Kampong Thom Province

Kampong Thom was once Isanapura—capital of the Chenla Kingdom when King Isanavarman I ruled from 616 to 637 AD, centuries before Angkor existed. The "Great Port" (kampong thom) served as Southeast Asia's largest religious hub, and the architectural styles developed at Sambor Prei Kuk became templates for what would later flourish at Angkor Wat. In 616-617, Isanavarman sent his first embassy to China's Sui dynasty, projecting power from these now-forested ruins. UNESCO inscribed the site in 2017, recognizing over 100 temples including ten octagonal structures unique in the region.

The province remains Cambodia's second-largest by area—15,061 km² of floodplain fed by the Tonlé Sap. This geography determines modern economy as surely as it shaped ancient capitals: 18,800 tons of wild fish harvested, 1,800 tons from aquaculture (fourth highest in Cambodia), and 6,371 hectares of cashew production. Rice field aquaculture and home fish production increasingly supplement wild catch as the lake's productivity fluctuates with upstream dam construction and climate patterns.

Tourism development—8 hotels, 65 guesthouses, growing homestay programs—represents the attempt to monetize what Isanavarman I built 1,400 years ago. The Sambor Prei Kuk style defined Khmer civilization's aesthetic vocabulary before Angkor amplified it. By 2026, the question is whether temple tourism can diversify an economy still fundamentally dependent on floodplain harvests—or whether Kampong Thom remains, as it has been for fourteen centuries, a province shaped by water more than by the monuments its kings built.