Exploring the traditions of Angkor Ban

On our last day cruising the Mekong River before heading off to Siem Reap for two days of exploration at Angkor Wat, our National Trust Tours group visited the remarkably intact traditional Khmer village of Angkor Ban. Because the Khmer Rouge used the houses in this community for residential and storage purposes, it is one of the few villages that survived destruction under the regime. The remoteness of the area helped the villagers maintain more traditional ways while their friendliness to those of us visiting made it one of the favorite stops on the tour.

Temple in the monastery at Angkor Ban in Cambodia

Our group heads to the water blessing at Angkor

Our local guide Tek helps one of the monks show how to put on the traditional robes

During the three-hour tour, we stopped by the local monastery for a water blessing by the monks before we visited with local families and farms to see how the locals live. One generous homeowner gave us a tour of her traditional home, set up high on stilts to avoid the floods of the river. Inside we walked on the traditional bamboo floor and explored the family and private spaces.

Walking on bamboo floors through the family space in a traditional Angkor Ban home

The kitchen area in this Angkor Ban home

A bed and sitting area in this traditional Angkor Ban home

Another of the traditional Angkor Ban houses

Afterwards, we continued to an English language primary school, where we met the children, helped them in reading English, and learned about a typical school day.