Andy Brouwer's Cambodia Tales

Kompong Cham at speed

The speedboat from Kratie took 2½ hours and we touched down at the dock in the shadow of the recently-completed bridge spanning the Mekong river at Kompong Cham, just before 10am. From the jetty, I walked into the centre of town, past the busy market area, noticing the the unusually high ratio of pharmacies to other shops, and around the corner to the Mittapheap hotel. Although the hotel lobby is a mite sterile, the $10 air-conditioned double room was comfortable and by coincidence, the same one I'd stayed in twelve months earlier. After a shower, I visited the Ponleu Rasmei guesthouse on the look out for my motodub from last year but Sam On had left just after my last visit and sadly his whereabouts were unknown. I headed for the market again to see what it had to offer, bought a few provisions (bottled water, biscuits, that sort of thing) and located ABC Computers, where I e-mailed my wife to update her on my progress so far. It cost $1 per e-mail but as the connections were so poor, it took about an hour to type and send it.

I was keen to get on the road to see the ancient 7th century temple site of Han Chey, some 20 kms north of the city, nestling alongside the Mekong river. However, I was having no luck finding a moto-driver who spoke English. My search took me to the riverfront opposite the towering Mekong hotel and a group of a dozen motodubs resting in the shade from the mid-day sun. They all jumped to life as I approached but to no avail until an English-speaking passerby joined the conversation, explained my need to the group and a short, stockily-built man stepped forward. It turned out that Han Chey was Vy's home village, we agreed a small fee and that we'd leave from my hotel at 1pm. Vy didn't speak English either except for the words 'bad road' and how prophetic that turned out to be. The friendly passerby informed me that tourists don't normally go to Han Chey and was I sure I didn't want to see Wat Nokor and the Man and Woman Hills? I politely told him that I'd seen those on a previous visit and that Han Chey was really where I wanted to go.

Vy was on time and almost immediately I understood the 'bad road' comment as we headed north. The road, actually a red-dirt track in a terrible state after the recent floods, hugged the Mekong riverbank all the way and turned out to be the roughest moto ride I'd ever experienced on my Cambodia travels. The ruts and bumps made it a bone-jarring, teeth-chattering ride and a test of my endurance and balance just to stay on the moto. At the same time, we passed through village after village of traditional wooden houses on stilts, the children waving and shouting 'hello' and the adults smiling or looking quizzical that a foreigner was passing through. After a tortuous hour, we reached Han Chey village and paused briefly at Vy's house, which doubled as a basic provisions store, before continuing onto a small tributary that flowed into the Mekong. The only way to cross this river was on a raft operated by two young boys, who charged 500 riels per crossing.

Once across, Vy and myself quickly arrived at the foot of Phnom Han Chey with a handful of Chinese graves dotted amongst the rich green rice fields. The hill was too steep to drive up, so we walked slowly up with the hot sun overhead. At the summit, a complex of buildings in quiet surroundings included two Buddhist pagodas, monk's living quarters, a few brightly-painted statues, two ancient towers and pleasant views of the surrounding countryside. Either side of the main vihara are the two very different ancient temples. A flat-topped, square, windowless sandstone 'cella', identical to one at Sambor Prei Kuk, is decked out as a shrine and has an ornately carved lintel still in place. Around the other side of the much larger wat, is a substantial brick tower in the Prei Kmeng style in good condition but devoid of any carving. Vy posed for a picture in the sandstone doorway before we looked into the modern wat but were politely told 'no photos' by a group of monks. In another part of the complex, a pile of rubble with a sandstone pedestal was all that remained of another older temple and the view across to the Mekong river below, revealed another shrine a stone's throw from the riverbank.

