| In the 16th century, King Chan Reachea reigned over the country and lived in the former capital city of Oudong. He had a daughter named Varakpheak. Once the daughter was ill, he commanded his slaves to invite the head of Buddhist monastery at Neak Sen pagoda ( localed at Chrouy Banteay commune, presently known as Prek Prasab district) to cure his daughter’s illness. While the head of the monk was absent from the pagoda, Nen Thun, his favorite student who learnt white magic spell secretly, and then he was magically transformed into a crocodile called “Grocodile Nen Thun”. |
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| When the teacher returned, Nen Thun had became a crocodile and could not turn to be a human being. Then he always took his teacher on his back to cure the king’s daughter. One day, a mighty crocodile called Sopor Kaley, that wanted to challeng with Nen Thun, stopped Nen Thun while he was carrying his teacher on the way back from the palace where his teacher …. the king’s daughter. The two crocodiles then started fighting. As Nen Thun could not find ways to save his teacher, he decided to swallow his teacher into his stomach to keep safe for a while. The fighting lasted 3 days and 3 nights, and finally Sopor Kaley was defeated and then died and suddenly turned into a mountain presently called Sopor Kaley. When Nen Thun threw out his teacher from his stomach, he was already dead. Nen Thun was very sory and determined to kill the king’s daughter because if his teacher’s death. Nen Thun swam quietly and suddenly swallowed the king’s daughter who was playing at the Royal Palace port. |
| King Chan Reachea commanded his confidants to follow Nen Thun until they reached the place now knows as Sambor and caught crocodile ( Nen Thun) there and cut open the crocodile’s stomach to get the king’s daughter out. The king decided to bury her corpse in Sambor and buil a 100 column pagoda to dedicate to the spirit of his daughter. |
| Nowadays, a big tomb, north of the pagoda, keeps the ashes of bone of Princess Varak Pheak and the king’s kinship as inscribed there. |
| To the south of the pagoda, there is a hall in which the ceiling was painted with a series of pictures describing the Princess Varak Peheak. |
| Sambor has special features related to Buddhism, for example, 4 pagodas and the temples with Buddhist Statues facing to the four directions: |
-Vihear Sarsar Mouy Rouy: faces to the North |
-Vihear Kouk : faces to the East |
-Vihear Lao : faces to the West |
-Kouk Vihear : faces to the South ( Kouk Vihear was ruined and only foundation remained) |
| The dwellers of Sambor always celebrate New Year for 9 days : 3 days for each pagoda starting from April 13 to April 21 every year. Besides, the tourists can enjoy the boat trip to see the exotic scenery along the Mekong River and meet the tribes such as Phnorng who live along the Upper Mekong River. |
| Vihear Sarsar Mouy Rouy Resort ( Pagoda with 100 columns): it is a historical and cultural resort situated in Sambor commune, Sambor district, 36km from the provincial town. Tourists can travel via the National Road 7, 24km northward, and continue 12km more through an asphalted road. Sambor was an ex-capital city of Khmer in Chenla era called Sampheak Borak. |
| Vihear Sarsar Mouy Rouy was first built in the 16th century by King Chan Reachea. It was made of wood with 100 columns. The Vihear was repaired from time to time. In Pol Pot regime, most parts of the Vihear were damaged. The Vihear was rebuilt on the same location using 116 concrete columns. |
