Forgotten sites

The forgotten genocide memorial at Wat Snguon Pech

I've been having problems posting some photos from my moto trip on Sunday to a series of villages and sites west of the city, but these two have managed to post, so let me tell you a little about them. The top picture is of a genocide memorial that has fallen into disrepair and is housed at Wat Snguon Pech, just 500 metres off Route 4 between Phnom Penh and Ang Snuol at the point where the road toll begins. I actually stumbled upon it by accident as I was searching for some sculpture fragments and instead found a genocide memorial that had a sign saying the structure was dangerous and was in an imminent state of collapse. The pagoda and nearby school had been used as a prison and killing site during the Khmer Rouge period of control in the 1970s and around 700 victims had been found in the burial pits and canal. Today, the memorial is in a bad state and lies forgotten, like many of the memorials to the victims of the Khmer Rouge around the country.
The picture below was taken at the site of three pre-Angkorean brick temples called Neak Ta Ang Kambot Ka that have long since been reduced to rubble and are almost unrecognisible amongst the thorn bushes and paddy fields. I called into the village of Ang Reaksmei to find the location of the site amongst the rice fields and was immediately surrounded by a large group of villagers, mostly women and children, eager to find out why I was there. Two of the older women in the photo, Omron and Ommak, were happy to lead me across a series of dykes to a small rise in the middle of the fields that housed the former temple site. Amongst scattered bricks and three large excavated holes, there was little to see except three large sandstone pedestals, so dating the site was impossible and my guides told me that the temples had been in this state for as long as they could remember. They also said that two more Ang - a small hill containing something of archaeological interest - were closeby, though this was the 'best' of the three. I returned to the village and walked to Neak Ta Ang Tros to confirm their evaluation. This former prasat was another brick construction and a small shrine housed some slate and sandstone fragments but nothing else. Nearby, Tuol Ang Theat contained even less. After thanking my temporary hosts, I left the village of Ang Reaksmei on my search for more rubble-strewn sites!

My guiding party to visit Neak Ta Ang Kambot Ka includes Omron and Ommak and a few of the village children