The steps to the laterite sanctuary tower (known as Kuk Preah Theat) at the bottom of the hill seemed to go on forever and the thorny undergrowth surrounding the structure would deter most visitors. The temple, shaded by trees, was dark and brooding and seemed out of place away from the other buildings. A couple of fishermen docked their tiny boat at the foot of the stairs and looked suprised to see this foreigner, the sweat saturating my shirt, as I began the long climb back to the top to rejoin Vy. After about an hour at Phnom Han Chey, we retraced our steps and re-crossed the river on the small wooden raft. As we reached Vy's house again, like most, a spacious two-roomed wooden home on stilts, he invited me in to take tea with his wife and children, his brother and his family and their grandmother. Without a common language, we exchanged photos, sweets and smiles, I took a few pictures and a group of neighbours soon appeared at the foot of the steps. As we left to return to Kompong Cham, the word had spread and it seemed that most of the village had turned out to see what all the fuss was about. A couple of kilometres down the road, the front tyre of our moto unsuprisingly suffered a puncture and we stopped to get it repaired. As we waited, I kept a crowd of children entertained by playing foot shuttlecock, handing out balloons and taking photos before we set off again, along the rough dirt track. A couple of noticeable features along the roadside were the piles of sandstone and laterite stone blocks in the garden of each house and every few hundred metres, groups of women were sat together on low, wooden platforms, discussing the issues of the day, a common sight throughout the Cambodian countryside.

It was just after 5pm when I arrived back at the Mittapheap, thanked Vy for his excellent driving on a very difficult road and jumped in the shower to wash away the dust and grime. At 7.30pm I walked to the Hoa An restaurant for a chicken curry meal and drinks for less than $4. As the only customer, the staff took turns to chat to me and it was 9pm when they closed up and I finally left, to walk back to the hotel via the darkened market area and hardly any sign of life. For much of that night it rained heavily, leaving the roads around the hotel under water, and continued the next morning. I decided to move onto Kompong Thom earlier than originally planned and in a moment of indulgence, decided to hire a taxi to take me the 140 kms along Routes 6 and 7. The taxi rank was next to the market and in between showers, I negotiated a car and driver for $20, calling in at a few ancient temples en route. Pheap, my driver, arrived in his Toyota Camry at 10am, I paid my hotel bill and collected my still-wet laundry before leaving.

Our first stop was at Wat Nokor, also known as Phnom Bachey, on the outskirts of town. It was still raining as Pheap drove into the 11th century temple complex that co-exists with a more modern pagoda and outbuildings. I'd been to the site twelve months earlier and my return visit confirmed what an interesting temple it was. The older parts have excellent lintels in situ, apsara carvings and statues amongst the sandstone and laterite sanctuaries, whilst the wall paintings and large Buddha statues of the newer wat make for a fascinating contrast of old meets new. We continued along Route 7 to the town of Skuon, famed for its local delicacy of fried spiders, but instead of taking Route 6 northwards, we carried on for a few kilometres before reaching Phnom Thom, along a slippery red-dirt side road. Climbing the taller of two hills alone, the 11th century temple of Prasat Premea Chong Prei awaited me at the summit. There were four laterite buildings and an annexe, bedecked with flags, still with a couple of lintels in place and three more on the ground. A young boy followed me throughout my visit and no doubt was as suprised as I when I dropped my camera and let out a few choice words in anger. The site was otherwise completely devoid of life although music from a loudspeaker emanated from a pagoda somewhere nearby. The drizzle became much heavier as we left and continued onto the town of Phaav, took a World Food Program road to the village of Tumnup and headed for Wat Tang Krasan. The track to the pagoda was treacherous and once I'd seen the four carved lintels in place around a small shrine at the rear of the temple, I decided against any further exploration. In the same vicinity are the temples of Prasat Khvet, Phnom Trop, Kuk Pring Chrom and Kuk Ampil Thvear amongst others and will require further investigation on another visit. However, the weather had cut short this particular excursion and I asked Pheap to head for Kompong Thom.

At Skuon, we stopped for some food. I decided to play safe and declined the plate of 'a-ping' or fried tarantulas that I was offered and instead chose some 'khao larn', sweet sticky rice in bamboo shoots. Route 6 from Skuon to Kompong Thom is in a reasonable condition apart from a few narrow bridges and Pheap really put his foot down, at times racing along at twice the speed limit. It continued to rain and the only hold-up was at a bridge where a truck had broken its axle and had to be pushed off the highway. We reached our destination just after 2pm and I left Pheap so he could try to find some customers to take back to Kompong Cham. My time there had been brief but the visit to Han Chey in particular had been a memorable one.

