Phnom Kulen National Park

On a recent visit to a national park in Cambodia we were treated to some amazing scenery.  While touring the park, we saw some very beautiful waterfalls and an extremely memorable Buddhist temple.  Phnom Kulen National Park is over an hour away from where we live in Siem Reap so we started the trek in the morning.  In a rented taxi/van, seven people I've met through work, plus my wife and I, rode to the park and hung out for the day taking in the sites.

me, all sweaty, at the top of the temple

Traversing some very bumpy, windy, and more than slightly unsafe dirt roads, we arrived at the waterfalls first.  Having no expectations of the park, I was immediately taken aback at the number of sandstone rock formations and the dense jungle.  The rock looked very similar to the sandstone I used to climb in my early 20s in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.  There was a moment or two when I was transported to my life several years ago, simply based on the rock and foliage.  If you've ever been to Jackson Falls in July to camp or climb, you have an idea of the oppressive heat and humidity, the brilliant greens, and the cool water of the falls and pool.

Exiting the van and walking toward the waterfalls we saw several rows of souvenir shops and restaurants just beyond the dirt parking lot.  These shops mean that people live here or make a similar journey to ours everyday, neither of which can make for good health decisions.  Despite the fact we are removed from any semblance of a city/town, you could not walk past a vendor with out the seemingly mandatory, "Lay-dee, sir, you buy something?" or kids asking for money citing random reasons - it felt like a rural night market.  It can be heartbreaking to see because this is a way of life for some families and you know the children are not receiving a proper education.

As the group approached the waterfalls, there were several small wooden pavilions with thatched or tin roofs along the river.  Here we stopped and ate some lunch.  You could order food from one of the restaurants, for which the sanitation level is debatable, or you can bring food.  In the group we went with, some of us brought food, and some bought food there.  Luckily nobody became ill from the food purchased so if we go back, that is what I'll do.  The ordered food was delivered and every meal was $5 - kabobs, curry, fried rice...  $1 Angkor cans.  We had to pay $2.50 to rent the pavilion, which included them cleaning up the trash when finished.  It was a fun lunch because it oddly reminded me of camping.

some kids swimming behind us as we ate

our pavilion had a tin roof (rusted) - the guy on the right is our driver

the top of the waterfall

After we ate, we realized we were at the top of the waterfall and needed to make our way to the bottom.  To do this we had to navigate a rotting, wooden staircase that was missing several steps along the way.  Once at the bottom, I was surprised at all the people swimming and enjoying the beauty of the waterfalls.  The scenery was peaceful despite all of the people milling around.  There are changing rooms at the bottom of the waterfalls and you can buy various beverages as well.  Everyone swam and enjoyed the unique opportunity to play in a waterfall in a tropical jungle.  After posing for a few pictures, we decided to tackle the stairs and check out the other sites.

the top of the stairs leading to the base of the waterfall

another bridge that awaited us at the bottom

my first glimpse of the waterfall

the waterfall

my friends climbing the waterfall

another shot of the waterfall

The next place we went in the park was to Preah Ang Tom.  Our driver kept referring to it as "Big Buddha" and his repeated comment made perfect sense once there.  It is a challenge to describe the scale of the Buddha at this temple.  This Buddha was carved (and painted) on the top of a sandstone rock formation.  Not only is this quite the feat of carving, but the fact that you can walk around it is amazing.  It is literally the entire top of the rock formation and it is painted bold colors.  There were a few small shrines on the site that were different from others I've seen.  These shrines were, like the Buddha, part of the natural sandstone and one was tucked under a boulder.  Some monks were praying as we were leaving making for quite the audio/visual experience while descending the long staircase of the temple.  As awesome as the waterfalls were, I really enjoyed the temple.

the entrance to the temple

a small shrine under a boulder

view of a pagoda from the top of the temple

the Buddha carved in sandstone

a closeup of the face

a row of small Buddha statues along the back of Buddha

Our final stop was 1000 Lingas.  It is a spot in the river where 1000 lingas are carved into the river bed.  A linga is used for Hindu worship and represents the god Shiva.  Why they are carved in the river bed, I do not know.  I have seen many rivers/creeks in my life and seeing the same object carved this many times in the bed in one location was really astounding to see.  Not only were there lingas carved, there were also yonis carved in the stone bed, which are the companion carving to the lingas.  It is said that lingas represent male anatomy and the yoni represents female anatomy.  Look at the pictures below and judge for yourself.

you can see all the small round carvings of lingas

a yoni

lingas on the side of the river

closeup of a linga

a local woman retrieving water from the river

On our way out of the park, there were a few stands on the side of the road selling huge bunches of bananas.  They were yellow, green, and red.  I had never seen red bananas before.  Since the vendor spoke no English, our driver talked to her and paid about $2 for all a sizable amount of bananas still attached to the tree - never had I seen this before.  All the bananas grown locally are very tiny, they fit in the palm of my hand, and are a bit sweeter than back in the states.  I was talking with a person from Cambodia who spent some time in up-state New York for college and she said the first time she saw a banana there, she was shocked at how big they are.

the stand selling bananas

the bananas our driver bought us on the way home

This was a fun day in Phnom Kulen National Park.  It was warm and humid in the jungle, but the visual stimuli made you forget the sultry weather.  The drive in is rather memorable, as is the sight of the giant Buddha.  If you visit Siem Reap and have a day to fill, this would be a great trip as you can visit the Cambodian Landmine Museum on the way there - I'll talk about that experience later.

Thanks for reading!