T17 Preah Vihear Part V + more Kampong Thom

Taking advantage of good weather, before the hot season kicks in around mid-March, we went on another journey for five days from Feb 23 – 28 covering some of the remote sites not visited on previous trips in Preah Vihear province. I’d meet up with Chanthim in Stoung and we’d head off once again on our trusty Hondas.

Day one

We’d follow a road along the eastern side of the Stoeng Stoung river visiting several interesting pagodas along the route, all of which retain relics from ancient temples of the Angkor era and maybe some relics from the post-Angkor era. We’d already visited Banteay Stoung temple and the nearby vihara last year, so this time it was Wat Ponlea Chey, Wat Banteay Stong with a fabulous collection of Buddhist boundary markers and sema, Wat Botum which features an older pagoda with an ancient lintel embedded into the balan, Wat Preah Damrei with stupa and interesting sandstone pedestals, Prasat Phum Prasat which has a large and interesting collection of ancient remnants that may be pre-Angkorian, and then Wat Prasat Samreth Chey.

Crossing the 30 September Dam spillway, we’d visit Balang Temple which is the ruins of a single brick temple with a forebody located in a charming little spot.

We’d get onto the sealed road now and head north, stopping at Wat Daung and then to Sakream village, taking the main dirt road east through some quite charming countryside along good roads for the most part, then a characterful but sketchy bridge that made me wish I was 40kg lighter, I wouldn’t take a heavy bike over it. Closer to Ambaeng Nom Temple it was deep sandy trails all the way into the site that rests in an uncleared forest area. Ambaeng Nom is a group of three brick temples, reasonably well-preserved in parts and overgrown with massive tree roots in others creating a spectacular scene.

It was reaching dusk and we hadn’t seen anywhere to rest for the night so we headed towards Preah Khan of Kampong Svay, check in with the local heritage police there once again, and camp out by the baray/Trapeang Pradak. Surprisingly, even though February is quite warm, it became quite cold there as winds picked up in the middle night prompting another search for fallen branches to liven up the campfire which was about the same time the nearby KTV stopped 🙂 and another chance to catch a look at that crescent moon. This time in February is that special moment when the crescent moon, Venus and Jupiter align in a stunning spectacle easily seen around dusk.

Day Two

The next morning we’d pack up early, and head into the usual place in Ta Seng for Bai Sach Chrouk aka Pork Rice, which is a staple meal when travelling for me, for Chanthim it’s noodles, then back and across the baray, then cross the very outer fourth enclosure (earthen) and head directly north of PKKS aiming for Trapeang Svay and Prasat Chouk. The terrain was quite coarse and the trails were weak. We’d keep trekking north/northwest, cross a culvert that fortunately had a bridge, and then follow trails that led to Trapeang Svay but it was far too overgrown, and without any visible foot trail, it was safer to give it a miss. Continuing on that trail, and around past an interesting mountain which we climbed and could see a curious valley, I felt like this area has some significance, perhaps the valley had been blocked at one end to create a dam at some point in ancient times? No idea, just thoughts.

eroded landscape near nth edge of the baray

The trail was scant but we’d make it eventually make it to Chhouk Temple which is the remains of three laterite towers. Also here, there is much more to know about this area in terms of water management in ancient times it would seem. Note: If you only want to see Chhouk temple, I think it’s probably best to come from Ta Bos area past BeTreed.

We’d head east from Chhouk temple, aiming for Preah Kpul and drop by Be Treed, and then my axle bolt came loose so we decided to slowly nurse the bike back south along farm trails to Ta Seng. We’d get that fixed pretty easily and camp by the baray once again.

Day Three

This day was going to be really tight, hopefully doing a big loop around Phom Mrech and then south to Khvav. I hadn’t been out here before so we’d skip Preah Kpul, save that for another trip, and head north to Tabos/Tnaot Village then east along what would turn out to be a really good trail to Prasat Phnom Mrech. The site of Prasat Phnom Mrech features a small pagoda and some rest shelters at the bottom, in the village nearby there is a stall selling gas, drinks etc, and the roads are mostly good noting that Google Maps and their satellite maps are a bit outdated at the time of writing at least. The site features the remains of two elongated brick towers and one wonders if the site was an ashrama of some kind.

From Phnom Mrech we’d head north/northeast along a good road to a small village with a couple of stalls selling gas and drinks etc, then head west to Prasat Sangkae Khang. The locals did not believe us that there was a temple here, but we went looking anyway and found it. It’s only partly standing but interesting for being so small and having such a large basin, apparently, it has a doppelganger to the south according to old French notes.

The locals did know of Prasat Reul and pointed us onto the right trail for that one, and they warned us, it’s a long way and rough. They were not wrong :).

From Prasat Reul, we’d follow a characterful trail that would eventually cross the border into Siem Reap and skirt around the foothills of small mountains before reaching the village of La Ang which was a sight for sore eyes at that stage. The trail improved to become a road, but not for long, making up for that though was the stunning landscape backed by mountains in every direction. There are undoubtedly eco-tourism opportunities in the future.

With still enough daylight, we headed up one of those mountains to Prasat Bos Tra or Boh Tra, and meet the monk there. He was quite kind, sparing his time to tell us about the folklore that surrounds the site, I say folklore but it’s a reality for believers. A very very special site.

We’d continue south and make it to Khvav at dusk, It was a huge day. We stayed the night at the guesthouse in Khvav which is quite acceptable relative to the area and a shower and some rest were well received.

Day Four

Well rested, we decided it was a convenient time to head east along the ancient route and check out Phnom Banteay Temple. It’s an interesting site located atop a large broad rise and appears to have never been fully completed which is interesting when you think of the later developments that were fully completed. Why abandon the development of this site? That has to be an interesting avenue of research. Moreover, the more I explore this route joining Beng Mealea to PKKS, the more I see its enormous potential as a heritage and tourism trail.

We continue on and go find North and South Supheap Temple, which are from different eras and the former being mostly collapsed while the latter is another of the greats from the classical period. Neither has been cleared in recent times and there’s no formal trail leading to the site, just as we arrived, a farmer was clearing a path for his Khayng that made it easier to reach South Sopheap Temple.

From there, it was back to Khvav and south, to Kampong Kdei and then east to Kampong Thom.

Day Five

We’d head north from Kampong Thom past Sambour Prei Kuk, stopping at several pagodas including Wat Sambour which features a new and older vihara that has stone carved sema, then east across to Phnom Barieng Temple which is the remains of a 7-8th century site. From there we’d head north stopping by Wat Kaun Ak which features some ancient sandstone remnants and a beautiful open columned vihara, also Wat Sandan which features stone-carved sema and remains of stupa, and then to Srae Prasat, which is the remnants of a very old brick temple, perhaps also from the 7-8th century.

When we arrived at the Srae Prasat there was an old lady digging a hole, a hole so deep she could not be seen apart from the dirt that was flying out! Chanthim thought that maybe she had some dream about the place, I was a bit worried about her, so, on the way out of town we asked an official to make sure she was OK :). All the way, the roads are all quite fine, sealed to Sandan and then good dirt roads the rest of the way.