Just on the far side of Kizuna Bridge, and north a little, a proud remnant of the French period looks over the Mekong.

The French Watchtower was built in the 1900s, presumably to guard the rubber plantations against bandits sneaking up from the river, and renovated in 2005.

The Kompong Cham Governor’s house has a direct line of site to the watchtower and when a warning was needed a large fire would be lit in the tower announcing any impending danger. Today the tower is used to alert the motodops of the arrival of a tourist bus.

If you are fine with heights, a very steep staircase runs up the interior of the tower, allowing you to climb to the summit and enjoy the same views that the guards in the 1920s would have had. We’re not sure whether there’s a word for upside-down vertigo, but we think that’s what we got when we were half-way up. So we didn’t get to take a shot of the sunset for you, as we had planned.

The French watchtower
Off National Route 7, opposite Kompong Cham
Admission: Free

By Nicky Sullivan .
Last updated on 16th May, 2016.