until about 20:30. Line 3 tracks the river and crosses to Chbar Ampov, giving a rolling view of the working waterfront for the price of a coffee.