Experience the best of Kampong Thom

Kampong Thom lies on the Stung Sen river, on the main road between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, in the flat rice-growing heart of Cambodia. The town is a small market centre with a riverside, a busy market and wooden houses, and it serves as a stop between the capital and the temples of Angkor.

North of town, Sambor Prei Kuk is a group of brick temples from the seventh century, built when the area was Isanapura, the capital of the Chenla kingdom, and now hidden among forest; it is a World Heritage site. Phnom Santuk, a forested hill topped by a monastery, rises from the plain nearby. To the west, the floodplain of the Tonle Sap lake is dotted with stilt houses and flooded forest.

Rice, fish from the lake and rivers, and prahok, a fermented fish paste that seasons many dishes, are the staples, along with grilled fish and fruit from roadside stalls. The land is hot all year, and the rains run from about May to October.