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For some reason, the name Sambor Prei Kuk has stuck in my mind after flipping through the guidebook countless times. When I looked up the details I realized it’s only about 200 kilometers from Phnom Penh which is suitable for an overnight trip.
We got on the bus in the morning, and sadly the aircon wasn’t quite as good as advertised so it wasn’t a very pleasant ride. A little worse for wear, we arrived in Kampong Thom (the closest city to Sambor Prei Kuk) in the early afternoon. We checked in to a surprisingly nice hotel, rented a motorbike … Read the rest
After the harrowing journey here it has felt really good to not have to travel for a few days, just stay in one hotel. I came down with a case of traveler’s diarrhea so I’ve been cooped up in the hotel for a day but other than that we’ve been out exploring the city.
Right around the corner from our hotel is the National Museum of Cambodia. It houses quite a collection of ancient statues from all around the country. The building itself is pretty nice too.
The front of the museum 
Museum courtyard 
The most famous statue 
Some of
This used to be a classroom, white concrete walls, yellow and white tiled floor, even an old black board at one end. A hole has been knocked though the back wall, a rough opening connecting this room with the next like a long corridor. The walls on both sides are lined with cells, doors that swing open on rusty hinges. Simple wooden partitions that have been installed for separating the inmates from each other, each cell about two meters long and no wider than I can touch both walls simultaneously with my elbows. I can but imaging being locked in … Read the rest
In the room there are four large, freestanding notice boards, two on each side. Both the front and back of these are covered in photographs, all black and white, all the same size, neatly organized in a grid pattern. The photos all depict the same thing, faces, people looking straight into the camera, not a single smile among them. All the people have number tags hung around their necks, a few of them have fresh bruises on their face and a large amount hold their arms behind their backs, their shoulders twisted backwards. These are pictures of prisoners, brought here … Read the rest
We’re on a sort of raised, circular platform, the circumference of which is planted with trees that obscure the view from the outside. It’s like being in a clearing in the forest only it’s in the middle of the palace grounds. The edge of the circle is lined with Buddha statues and in the middle a stupa with white walls and golden spire. On one side there is an open door leading in to a small shrine. The stupa and shrine are nothing compared to the splendor of the surrounding palaces and temples but with all the trees it feels … Read the rest
After many trials and tribulations I’m finally in Phnom Penh. I started at eight in the morning at the travel agent where I left the motorbike, with a large tourist bus. The air con was cranked all the way to eleven, some of the airvents even had curtains stuffed in them to stem the flow. Since I was in sneakers and long trousers it was ok though.
We took off about twenty minutes after schedule and stopped a few times along the way so when we reached Nakasong ferry terminal it was already eleven. I thought the people headed for … Read the rest
Our minibus is parked in the side of the road with the engine still running. The driver is outside, trying to call for assistance while the passengers are stuck inside with the closed-in heat and smell of diesel. The engine is running badly, it sounds like an old tractor and the whole bus is shaking with the thumping rhythm of the piston strokes. The letters VIP, printed in white on the rear window, seem very ironic now.… Read the rest
There are two possible solutions to my border problems that I can think of: to sell the bike here and possibly buy a new one in Cambodia, or to stash the bike here, go to Cambodia for a few days. Then, when I have been away for long enough to avoid the 30 day rule for Vietnamese visa exemptions, come back, collect the bike and ride it back to Vietnam and from there into Cambodia.
I was lucky enough to find a way to combine the two methods which gives me more options than anything else. I put an add … Read the rest
Two rivers, or possible two streams of the same river, flow over the edge and into a large, almost cylindrical hole cutting vertically down through jungle clad cliffs. The left falls tumbles slowly, majestically downwards to the little pool at the bottom. The right one goes bounding over the edge them comes crashing down onto an outcrop of rock where it splits and widens, sending splashes in all directions. The two streams of white water are surrounded by spray thrown into the air as the water hits the rocks. From this distance it looks almost like white smoke billowing around … Read the rest
The fall comes crashing down with an absolutely deafening roar just a few meters to my right, a wide curtain of water obscuring the view of the river valley outside. On my left, the moss clad rock wall curving upwards towards the lip of the fall, forming a sort of semi circular tunnel that goes behind the fall, then continues along the edge of the little pool at the bottom. The spray from the fall hits me like mist but it’s not enough to really make me wet so I can stand here a moment in awe at the forces … Read the rest