This blog aims to record my efforts to visit many of Cambodia's more remote temple sites. These are the smaller, less known sites off the normal tourist beaten path.My next post will be about the small Chenla-era temple in Prey Veng called (locally) Prasat Prey Daem Srok. Prasat is a good word to know, it refers to temples, ancient ones. If you want to talk about the more modern ones, Wat is a better word to use.
This Prasat was triply hard to find, though in the end we succeded. Here I would like to list some problems we encountered in our attempt to find this temple and lessons learned.
First, maps sold to tourists vary in the information that they provide; only one of our maps indicated a temple in the area of search.
Second, on the one map that includes a temple name in the area we found it, that name was different from what it is known locally. In fact, no one, not even at the temple site itself, recognized the name from the map.
(Of course if there had been no name, not even an incorrect one on the map, we would never have sought the temple. So there is that!)
Second, on the one map that includes a temple name in the area we found it, that name was different from what it is known locally. In fact, no one, not even at the temple site itself, recognized the name from the map.
(Of course if there had been no name, not even an incorrect one on the map, we would never have sought the temple. So there is that!)
But third, the map location for this temple is off by more than two kilometers.
That may not sound like much, but that distance can be beyond the "event horizon" of rural Cambodians you might encounter. So we met lots of folks, in the area where it was said to be on the map who had no idea that there was any ancient temple nearby at all. :)
For anyone tracking down the more remote temples in Cambodia (and who have no local guide and we should make a distinction between a Cambodian guide in general and one from that specific area :) here are lessons we might offer:
That may not sound like much, but that distance can be beyond the "event horizon" of rural Cambodians you might encounter. So we met lots of folks, in the area where it was said to be on the map who had no idea that there was any ancient temple nearby at all. :)
For anyone tracking down the more remote temples in Cambodia (and who have no local guide and we should make a distinction between a Cambodian guide in general and one from that specific area :) here are lessons we might offer:
1) You are better off not mentioning the name of the temple you are looking for when asking after it. Many temples have local names and are not known by the names on the map. Ask: "Are there any ancient temples in this area?" Later, you can ask if they have heard the name of the temple you are seeking.
2) Don't get discouraged if the immediate answer is no. The person you asked may not know, even if they tell you they have lived in the area all their lives. Move down the road and ask again.
3) The best place to go for information are the newer Buddhist temples. You are almost always likely to find an older man, dressed in white shirt and dark trousers about. He is an Achar, a older devotee of the temple with some administrative powers whose whole life now revolves around the temple to which he has commited himself -- many move away from their homes and families and spend the latter part of their life on the temple grounds. If you can't find info in one temple go to another, if one is nearby.
4) Monks are not necessarily a good source of information, as most are young, many just off the farm. The Achar is almost always the best bet, he is more likely to know what is going on, if not in his Province, in his district or commune.
Happy Adventuring!
