I recently visited a beautiful temple in Cambodia that not only is a quiet spiritual retreat but affords some pretty nice views of the great Mekong River. It’s actually the only mountain, or hill, if I’m being transparent, in this part of the province.

I was actually on a guided kayaking tour of the river which included some sightings of the endangered Irawaddy River dolphins of the area. The mountain and pagoda became our picnic spot in the middle of the day.

Kratie, although occupied during the Khmer Rouge regime appeared to have seen little damage with many of the French colonial architecture still in place in the town. This pagoda was one of the few I visited that didn’t appear to have a history as an interrogation office or torture sight.

There is an underlying sadness in this country leftover from the dark years of the Khmer Rouge. It was nice to visit a spot of worship that seemed to have been left alone. No memorial necessary.