Banteay Chhmar

When I was originally debating whether to visit the tourist-heavy Angkor Wat, I stumbled across two other temples that piqued my interest.  One was on the border with Laos and difficult to get to so I decided to go with my first choice of a temple named Banteay Chhmar, in a remote area of northwest Cambodia.  Buses don’t head up this way so I had to catch a shared taxi in Sisophon, a city two hours west of Siem Reap.

The temple itself was just as empty as I was expecting.  I encountered only five others visiting and, because a storm was quickly rolling in, the others quickly fled so I had the place to myself.

Descriptions I had read about Banteay Chhmar described it as incredibly similar to Angkor Wat. It does have an outer moat and two perimeter walls like Angkor Wat but Banteay Chhmar is significantly smaller, doesn’t have multiple tiers or terraces, and hasn’t been restored so it looks like a giant pile of stones scattered in a sparse jungle.  The only restoration work that seems to be present is in the form of structural supports to keep the remaining structures from collapsing further but I liked this minimalistic approach to preserving the temple ruins.

The village bordering the temple moat was really small but I managed to find a homestay nearby so I could rest up before catching an early taxi the next morning.  My taxi broke down shortly after leaving the village but the driver’s brother, also a taxi driver, came to the rescue and towed the car for the hour-long ride back to Sisophon.

Initially, I struggled to find a path through Cambodia I was excited to explore but I found some unique experiences that I won't forget so, overall, I had a great time visiting this country even if it wasn’t very adventurous.  The previous month in Vietnam was packed with so many interesting places to visit that I had to cut out some destinations to cross the country within the 30 days allowed by my e-visa. Cambodia may not have an abundance of must-see places but it was nice to have a change of pace and relax on the beach for a change. There will be plenty more beaches in the near future so we’ll see how long I can maintain a more relaxed pace.