- Angkor Borei -

"The easiest way to get to Angkor Borei and Phnom Da, then, is by water, and there are a number of entrepreneurs in Takéo who offer high-speed rides in their fibreglass & outboard motor boats. To get to where they start is only a 15-20 minute walk from the volunteers' centre so I set off about 9am. There is no trouble finding a boat-man as as soon as they see a foreigner standing by the canalside, one will come up to tout for business. You basically hire the man and boat for the return trip to both Angkor Borei and Phnom Da."

Angkor Borei

Angkor Borei is a town in Takeo province with several ruins and archaeological digs. The area has been continuously inhabited for at least 2500 years and has yielded artefacts dating from the Neolithic period, the Funan period (4th/5th century AD) and Chenla (8th century AD) as well as the later Angkorian period (9th-15th century AD.).
From Takeo to Angkor Borei, a route by boat of about 30 minutes, which allows to discover all the plain, the rice fields and the life very lively on the river. Angkor Borei is situated at 12 km of Vietnam by boat.
Basically this is a town that exists to ship or truck out farmer’s produce. Poor, dirty and completely plastified, it’s not a place to spend much time. Though the num pang (filled baguette) is pretty tasty and the countryside girls are exquisitely beautiful in a very attractive unsophisticated way.
There are no significant temple ruins at Angkor Borei, but there is a very interesting little museum in town displaying artefacts from the area and providing information on recent archaeological digs. The visitor’s area consists of two rooms.
There are some adjacent hills near the town. They are the Prasat Phnom Da and the Asram Moharosei.

The Angkor Borei Museum was set up with EU fundings to showcase some of the finds in this archaeologically rich region of Cambodia.
While the museum is a little run down, it is worth popping by as it is on the way to Phnom Da. When there are no visitors (which often happens) the museum is kept locked up, but just have a poke around and you're bound to find someone asleep somewhere who open the place up, or at least know where the staff are. Many of the displays are replicas.

Inside the museum

Aside from the museum, take a walk back down to the port area of Angkor Borei to see many of the barges arriving from Vietnam unloading their wares. These goods used to go to Takeo, but now with the better roads, only need go this far.

Angkor Borei can be reached by land or by boat, the latter being the far more scenic option. Boatmen in Takeo will run a trip to Angkor Borei and Phnom Da for $15-25 for the boat -- prices vary tremendously and depend solely on your bargaining ability. A round trip, including sight seeing time is about three hours.

Opening Hours: Daily 08:30-12:00 & 14:00-14:30