Where it sits
Kampong Chhnang lies on the Tonlé Sap river where it widens towards the lake, about ninety kilometres north of Phnom Penh. The name means “port of pots”, and the province has made earthenware for centuries.
What to see
The pottery villages of Andong Russey and Ondong Rossey, a few kilometres outside town, still turn out hand-shaped water jars and cooking pots using techniques passed down through generations, worked without a wheel.
The floating villages on the water in front of the town are among the largest on the Tonlé Sap and considerably less staged than those closer to Siem Reap. Boats can be hired from the port for an hour or two on the water.
Phnom Santuk and Phnom Neang Kongrey rise from the plain nearby and give a sense of just how flat and how vast the floodplain is.
When to come
The lake is at its most dramatic from September to November, when the Tonlé Sap has reversed and the water is at its highest.