The pottery village of Ondoung Rossei is only a five to ten minute drive up the hillside above central Kampong Chhnang town.
Not a centralized village, but rather a maze of dirt roads with pottery production occurring beneath and beside villager’s stilted houses. Employing modern throwing wheels to produce their wares, most villagers still collect the clay using traditional methods, alter their shapes with wooden paddles, and sun-dry their pots beside their homes, though there is an NGO-sponsored project with a large kiln located beyond the first pottery homes you will come across.
Ondoung Rossei can be tricky to find and villagers are likely to be somewhat surprised to see tourists rolling up with cameras in hand. Nonetheless, it is an interesting side-trip for those with an hour to spare and its a great place to pick up an interesting souvenir (they even make piggy banks in various shapes including pig shape!).
Getting There
The village can be tricky to find as it is not centralized and those engaged in pottery production are found here-and-there along the hillside above Kampong Chhnang. From central Kamong Chhnang, the southern spoke of the traffic circle around the Independence Monument leads to dirt roads into the village. Keep left as the road forks and keep driving until you see red pots drying in the sun beside a house.
Need to Know
- What is It? A rural village where traditional clay pots continue to be produced.
- When to Go Anytime, though the cooler, early morning and late afternoon hours are more likely to have villagers producing their wares.
- Nearest Town The village is on the hillside south of Kampong Chhnang town, which is 66 km northwest of Oudong.
- Trivia In the 14th century, Chinese emissary Zhou Daguan made note of the riverside town’s terra cotta colored products when he referred to the site as the “port of pots.”