Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ODDAR MEANCHEY PROVINCE
The remote, dirt-poor province of Oddar Meanchey ( ) produces very little apart from op-
portunities for aid organisations. Khmer Rouge sites around Anlong Veng attract the mor-
bidly curious, while two remote international border crossings with Thailand -
Choam-Chong Sa Ngam and O Smach-Chong Chom - are becoming more popular as
roads improve.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Anlong Veng
For almost a decade this was the ultimate Khmer Rouge stronghold, home to Pol Pot, Nuon
Chea, Khieu Samphan and Ta Mok, among the most notorious leaders of Democratic Kam-
puchea. Anlong Veng fell to government forces in April 1998 and about the same time Pol
Pot died mysteriously nearby. Soon after, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered that NH67 be
bulldozed through the jungle to ensure that the population didn't have second thoughts
about ending the war.
Today Anlong Veng is a poor, dusty town with little going for it except the nearby
Choam-Chong Sa Ngam border crossing, which connects with a pretty isolated part of
Thailand. For those with an interest in contemporary Cambodian history, the area's Khmer
Rouge sites are an important part of the picture. In this area, most of the residents, and vir-
tually the entire political leadership and upper class, are ex-Khmer Rouge or their descend-
ents.
The town's focal point is the Dove of Peace Roundabout at the junction of NH67 and the
new highway east to Preah Vihear. The monument is a gift from Hun Sen. About 600m
north of the monument, the NH67 crosses a bridge and continues to the Thai border.
Sights & Activities
To his former supporters, many of whom still live in Anlong Veng, Ta Mok (Uncle Mok,
aka Brother Number Five) was harsh but fair, a benevolent builder of orphanages and
schools, and a leader who kept order, in stark contrast to the anarchic atmosphere that pre-
vailed once government forces took over. But to most Cambodians, Pol Pot's military en-
forcer, responsible for thousands of deaths in successive purges during the terrible years of
