Cambodia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 109

chunchiet now forego traditional dress
for modern clothing but remain among
the most deprived people in Cambodia,
with poor education and healthcare, and
practically no way of making a living
other than their traditional slash-and-
burn farming.
South of here the province of
Mondulkiri , in the far east of the country,
bordering Vietnam, is even less developed
and discovered but boasts a similar range
of wild attractions including a high
proportion of chunchiet, waterfalls and
beautiful landscapes - its forested
highlands occasionally interrupted by
grassy fields and gentle hills that would
look more at home in rural England.
he climate is not dissimilar either: the
temperature is a mere 18°C on average
in the dry season, and nights can be
surprisingly chilly.
During the American War , the eastern
provinces were heavily bombed by the
US to flush out the Viet Cong from the
Ho Chi Minh Trail. hese attempts
proved largely unsuccessful, and
thousands of Cambodian civilians were
killed, wounded or left homeless. It was
during this period that the Khmer Rouge
began gathering strength and momentum
in the area. Pol Pot used the remote
northeastern provinces to hide from
Sihanouk's troops, while receiving
support from his communist brothers in
the Viet Minh.

Tohm Nah Day Doh , on the riverbank
about 1km south of the bridge, also
merits a visit. Fronted by a huge standing
Buddha, its grounds are scattered with
intriguing statues of people and animals,
while a forest of miniature stupas stabs up
into the sky.

2 Wat Nokor

he most interesting sight around town is
Wat Nokor , about 2km north of the
centre just off National Route 7. Much of
the original eleventh-century temple
survives, with a garishly coloured modern
vihara now inserted rudely into the heart
of the ancient ruins. It's an art historian's
nightmare but has a certain gruesome
fascination even so, with luminous
modern murals and columns framed by
ancient laterite walls, still showing traces
of the black paint applied during the days
of Khmer Rouge occupation.

Phnom Bpros and Phnom Srei
About 12km further out of town past
Wat Nokor rise the twin temple hills of
Phnom Bpros and Phnom Srei , “Man and
Woman Mountains”. According to
legend, in ancient times women had to
ask men to marry them. Fed up with this,
the women challenged the men to see
who could build the best temple by
daybreak - the winners would win the
right to be proposed to. When the
women realized they were lagging behind,
they built a huge fire, which the men
took to be the rising sun. he men
headed for bed while the women carried
on building, producing a magnificent
temple and winning the right to
receive proposals.

KOMPONG CHAM AND AROUND
he east's largest city and capital of the
province of the same name, KOMPONG
CHAM was one of Cambodia's largest and
most cosmopolitan cities during the
colonial era but is now something of a
sleepy backwater - even more so since the
opening of the huge Japanese-funded
bridge across the Mekong rendered local
ferry services obsolete. All routes into the
east pass through here, and although
there's no need to stop, it's a nice place
to do so.
It's well worth taking a stroll along the
banks of the massive Mekong, about
1.5km wide here, to look at the delightful
but crumbling colonial buildings. Wat Pra

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By bus Buses arrive and depart from their various o ces
in the centre of town, all within a 10min walk of the
riverfront and guesthouses.
Destinations Banlung (1 daily; 9hr, $9); Kratie (5 daily; 3hr
30min); Phnom Penh (13 daily; 3hr); Siem Reap (3 daily;
5hr); Stung Treng (1 daily; 7hr).
By share taxi or minibus Taxis and minibuses are found
at the market and are especially quick if heading north to
Kratie and beyond.
Destinations Kratie (2hr 30min); Phnom Penh (2hr 30min);
Stung Treng (6hr).