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  	Make this site as your Home Page!! Home | About Us | Site Maps   web www.orchestratravelcambodia.com  Home » Tourist Attractions » Kompong Cham » Introduction » Tourist Attractions » Learn Khmer » Khmer Food » Public Holiday » ORC Package Tours » ORC Optional Tours » ORC Combination Tours » Royal Government » Ministry of Tourism Tourist Attractions Kompong Cham Kompong Cham is situated in the northeastern of Cambodia and is approximately 121Km from Phnom Penh City. It covers about 9,799 km2 and the population is approximately 1,608,914. Nokor Bachey Temple Is the historical site located at 2.2 Kilometer distance from the Kompong Cham provincial town along the National road N0 7 (Phnom Penh- Kompong Cham) in 12-kilometer distance and turn left more 200 Metres. Nor Kor Ba Chey temple has wide location; it is not smaller than other temples in Cambodia. The temple was built in 11th Centur Phnom Han Chey Han Chey Mountain has official name “Chey Kiri Mountain” located at the East of Kompong Cham province, at the northern part of Mekong River. In addition, there is another temple having square shape made of sandstone located at the North of pagoda; at the valley of the mountain, there is another temple called “Pra Sat Neang Khmao” made of stones each has seven-square metre size. Phnom Pros, Phnom Srey Located at Kro La Commune, Kampong Siem District in Seven- kilometre distance from the provincial town of Kompong Cham or 114-kilometre distance from Phnom Penh with exceeding 500 Metres to the left. The pagoda of Phnom Pros has official name called “What Sovan Kiri Rotanak Phnom Pros”; in 1000 Meters to the North, there is another mountain, which has pointed peak called “Phnom Srey” Back to the top TOURIST ATTRACTION TOUR PACKAGES SPECIAL REQUEST HOTELS INFO TESTIMONIALS TRAVEL TIPS BORDER CROSSING EVENTS LINKS AND READING HOME ABOUT US OUR TEAM AGENTS CONTACT US Kampong Cham Province Breaking News Chiphat Local Community Kingdom of Wonder Ceramics workshops Cambodia Travel Guide and Information Banteay Mean Chey Province  Battambang Province  Kampong Cham Province  Kampong Chnang Province  Kampong Speu Province  Kampot Province  Kep City  Koh Kong Province  Kratie Province  Mondulkiri Province  Phnom Penh City  Prah Vihear Province  Prey Veng Province  Pursat Province  Ratanakiri Province  Siem Reap Province  Sihanouk Ville  Stung Treng Province  Svay Rieng Province  Ta Keo Province  This is Kampong Cham province travel guide and information, Kampong Cham Province is the most heavily populated province in Cambodia, Kampong Cham province has also supplied a steady stream of Cambodia’s current political heavyweights including Prime Minister Hun Sen and senate Head Chea Sim. Most of the residents in Kampong Cham province enjoy quieter lives, living off the land or fishing along the MekongRiver. Rubber was the major prewar industry and there are huge plantations stretching eastwards from the Mekong. Some of these are being redeveloped for industrial use and there are even encouraging signs of young saplings being plated around Memot. Some of Cambodia’s finest silk is also produced in this province and most of the country’s karma (scarves) originate here. Kampong Cham province draws a fair number of visitors thanks to its role as a gateway to the northeast. There are some of the attractions in Kampong Cham province, includes several pre-Angkorian and Angkorian temples, as well as some pleasant riverbank rides for cyclist or motor bikers. The city of Kampong Cham province is long considered Cambodia’s third city after Phnom Penh and Battambang, lately Kompong Cham has been somewhat left in the dust by the fast-growing tourist towns of Siem Reap and Sihanouk Ville. More a quiet town than a bustling city, it is a peaceful provincial capital spread along the banks of the Mekong River. It was an important trading post during the French period, the legacy evident as you wander through the streets of bruised yet beautiful buildings. Kampong Cham province remains an important travel hub for road and river, and acts as a gateway to eastern and northeastern Cambodia. This role has been enhanced in recent years with the opening of the first bridge to span the Mekong’s width in Cambodia, dramatically cutting journey times to popular destinations like Kratie and Mondulkiri. Wat Nokor is just outside town is an 11th century Mahayana Buddhist shrine of sandstone and laterite, which is a kitsch kind place, a temple within a temple, and many of the older building’s archways have been incorporate into the new building as shrines for worship. On weekdays, there are only few monks in the complex and it is peaceful to wander among the many alcoves and their hidden shrines. There is also a large reclining Buddha. Wat Nokor, Kampong Cham Province This 11th century Khmer sanctuary is definitely worth a visit for its temple within a temple style layout. At