Phnom Chi adventures, part 1

The prospect of unseen temples and an adventure into an unexplored part of Kompong Thom province was the attraction – though it didn’t quite turn out as planned on our trip to the region of Phnom Chi. Just a week away from Khmer New Year and rooms were already at a premium in Kompong Thom city. I managed to grab the last $5 fan room at Ponloeu Thmey guesthouse on the main road after arriving in a rainstorm. This adventure would be an unusual one for me. It would be the first time I’d undertaken a trip with a travelling companion, namely Cristiano, a long-time Kompong Thom NGO resident who has spent his spare time identifying archaeological sites in the province. Next morning our party of Sokhom – my motodop and best friend – and myself, Cristiano and Ka, left on two motos heading south along Route 6 to Kompong Thmor.

The barely recognizable track through the forest on the way to the Phnom Chi region

An impromptu lunch-break whilst lost in the forest. LtoR; Sokhom, Cristiano, Ka

Stocking up on provisions, we left the highway to follow the River Chinit for a while. Through villages such as Laak, Taminh, Krayea and Dangkdar that see no foreigners at all, we were novelty visitors attracting lots of attention, waves and shouted welcomes. Aiming for the district of Tumring, the remote road through the heavily wooded landscape was water-logged from overnight rain but easily navigable. We disturbed a beautifully coloured woodpecker in full pecking mode whilst our only companions were thousands of butterflies feeding in the puddles and the constant shrill of cicadas in the trees surrounding us. We took a break at Trapeang Rosei for a glass of saray – a coconut and sugar dessert – and just after the army post of Sai Buon, we heeded the advice of some loggers and took a short-cut turn-off. Within fifteen minutes we were lost! The track had ended at a shack in the forest and after eating our lunch on a carpet of leaves, we retraced our steps to the turn-off and carried on.

Six hours and just over a hundred kilometres into our trip we reached Tumring market, its surrounding rubber plantation concession and a distant hazy view of Phnom Chi mountain. This was a large village by comparison to anything else we’d passed through and we took a welcome break. The track to Pouroung, our next destination, wasn’t straightforward, so we joined forces with Chhoun and his wife Srey Nee, who lived in the village, for the next leg of our trip. In fact the track was hardly worthy of the word and for much of the next two hours Chhoun followed his instinct through the forest. At times we tracked an old laterite path but rain had made it wet and a little dangerous, and after a breather at Cheik village we arrived at Pouroung at 4pm, only 18kms from Tumring, and 125kms from our starting point in Kompong Thom.

Sokhom negotiates a plank bridge over the River Chinit near PouroungAn early morning photo-call for (LtoR) Sokhom, yours truly and Ka

Pouroung was the closest village to our first target temple, Prasat Trapeang Preus and with most of the villagers attending a ceremony at the pagoda, we accepted an offer from Chhoun to stay overnight at the home of his aunt Kayin. We hooked up our hammocks on the stilts of an unfinished house and took a shower at the family well. With the chicken cooking in the pot, a distant electrical storm quickly moved directly above us and ear-shattering thunder and lightning flashes with sheeting rain prompted us to scramble into Kayin’s small one-roomed home – a dozen people in all, including Kayin’s five young children. I was ravenous so the chicken, rice and vegetables were soon devoured and with rain coming in through holes in the hut, we all settled down for the night, some in hammocks including me, most on the floor. [Part 2 to follow.]

Its early morning at our overnight homestay in Pouroung villageOur friendly guides, Srey Nee and Chhoun