This week Miranda had the pleasure of accompanying her mother on the Journeys Within village tour just outside of Siem Reap…
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I have been working behind the scenes at the Journeys Within office in Cambodia for just over a year and I am finally hosting my first visitor: my beloved mother.
With her in town, I had the occasion to take one of our most beloved day trips, the Village Tour with our guide Sothy. Overwhelmingly popular with our guests, it was a great opportunity to see first hand the tours ability to connect our guests with life in rural Cambodia. Not to mention, after days of visiting the temples my mom was happy for the change of pace and scenery.
After a short drive into the countryside west of Siem Reap we arrived at Sothy’s village, Kok Tnout. Named after the palm trees that line the road, Kok Tnout is a simple village with no electricity, no running water and as Sothy pointed out the towns biggest problem: no sanitation.
Still, the grounds of the village are overwhelmingly well maintained, complete with carefully sectioned off gardens, plump pigs and endless motorbike trails between wooden houses.
Local resident mill about, women working in their “7-11” stores (simple structures that sell the odds and ends for daily life), other people farming and others still helping build new homes.
The tour through the village, weaving in and out of the homes, give a great sense of the slow-but-steady pace that occurs behind the scenes of the bigger cities.
Because Kok Tnout borders the North end of the West Baray, the village tour ends with a short boat ride across the reservoir — the perfect relaxing and breezy end to a very pleasantly spent and insightful afternoon.