the centre of the ancient complex a contemporary and rather garishly coloured wat has been built, but the two are set within each other like Russian dolls and are so close together that the new temple uses parts of the ancient Khmer sanctuary's laterite walls as its own exterior. The sanctuary shows signs of being rebuilt in places, but overall it is in very good condition with a wild variety of apsaras unlike those at Angkor. To the left of this complex are two smaller temple buildings facing each other. One holds a reclining Buddha while the other contains a variety of Buddha statues and at the rear is a white cement statue of a woman who survived the Khmer Rouge period, escaped Cambodia and funded the construction of the temple in thanks for her good fortune. On the right side of Wat Nokor, going towards another wat complex, are a bunch of stupas, including a taller one with a metal door. This is a killing field stupa and looking inside you'll see a pile of around 100 skeletons. The original killing field in this area was between Phnom Proh and Phnom Sray, a short moto ride out of town, but after the end of the Khmer Rouge period, monks collected the bones and interred them here. Wat Nokor is set a couple of hundred metres to the south of the Wat Nokor traffic circle at the eastern end of town. You could walk here, but a motorbike ride is more comfortable. Phnom Pros And Phnom Srei, Kampong Cham Province The original location of of Kampong Cham Killing Field is between these two hilltop temples, before monks moved many of the remains to be interred beside Wat Nokor. Phnom Pros (Man Hill) is the smaller of the two and a paved, gently sloping road leads to its summit, while the summit of Phnom Srei (Woman Hill) is reached by a 300-plus step staircase that is a lot steeper than it looks. Phnom Srei offers splendid views over the countryside with Kompong Cham and the Mekong easily visible, while further in the distance the rising plateau of Mondulkiri can be seen. Atop the hill there is a small temple. Phnom Pros is far smaller than Phnom Srei but in typical male fashion a trio of tall temples abutting each other have been built at the summit in an attempt to compensate for the hill's small size. Unlike Phnom Srei, Phnom Pros is overrun with fat monkeys and vendors will happily sell you ambulant to feed them. Phnom Pros is a popular spot to have your fortune told, though you'll need pretty good Khmer language skills to get much out of it. Phnom Pros is also more heavily trafficked by locals by the ease of its access. Between the two hills there is a new garish wat, a library and a Chinese cemetery. The library has a selection of mostly Khmer books, with a particular emphasis on fortune telling handbooks -- the curator here speaks fluent French. A sculpture garden is attached, with a large Bayon-style head, anatomically correct deer and various other temple paraphernalia. A wide range of legends surrounding the building of these two hills exist, most of which centre around the men being stupid, lazy or generally slack, thus allowing the women to build a bigger hill -- ask your motodop for his interpretation on the legend, and don't expect the same tale from any two. The French watchtower, Kampong Cham Province Renovated in mid-2005 and sitting on the far bank of the Mekong, beside the Kazuma Bridge and opposite Kompong Cham, this tower was built in the early 20th century by the French to serve as a defensive watchtower. The Kompong Cham Governor's house has a direct line of site to the watchtower and when a warning was needed a large fire would be lit in the tower announcing the pending danger. Today it is used to alert the motodops of the arrival of a tourist bus. If you are fine with heights, an incredibly steep staircase runs up the interior of the tower, allowing you to climb to the summit and enjoy the same views that the guards in the 1920s would have had. Ko Paen Bamboo Bridge & Ko Paen, Kampong Cham Province This bamboo bridge is built every dry season to connect the west bank of the Mekong to Ko Paen -- a medium-sized island just to the south of Kompong Cham. The island has sandy beaches, lots of fishermen and some tobacco plantations and can make for a pleasant half-day wandering or cycling around. In wet season the bridge disappears under the water and the island is only reachable by boat. Of particular interest, on the east bank of the island you can see fishermen using massive hand-held nets in the shape of enormous tennis rackets. With their glistening white nets, the lush green grass and the muddy Mekong waters, in the late afternoon light these fishermen can be particularly photogenic. The bridge (when above water) is about a 15-minute walk to the south of central Kompong Cham. When we last visited, in October, the bridge had been washed away by the fast-flowing Mekong, though a villager assured us a new bamboo bridge would soon span the divide. Wat Maha