CAMBODIA TALES 2006 - JANUARY
There's more to Kompong Thom
Travel Tale & Photos - to follow
As always, it was great to meet up again with Sokhom and to spend time with his family, both before and after our trip into the northernmost reaches of Preah Vihear province on the hunt for more temples around the village of Choam Khsan. On our return we carried on our search, with invaluable help from Cristiano Calcagno, and found some 'new' sites just off Route 6. Cristiano is an Italian working for a German NGO in town and spends his spare time painstakingly researching the temple sites in Kompong Thom province, logging no less than 400+ to-date. In my opinion, each province would be well-served by having their own Cristiano, it would certainly make my temple exploration a lot easier! It was a pleasure meeting him and I'm sure we'll keep in touch. I roomed at the Arunras Hotel for two nights and rode the only elevator in town as often as I could! The highlight of my return to Phnom Penh for my final night before my flight home, was a party in my honour with friends in Toul Kauk.
Its worth noting some of the temple sites I managed to locate with Cristiano's help and these included the steles of Toul Tateng, the brick tower and lintels of Prasat Svay Ier, the flying palace on the wall of Prasat Bei, sandstone pedestals but little else at Wat Banteay Stoung and Wat Ponlea Chey, a very old and revered buddha at Wat Kdei Daum in Stoung town itself and we ended our day with a return visit to Prasat Andet.
The full story of my Kompong Thom chapter and the end of my 2006 Cambodia Tales will appear here soon.
{Above} The author and Cristiano Calcagno (left) swap temple stories in Kompong Thom.
Here's links to the rest of my Cambodia Tales
January 2006 marked my twelfth trip to Cambodia since my first-ever visit in 1994. It's a country that has a special magic all of its own and which draws me back every year to venture out into the Cambodian countryside in search of new adventures, ancient temples and to catch up with the friends I've made from previous visits. Each trip is full of laughter, smiles and a host of fresh experiences and my latest expedition was no exception.
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