Easy Cambodia: Battambang Tour

Phnom Sampov Mountain

Phnom Sampov is a natural and historical site located along National Road 57 about 12km from the provincial town. Atop 100-meter-high mountain stands a pagoda and three natural carves: Pkasla, Lakhaon and Aksopheak. Pkasla cave is full of uprooted stones and is considered important because it is where Phnom Sampov residents come to celebrate after a marriage.

Next to the mountain are several important mountain clusters, including Kdaong mountain, Krapeu mountain, Trung Moan mountain, Trung Tear mountain and Neang Romsay Sok. These mountains are related to Khmer folktale titled Reachkol Neang Romsay Sok.

Ancient House in Battambang - Wat Kor Cultural Village

Wat Kor Cultural Village is away from Phnom Penh at Wat Koh village in Battambang province, there is the “homeland” for many Khmer traditional houses, most of them built from 1920 – 1056. An interesting house that belonged to Mr. Noun Chea, Brother Number 2 of the Pol Pot regime, survives there today. But this house no longer belongs to Mr. Noun Chea’s Family. It belonged to a local family that bought this house in the late 1980s. This house was built during the French colonial era although the exact date is not known. In spite of its age, the original, robust construction still remains intact.

In 2005, Asia RUB III Project came to visit Wat Kor Commune and village to plan for preservation of these traditional Khmer 3 village as a possible tourist destination. With the completion of this NGO project, many national and international tourists visit those villages daily. The attraction of the Wat Kor commune is the Khmer traditional house and village. Most of the houses are ancient and wooden with real, traditional, Khmer architecture. Also, the simple daily activity of the local farmers along the Snagke River and at their homes and gardens is a major interest.

The Killing Caves of Phnom Sampeau

The Killing Caves of Phnom Sampeau (also called Phnom Sampov) are a place of beauty, turned tragedy, turned beauty all over again. The cave is found halfway up a mountain that is dotted with stunning wats, statues, and lookout points over the village below. Macaque monkeys roam the side, and millions of bats are often seen at dusk. Stairways snake up the mountain and back down again into stone caves and canyons. One of these caves is the Killing Cave.

The descent into the cave is sort of stunning – the rock is covered in green vegetation and low-hanging vines. The cave is quite large inside, and a large golden Buddha reclines in the center of the room. But at the bottom of the stairs sits a chicken-wire cage full of bones. The atrocities that happened in this stunning spot suddenly become very present. There is a memorial of human remains, these encased in a glass box.

These are the bones of the doctors, teachers, men, women and kids killed by the Khmer Rouge here at this cave. At the top of the cave is the natural skylight that the Khmer Rouge took people to, lining them up, then bashing them and letting their bodies fall into the darkness below.

Today a combination of mostly Cambodian tourists mills around the cave, and people sing and take pictures. It is an astonishingly jovial atmosphere considering the horror of what happened. But as many Cambodians will tell you, joy is the best way to move past tragedy.