Leap, Kampong Province One of the few remaining entirely wooden wats in Cambodia and believed to be more than 100 years old, Wat Maha Leap was one of the few pagodas the Khmer Rouge left standing in Kompong Cham province, supposedly because of its ominous supernatural powers. It looks rather bland, but the interior reveals towering gilded teak columns supporting a beautifully painted, sky blue roof. The central altar has a collection of myriad sized Buddha statues, but the true attraction here is the impressive wooden pagoda. Each pillar required a whole tree. We found Wat Maha Leap, while not as large, to be reminiscent of the magnificent Wat Phra That Lampang Luang in northern Thailand. Beside the temple, monks pray and converse in their red, stilted dormitories and an old woman arranges betel nut to try in the sun. At the rear of the wat is a stupa-strewn cemetery and an unexceptional reclining Buddha. In wet season, the area beyond the Buddha is often totally under water, and covered in lily pads. Horses, cows and goats meander throughout the grounds. Follow the dirt path to its end and find palm trees rigged with ladders and friendly villagers drinking sweet syrup. The men who tap the trees enjoy offering their nectar. Highly recommended. The trip is best in the early morning, before the sun is high and when there is a better selection of boats docked two places, near the underpass of the Kazuma Bridge and almost directly across from Mekong Crossing hotel. Prey Chung Kran Weaving village, Kampong Cham Province Located a further 10 minutes by boat downriver from Wat Maha Leap, the weaving village of Prey Chung Kran is worth a visit if you have not seen weaving in Cambodia. Famous across the country for its high quality kramas, sarongs and hol, the weavers here work under the stilted homes that line the long dirt road. You're more than welcome to take a look at the women weaving and fabrics are available for sale fresh off the loom, though be prepared to pay between $50 and $90 per unit. You'll also see silks being dyed, but much of the silk itself comes from Vietnam or elsewhere in Cambodia. Watch out; the canines here pack a particularly angry bark. Prey Chung Kran is actually in Prey Veng province. Prasat Han Chey, Kampong Cham Province Prasat Han Chey is a 20km moto ride north of town on a paved, shady lane through villages of stilted homes flanked by the Mekong River to the right and rice fields to the left. Han Chey is set atop a hill accessible by two roads and also a 300-step staircase, buttressed by protective lion statues. A road on the hill's south end is rocky, steep and covered in slippery wet clay during the wet season. The road on the hill's north side -- paved and gradual -- is recommended. Once at the top, visitors find a rather large monastery intertwined with several pagodas, an extensive statue garden and 1500-year-old Angkorian ruins. Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, with a US$45,000 grant from the US government, is currently renovating several of the temples, because, it says, the crumbling sandstone structures date back to the sixth century AD. While historians visit the site to study early Angkorian culture as it existed during the Chenla period, local villagers visit them to pray during the Prachum Ben festival in September. Statue gardens with a seeming random assortment of animals surround the old stone temples, new clay pagodas and monk dormitories. The grounds include life-sized deer, crocodiles, peacocks, dinosaurs and mythic beasts. Several vendors sell sugar cane juice and raw duck eggs; so pack a lunch if you're in the mood for a full meal at one of the picnic tables overlooking the Mekong River below and the Mondulkiri plateau in the distance. Rubber Plantations, Kampong Cham Province Kampong Cham province was the heartland of the Cambodian rubber industry and rubber plantations still stretch across the province. Many of these are no longer commercially tapped, but are tapped by locals for variety of uses. However, some of the largest plantations remain active and can be visited by interested groups, usually French tourists on a tour of their colonial past. The most commonly visited is Chup Rubber Plantation, as large planation in Tbong Khmom district about 15km east of Kampong Cham. Banteay Mean Chey Province  Battambang Province  Kampong Cham Province  Kampong Chnang Province  Kampong Speu Province  Kampot Province  Kep City  Koh Kong Province  Kratie Province  Mondulkiri Province  Phnom Penh City  Prah Vihear Province  Prey Veng Province  Pursat Province  Ratanakiri Province  Siem Reap Province  Sihanouk Ville  Stung Treng Province  Svay Rieng Province  Ta Keo Province  View All Destination © 2006 Free & Easy Travel Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved Designed & Developed by PCSP Group Co.,Ltd.   You are the 1896 Home | About Us | Site Maps

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