Preah Vihear Temple: From Thailand to Siem Reap Off the Beaten Track

We are always on the lookout for new destinations and experiences. We love to travel off the beaten track. But that involves researching, planning and some weird interactions along the way to achieve our goals. 

While in South East Asia we decided to go to a temple in the middle of nowhere. I mean, not exactly in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of an area disputed by Thailand and Cambodia. And where army not so rarely exchanges fire.

Shared cab from Chong Chom to Along Veng

Arriving there was an adventure and I could write an entire book about that. 

First we crossed the border from Thailand (Chong Chom) to Cambodia at Osmach or O'Smach or Ou Smach (many ways of alphabetizing I guess). In the border, Cambodian officials tried to get extra money from us. Rui read about it in advance and he learned that the best strategy was pretending that he spoke no English and bring the exact amount in US dollars, $20 per person. This would avoid money conversion and change.

After 10 minutes repeating "obrigado, obrigado" (thank you, thank you) the officials gave up and let us get in.

Views from Preah Vihear

Then we had to find a shared cab to Anlong Veng, some 70kms to the east. Here it started a new challenge. Get a shared cab for less than a gazillion dollars. 

Drivers were negotiating hard with us and we had no option, there is no public transportation. They can charge you what they want. But we knew that they want to fill up the cabs as soon as possible to keep the business running. So we took our time, making them understand that we weren't in a hurry... Which was not true, we still had many kilometers ahead.

In the end it worked out well, we paid $10 (5 each) and we shared the front seat in a cab with other 6 people. At this point I don't know if someone was traveling in the trunck. Along the way the guy had to fill up the tank. We were surprised to see him open the trunk and taking out a hose that spilled a bit of gasoline onto the trunk contents (thank god we had our bags with us). Oh, and the car was working while he filled up the tank through the weird hose from the trunk. That was a first...

Preah Vihear

In Anlong Veng, we had to find another cab to the temple (that lies more than 100 kms from Anlong Veng). Again, no public transportation. We asked several locals and people only knew about infrequent buses going to Siem Reap.

After some negotiation we found a guy willing to take us there for $35 which sounded pretty reasonable. And we agreed that the guy could bring his wife and toddler along.

Cab from Along Veng to Preah Vihear

Arriving there the guy changed his mind and he wanted to go away not taking us as far as the temple and not being willing to wait for us to go to the temple and back. Lots of drama. We couldn't stay there without a ride back because there is nothing around. Not even cabs.

A monk approached us to serve us mediator. After he got that the guy was being dishonest, he gave up. So we went to the police station. Before the police chief arrived, the driver and his family fled and left us there by ourselves. 

Police station

After some arrangements we took a military jeep to the site. There are two options: motorbike (cheapest one) or jeep. I don't take motorbike rides especially in gravel and hilly roads.

Holes from mines

Preah Vihear

The temple is an UNESCO World Heritage Site but due the military dispute is not in great shape. In the past it was under Thai army rule and now it serves as a military base to Cambodia army. In our way up to the temple we weren't allowed to take pics of the Cambodian troops that are facing the border with Cambodia with guns. See above the huge round holes in the entrance of the stairwell. Those were removed mines. This area is still heavily mined, but not on the temple although the guide did say to stay on the paths.

Preah Vihear

The temple sits up in a steep cliff in the hill. It's a spectacular setting with good views over Thailand. Unfortunately, as I said before, the site is not well preserved and it's mainly in ruins which is heartbreaking.
In the end the soldier that took us to the temple, gave us a ride to Sra Em, a town close by and from there we were able to get another cab to Angkor Wat. Another 35 dollars for the 200+ kms.
Travelling off the beaten track means see more interesting things but it also requires lots of patience and more money generally.
In the end we had a really full day: we woke up in Nang Rong, Thailand, got an early transfer to O'Smach border, Anlong Veng, Preah Vihear, Sra Em, Siem Reap. In total we did something like 500+ kms. Check more details in a forum post here I did in tripadvisor when we returned.

Preah Vihear