Kracheh

This rustic cluster of bamboo homesteads and ageing French colonial frontispieces is famed for its peaceful location along the mighty Mekong River. At its heart, a conglomeration of dusty market streets abuts a series of shady pagodas where locals sell handmade craft goods and traditional Cambodian trinkets. And on its peripheries, the urban spaces dwindle into a series of wild wetlands, directionless waterways and gnarled jungle roots.

Kracheh tour guides are always quick to champion their town’s reputation as one of the best places to spot the elusive Irrawaddy dolphins, and travellers can often be seen leaving town on purring longboats to seek out the best viewing spots on the Mekong river.

Nearby, there are a whole host of culturally immersive villages as well as traditional tobacco plantations and fruit farms to explore. Kracheh also conceals a number of interesting temples between its sleepy streets and wild surroundings—from the pious rises of Phnom Sombok on the hill, to the ancient edifices of Sambor Prei Kuk and Wat Sorsor Muoy Roi in the distance