Explore Battambang and the northwest
Named after a tree that used to grow along its river banks, PURSAT is a pleasant rural town, 174km from Phnom Penh and 106km from Battambang. Pursat is little visited by tourists, and most of the foreigners who do come are NGO workers. Apart from some floating villages 35km away, there’s not a lot to see, but it’s a pleasant place to overnight or rest up for a day.
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Floating village
Floating village
Kompong Luong is the closest of the Tonle Sap’s floating villages to Pursat, though its precise distance from town varies, ranging from around 40km in the dry season to 35km in the rainy. Populated by a mixed community of Cham and Vietnamese families, the village has its own shops, restaurants, farms and even petrol stations.
Kompong Luong can be reached by moto from Pursat (around $10 return), or by car (about $30); both can be arranged through hotels in Pursat. To drive to Kompong Luong, head east out of Pursat on National Route 5 for 30km, where there’s a turning north at Krakor to the Tonle Sap. Once you arrive at the lake, boatmen will offer to take you out to look around the village for around $10, depending on how long you want to stay out on the water.
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Cardamom Mountain range
Cardamom Mountain range
Still mostly inaccessible and unexplored, the Cardamom Mountain range is an area of outstanding natural beauty, its primary jungle rich in flora and fauna. A biodiversity study in 2000 established the presence of nearly 400 different species of animal, including tiger, Asian elephant, gaur and a population of critically endangered Siamese crocodiles, previously considered extinct in the wild. It’s setting itself up to be an eco tourist destination but for now things are still a bit disorganized.
A trip into the hills is best done with a local guide – ask at the tourist office in Pursat – as the roads are not well signposted and there can be problems with collapsed bridges. It’s a pretty journey as the road climbs steeply through the forest, crossing tiny gorges and streams. Ou Dah, 56km from Pursat, is an attractive spot with rapids and a small waterfall in the jungle-clad hills. Alternatively, at Chrok La Eing, 73km southeast of Pursat, there’s a cascade and river for a swim. Bear in mind though there’s also a high risk of malaria in the mountains, so take precautions against mosquito bites.
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The Legend of Khleang Muong
The Legend of Khleang Muong
An attraction for locals hereabouts is the small, well-tended tomb of Khleang Muong, one of Cambodia’s national heroes. The story goes that in 1605, the Khmer were losing the war against the Thais, when Khleang Muong ordered his soldiers to dig a pit and to cast their weapons into it; he then committed suicide by throwing himself into the pit. Seven days later the Khmer army defeated the Thais with help from the ghosts of Khleang Muong and his army of soldiers. The victory is marked by an offering ceremony here in April or May each year, at the start of the planting season and just before the rains. The pavilion at the tomb contains a life-size bronze statue of Khleang Muong, and a matching one of his wife, who, according to legend, also killed herself. The site is at the village of Banteay Chei, a few kilometres west of town off National Route 5. It is easily reached by moto from Pursat, but it’s probably only worth a visit if you’re at a completely loose end.
