KIEN SVAY Tourist Center

 On weekend, after a long 5-day working week, I don’t know where to go for lunch for a relaxation. It is hard to find a better place to hang out for a lunch. A quick thought has come around to my mind, that is Kien Svay Leisure Resort. I inform my wife and my children to be ready to leave home at 10am.

Where is Kien Svay Leisure Resort and how to get there ?

Let’s go across Monivong Bridge, in the south of Phnom Penh city, then take National Highway 1 which is linked between Phnom Penh Capital City to Svay Rieng Province and to Vietnam as well. It is around 18 kilometers away from Monivong Bridge. We can take our personal car or motorbikes in group, driving happily in a wide road, full of people, tourists to and fro. The resort is located in Koki Thom Commune, Kien Svay District, Kandal Province. This is a popular weekend jaunt for Phnom Penh residents.

When you click your car counter zero from Monivong Bridge and drive until it is 17 or 18, you will see on your left side a green sign board indicating in Khmer and English the name of the resort, then you turn left to enter along the pagoda long wall. At the corner of the wall, you can choose to park the car, either going straight or turn right. At the guard post, you will get a parking ticket at 3,000Riels or $0.75/day. There is a large space for car parking, and even in the pagoda compound too. If you came late in the day, parking is difficult. Mostly, there are many people on Saturdays and Sundays and holidays coming here for their lunch. As for the working days, very few people visit here. 

 Here you can see a lot of cars, parking here and there and in the distance, a conic shaped roof of the tourist market. This market was newly built by private investors few years ago due to increasing number of tourists coming to visit this resort. Now you are in the market, firstly good and sharp smell of grilled fish and chickens is touching your sense.

However, please first go for renting platform and leave your accessories there. Somebody should stay and look after your bags ….. and some of your people will go buy food as much as you wish. You can make a good bargain anywhere here with the sellers. Or differently if you do not feel like going shopping, just order food from the owner of the platform and you can stay and relax, but take attention, be sure that the order must be applied correctly, otherwise cost is higher than quality or to avoid dispute during bill charge.

   

When you pay for the platform, then you can stay for the whole day, but not until the night. Now we sit together in a circle, eating our lunch, prepared by your wives and daughters. Here we have some good wine or beer to follow good food and enjoy the taste. Nothing is more enjoyable than meeting with members of family, chatting, eating and drinking. Well, that is life. Do you like it ?

But usually tourists move back to Phnom Penh at 3 or 4pm. Consequently and in the meantime, you can see small dealers bring you fruits, vegetables and sell cheaper. Sometimes, we can buy for our dinner too.

However, drivers should not drink. The safety of your family is of most priority. Do not make your passengers suffer ! Inside the market, we can see a long line of concession stands, full with diversity of food, fruits and vegetables. You can take a walk and choose food whatever you like. It is good to walk and select on your own. Also take care of the quality of food before you decide to buy, because sometime, they keep them for another day if could not sell out for today and taste is deceased.

The resorts are built of small shacks on stilts above a river and available for rental. The rental fee more or less depends on the size and facilities of the platforms.

On the other side of the river, separate shacks are built on stilts sunk into the river, looking wonderful. These are accessible only by boat and the platform owners take you there and back as part of the modest fee. If you need boating, just ask and bargain the boat owner about cost, how long and how far you will take, then they will take you a round at your wish.