Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Battambang and the northwest
Strike north from Phnom Penh along NR5, west of the Tonle Sap, and you'll
be following the route along which the Khmer Rouge retreated from Phnom
Penh in 1979, ahead of the liberating Vietnamese forces. This is also the route
that the invading Thai armies used in the opposite direction, as they
repeatedly headed south to sack and pillage. Much of the northwest still
shows clear Thai influence - not surprising, given that the area has been
under Thai control for much of its modern history, and was only finally
returned to Cambodia in 1946. These days the road is a busy corridor linking
the capital to the Thai border and a trade route along which rice is
transported from the sparsely populated but fertile plains to the more
populous south.
2
The first two towns of any size along NR5 out of Phnom Penh are Kompong Chhnang
and Pursat. A busy river fishing port,
Kompong Chhnang
takes its name from the
terracotta pots (
chhnang
) that are produced throughout the district, while the major
cottage industry in workaday
Pursat
is marble carving. Both towns are interesting
mainly for the chance to visit the remarkable
floating villages
on the Tonle Sap lake.
North of Pursat is laidback
Battambang
, Cambodia's second largest city, with a lazy
riverside ambience and some of the country's finest colonial architecture. The
surrounding province once had more temples than Siem Reap, although none was on
the scale of Angkor Wat and most have long disappeared. The couple that remain are
worth a visit, however, especially the hilltop site of
Wat Banan
, while the nearby
mountain and temple complex of
Phnom Sampeu
offers a fascinating, if chilling,
reminder of the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge.
In the far northwest, the unprepossessing border town of
Poipet
is the busiest crossing
point into Thailand on the direct route between Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Bangkok
- and with an unfortunate but well-deserved reputation for scams and skullduggery.
Most travellers arriving from Thailand plough straight on from here to Siem Reap,
although it's well worth breaking your journey en route at the crossroads town of
Sisophon (Banteay Meanchey)
to explore the massive, jungle-smothered Angkorian
temple of
Banteay Chhmar
.
Kompong Chhnang and around
The old colonial town of
KOMPONG CHHNANG
, 83km north of Phnom Penh on NR5,
is a quiet place to stop over for a day. As its name - meaning “Pottery Port” - suggests,
the area is a major centre for the production of traditional terracotta pots (
chhnang
),
which are despatched countrywide via ox cart (a slow but smooth method of transport
The ethnic Vietnamese
p.109
The legend of Puthisen and Kong Rei
p.111
The legend of Khleang Muong
p.113
The bamboo railway
p.116
Dambang Krognuing
p.117
Subterranean Homesick Booze
p.122
Crocodile tears
p.123
The Khmer Rouge in Pailin
p.125
The gem mines
p.126
Poipet border scams
p.130
