Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
quire a pinkish hue. Pieces can be purchased at the
Pottery Development Centre
, although
you'll get better deals buying directly from the pottery makers at their houses.
A visit to Ondong Rossey can be combined with Phnom Santuk, a rocky hillock behind
Wat Santuk, which is a few kilometres southwest of Kompong Chhnang. The boulder-
strewn summit affords fine views of the countryside, including the Tonlé Sap lake, 20km
to the north.
By bicycle or
moto
, combining Ondong Rossey and Phnom Santuk makes for a reward-
ing circuit, especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon. There are no road
signs, so it's a good idea to go with a local.
THE KHMER ROUGE AIRPORT
The Khmer Rouge were not known as great builders, but in 1977 and 1978, slave labourers built an
airfield using cement of such high quality that even today the 2440m runway and access roads look
like they were paved just last week.
No one knows for sure, but it seems that Kompong Chhnang airport (IATA code KZC), never oper-
ational under the Khmer Rouge, was intended to serve as a base for launching air attacks against Viet-
nam. Chinese engineers oversaw the work of tens of thousands of Cambodians suspected of disloyalty
to the Khmer Rouge. Anyone unable to work was killed, often with a blow to the head delivered with
a bamboo rod. In early 1979, as Vietnamese forces approached, almost the entire workforce was ex-
ecuted. Estimates of the number of victims, buried nearby in mass graves, range from 10,000 to
50,000.
In the late 1990s, a plan to turn the airport into a cargo hub for air-courier companies came to
nought. These days, local teenagers come out here to tool around on their motorbikes, do doughnuts
and drag race, while cows graze between the taxiway and the runway. On sunny days the sun creates
convincing mirages.
On an anonymous slope a few kilometres away, the Khmer Rouge dug a
cave
- said to be 3km deep
- apparently for the purpose of storing weapons flown in from China. Now home to swirling bats, it
can be explored with a torch (flashlight) but, lacking ventilation, gets very hot and humid.
On a hillside near a cluster of bullet-pocked cement barracks, stripped of anything of value, is a
massive cement water tank. Inside it's a remarkable echo chamber.
The airport is about 12km west of town. Take NH5 towards Battambang for 7km and then turn left
onto a concrete road.
Sleeping & Eating
There are plenty of food stalls at the two markets, Psar Leu and Psar Krom.
Sovann Phum Hotel
HOTEL
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