The original house was completed in 1916 by the Chinese-descended Koy family, who also founded the Chhlong sawmill and rose to prominence in the area under French administration. The same family also built the “Hundred-Pillar House” (now with only 51 pillars, though). After Cambodian Independence, the house was occupied by customs officers but became vacant around 1968. It was subsequently occupied by the Khmer Rouge, who used it as a field hospital, among other uses.
We stayed in a two-bedroom suite with a balcony overlooking the pool and river. The main room was well appointed with both French colonial and Cambodian pieces; we didn’t use the second bedroom; however, it had a courtyard view. The bathroom was large, bright, and clean with both a claw-foot tub and a separate, huge shower. The balcony had two chaise-style, teak loungers, perfect with a glass of wine to watch the Mekong flow by.
We brought our bicycles with us since there are hundreds of kilometers of riverside roads and trails along both banks of the Mekong from Chhlong all the way up to Steung Treng and on to the border with Laos (see Mekong Discovery Trail). Our first ride was out of Kratié town, only about 30 kilometers north of Chhlong. We organized a tour with Cambodian Rural Discovery (CRD) Tours in Kratié, which included a guided bike tour (about 40 km, total), a visit to the brick-making area, a private boat to see the Irrawaddy river dolphins, and lunch in a private home. CRD has several different adventure tours, from one to multi-day trips for different activities and levels. Our second ride was around Chhlong along the river roads and paths, down to the provincial border and back (about 36 km, total). We would have ferried across the Mekong to ride the right bank, but the water was high, and ferries were only sporadically running that day.
Le Relais de Chhlong was a welcomed respite after each day of riding. The pool was clean and inviting and the rosé was chilled and refreshing.
