Wat Phnom (Stung Treng)

Wat Phnom, Stung Treng Borrowing the name of the famous land mark temple in Phnom Penh, this one isn?t high enough for a good view of the area, though you can see the mountains along the Lao border to the north. Anew wat is currently under construction on the site. River Scene, from Here to Laos The San River is fronted in Stung Treng by a nice stretch of paved road. It's the center of socializing (as in most Cambodian river towns) in the late afternoon and early evening hours as the locals ride up and down the stretch enjoying the view and each other. Drink and dessert stands spring up earlier to serve the daily merrymaking crowd. It?s a nice spot for a walk or jog any time of the day as the river road turns into a pleasant rural road that leads to the airport 4 km north of town.

The river port area just in front of the small city park is fairly busy, handling trade between Cambodia and Laos. The ferry across the San River to where Highway 7 continues north to the Laos border is also at this pier. The fare is 300 riel per head. We went for a ride on this stretch (2,000 riel for taking a big bike on the ferry), but there is not much to see along the way besides jungle and the remnants of a road that was a target of carpet bombing during the Vietnam War years. The road works its way eastward so it does not afford views of the Mekong River as one would hope. The few residents we saw along the way were truly amazed to see the likes of us, would want to be there.