Phnom Yat is a cultural and historical site located in Pailin City. It is not a holy place where people come to worship, but also the heart of Pailin City.

 

The mountain is 60 meters high, 700 meters long, 300 meters wide and covers 30, 000 square meters. The top is accessible on foot or by vehicle. A staircase of 242 steps, each step about 25 centimeters high, was completed on Oct 13, 1998.

 

The site includes an old pagoda similar to Kola pagoda. It was built on the hilltop by the Kola people in 1922. The are many ancient structures on Phnom Yat, including the big and small stupas and Asroms (the hermitage, a place for meditating). The area holds many superstitions for Pailin residents and some visitors.

 

Although a wealth of gems already have been mined in Pailin, the hill is till believed to hold more. Many kiosks, or small cottages, are available for visitors to relax in on the mountaintop.

 

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Bah Hoi Village You will pass through an internal refugee camp from different areas of the country that were formerly under khmer Rouge control and are now in the hands of the government. The people feel more safe around their own kind (ex-Khmer Rouge) and with the Pailin faction of the Khmer Rouge still having effective control of the area; they don’t worry about government soldiers hassling them. The people are quite friendly and don’t mind a chat.

 

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Border Crossing & Casino Area The locals refer to this area as simply Pbrohm. This was a main lifeline of the Khmer Rouge during the years of fighting with the government. Food, supplies and weaponry were brought over from Thailand here.

 

The action today is of the gaming type with the Flamingo Casino open for business and another under construction. The casino sees a lot more business than the one in town, as the Thai people that represent the vast majority of customers like the idea of staying within spitting distance of Thailand. So if you like tossing money away, you have several choices in Pailin. There are also a few seedy looking karaoke bars with ladies working near the casinos and border. As for using Pailin as a border crossing to and from Thailand: The Thais have no problem with it and will issue you a Thai visa or stamp you out between 7 am and 5 pm. The problem is on the Cambodian side as the immigration police say that it’s not an officially sanctioned crossing and there is no way that a foreigner can cross here. So for now it’s best to sticks with Poipet and Koh Kong for land crossings. Getting to the border is the interesting part.

 

About 5 km on the way from Pailin is a small wooden bridge going over the Oh-chah-rah River. The water coming down from the mountains is clean, so a swim here is an inviting prospect. You also pass by the bombed shell of a tank, reminding you which side of the border you are on. Tank bodies just sit where they die in Cambodia and simply become another part of the landscape. The border is easy to get to –just the one turn on the map. It takes just under a half hour and is around 180 baht for roundtrip moto-taxi.

 

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The casino and pub located in the same complex are open off and on these days. As mentioned earlier, the Thais prefer the Flamingo Casino with its border location. If they book a group of Thais to come to town they open the casino.

 

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Goh-Ay Mountain The destination here is a river that’s great for a swim. Definitely for the dry season if you want to be a bit more adventurous and see more of the area. Your best bet is to talk to the guys’ at the English school next to the Hotel Sang Phi Run if you want to venture out this way, as they can help with direction or take you out there. Definitely stay on the worn trails by the river area. There are landmines around.

 

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Kbal O'Chra is located O'Chra village, Toul Lwea Commune, Kan Pailin, about 5 kilometes from Provincial Town. It is a Nature & Wildlife Preserves.

 

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O'Eb is a natural site located in Sangkat O'Chras, Khan Pailin about 10 kilometers northwest of Pailin city along the road to Bo Yakha and Bo Tang Sour. It has a waterfall.

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 O'Tavao

O'Tavao is located in Sangkat O'Tavao, Khan Pailin, about 5 kilometers from Pailin city. It is a natural site rich in beautiful scenery and clean water, which flows from Phnom Khieu.

  

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Phnom Koy is located in Sangkat Stung Kach, Khan Sala Krao, about 20 kilometers north of Pailin city. Phnom Koy is a national site rich in forest and big lianas. A natural stream flows down this mountain.

Steung Kuy

Steung Kuy is located in Phnom Kuy Village, Sangkat Sala Krau, Sala Krau District, about 20 kilometers (1hours) from Provincial Town. It is a Nature & Wildlife Preserves.

Wat Phnom Yaht This is the hilltop temple next to Wat Gohng-kahng. The temple is a good example of how things have changed in Pailin since the surrender deal. A number of moths after the deal a friend and I had a conversation with the head monk of the temple and he said that he still felt very intimidated by the local authorities, all ex- Khmer Rouge. He was strongly discouraged from giving Buddhist instruction to the townspeople. With the influx of Cambodians from other parts of the country and a change of heart for some of the ex-KR, the temple has seen a rebirth.

 

There is a beautiful new decorative stairway leading to the hilltop temple area, where a new temple is under construction and the monks openly teach the faith. Obviously, respect for monks has risen, and temple projects are receiving a lot of donations. Great views of the Pailin area and the dynamite sunsets over the Border Mountains can be had from the hilltop.

 

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About 50 meters from the foot of Phnom Yat is another pagoda, What Rattanak Sopoan. On the walls of the fence surrounding the pagoda is a bas-relief depicting the story of Churning of the Ocean of Milk (Cambodian calls Ko Samutra Teuk Dos) which is similar to the wonderful base-reliefs on the wall of Angkor Wat.

Waterfall Like all waterfalls, the rainy season is the best time to go with the water flowing best then. But there are still pools of clean water to cool off in during the dry season and the heavily forested hills provide nice scenery. Locals and folks on holiday from Battambang come here on weekends and holidays and the well-worn pathways and picnic spots are safe for your use. Hiking to the upper level brings you to more pools. Your best bet for getting out here is to take a moto-taxi or have one lead the way, as there are several turns on unmarked small roads.