Phnom Penh to Silk Island: Tuk-Tuk Day Trip with Ferry & Weaving

4.95

(144 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I remember is the sticky breeze on my face as our tuk-tuk rattled away from Phnom Penh. The city noise faded so fast it felt unreal—one minute horns and scooters, next minute just wind and the faint smell of river mud. Our guide, Dara, grinned in the rearview mirror and asked if we’d ever crossed the Mekong by ferry before. I hadn’t. The ferry was noisy with chatter and clinking bottles; a woman selling sliced mango waved us over but I was too distracted by the water’s brown swirl under our wheels. It’s funny how something as simple as crossing a river can feel like you’re leaving your whole routine behind.

On Silk Island, everything slowed down. The tuk-tuk bumped along dusty tracks past banana trees and kids waving from doorways. Dara pointed out a Buddhist temple painted in faded pinks—he told us about his grandmother weaving silk scarves for monks there when he was little (he laughed when I tried to say “krama” properly; definitely got it wrong). We stopped at a small market where the air smelled like grilled fish and sweet fruit skins. I bought a snack wrapped in banana leaf—sticky rice with something nutty inside—and honestly, I still think about that taste.

The weaving house was quieter than I expected, except for the soft thunk-thunk of wooden looms. One of the women let me touch raw silk threads—softer than cotton but somehow stronger? She showed us how each scarf takes days to finish; her hands moved so fast it made my head spin. Dara translated her story about learning from her mother—there was this pride in her voice that didn’t need words. We sat for a while drinking cold water (needed that) and just watched sunlight flicker through bamboo walls.