Phnom Sampeau

(Or Sam Pov /Som Paw ... take your pick. )

Is 18 Klicks outside of Battambang.

It rises abruptly out of the flat surrounding land and was a strategic military site in times past.

In a way it encapsulates some of the history as well as signs of the times. On the top there we have Wat Sampeau, and a radio tower.

On one side of the mountain is a cave with many bones of victims from the KR time. More tourists than locals go there. And there's much more to see beyond that.

This scaffolding blew us out, it's HUGE. I gather from an old Phnom Penh Post article that this is a project to carve pictures directly into the rock, as part of an youth drug rehabilitation project. (Click for enlargements.)
Obligatory cute monkey photo. After some lunch downstairs, we trudged up the steep steps to the top. Sash was operating on 3 hours of sleep, I was tired too, but hey we're here, why not check it out? Jean Philippe was raring to go.
The gaudy kitsch glory of Wat  Sampeau.
List of donors. (Click for enlargement.) You can get your name noted for $2.50. May not sound like a lot but that's a day's wage here for some.
OK, I admit it, the view was worth it.
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