Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kompong Chhnang
Sleeping
A3
B1
B3
Eating
A2
Sights & Activities
BOAT TOUR
Floating Villages
A short sail from Kompong Chhnang's river port, 2km northeast of the centre on the Ton-
lé Sap River, leads to a couple of colourful floating villages:
Phoum Kandal
, an ethnic Viet-
namese village directly southeast of the boat dock; and the Khmer village of
Chong Kos
a
bit further north. Much less commercial than Kompong Luong, they have all the amenities
of a mainland village - houses, machine-tool shops, vegetable vendors, a mosque, a petrol
station - except that almost everything floats.
To get into the heart of these villages you will have to hire a motorless wooden paddle
boat at the river port. These cost US$10 per hour and are good for three people. Bigger
motorized tourist boats are available for river tours for US$15 per hour, but these only
circle the perimeter of the villages.
Ondong Rossey &
Phnom Santuk
The quiet village of Ondong Rossey, where the area's famous red pottery is made under
every house, is a delightful 7km ride west of town through serene rice fields dotted with
sugar palms, many with bamboo ladders running up the trunk. The unpainted pots, decor-
ated with etched or appliqué designs, are either turned with a foot-spun wheel (for small
pieces) or banged into shape with a heavy wooden spatula (for large ones).
The golden-hued mud piled up in the yards is quarried at nearby
Phnom Krang Dai Meas
and pounded into fine clay before being shaped and fired; only at the last stage does it ac-
CULTURAL TOUR
