Meas Family Home Stay in rural Cambodia

Video #1 - lunch was served shortly after i arrived,

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Video #2 - the focus here on carbs does not actually reflect reality,

given the varied menu, Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Video #3 - a peaceful escape, grove behind the 

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Video #4 - these bright kids are high school students, mostly from 

farming families and are learning English after school, 

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Video #5 - leaving the Meas Family Home Stay,

taxi ride from Ang Ta Som to Phnom Penh 

The friendly and gracious hosts, Siphen Meas and Im Mach,

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

 Im Mach resting at midday, Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Siphen Meas at the stove, Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Entrance to my room, facing the yard,

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Back-up water tanks, outside my room,

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Fresh coconut being shredded for Amok (Cambodian fish curry), 

a fabulous national dish, Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Fish being prepared for Amok and at my request, 

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som


 Spring roll batch production, Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Spring rolls, part of another memorable meal,

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Stir-fried instant noodles, with fly protection,

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Orchids and pond, created from a crater, US B-52 bomb drop 1973-75, 

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som

Gate, grove and rice fields, back of the 

Meas Family Home Stay, Ang Ta Som


Meas Family Home Stay, 3 kilometres East of Ang Ta Som

IT WAS MAYHEM HERE, but polite mayhem, at the terminal near the Central Market. The big highway hulk backed out ever so carefully. For the second time on this trip, i was leaving Phnom Penh by bus. The Sorya Transport double decker was filled with travellers heading for Bangkok, with the exception of this one, writing the blog post. Down National Highway #3, i got off in Ang Ta Som. From there it was only a few kilometres, by tuk-tuk, to the next destination. A secondary highway took us East towards Takéo City, but then we turned off to cross dry rice fields. The dirt lane became a driveway and the ruts led us to a gate. Within the compound walls were a collection of buildings, a garden and even a rectangular pond. I had arrived at the Meas Family Home Stay.

Now, i had been forewarned that my room would be very basic and that turned out to be no exaggeration. I could not even lock my door, if you can believe that, yet i felt safe here. Normally, i would have been offered a better room, except the home stay was almost full. An educational tour had arrived, consisting of university students from the USA and Canada. The young people, who had just flown here from North America, were jumping right into a new culture. In the open air seminars and lectures, they seemed to be learning not only a lot about the Mekong River, but the curriculum was supported by studies in the Khmer language and customs as well.

Im Mach was a kind and gentle host. He was also quite willing to share stories with me about his past. As the Deputy Director of the nearby secondary school, his knowledge of history, geography and English was extensive, so of course i found myself with a real teacher. Im lived through the American B-52 bombings, the brutality of the Khmer Rouge years and the subsequent Vietnamese occupation. He also told me that the picturesque pond, mentioned earlier, was extended and built upon, from a large 1970s era bomb crater. By contrast to Im, his wife Siphen Meas, was an outgoing and take charge kind of soul. Not only did she run the kitchen and household, but also taught at a nearby elementary school. 

There was also an informal school house, out at the front and beside the gate to the compound. Teenagers from nearby schools, would come to the Meas property, for some extra-curricular English practice. The home stay guests were encouraged to interact with the young Cambodians, which seemed like a brilliant concept. Everybody came away from that, having learned something in the process. The small classroom had art supplies and a small library of donated English books including a vintage edition about Vancouver, of all places. The sessions, that ran after school, ended by 6 pm.

The Meas Family provided the guests with delicious meals, made from scratch, and from their outdoor kitchen. Apart from bottled sauces, the packaged noodles, condiments, instant coffee, etc, the fare seemed to made from local ingredients. The food was delicious, well balanced and the guests were well fed.

A particularly beautiful feature of the Meas Family Home Stay was the grove beyond the pond and the back gate. A short distance out in the rice fields, was a tiled concrete table and benches, beneath a canopy of trees. I went there a few times to read and reflect. Often when the breeze played through the leaves and palm fronds above, and then the wind came up, the fallen leaves would begin to rustle too. To add to this soundscape was the occasional tethered cow bellowing nearby or the distant sound of music. Dreamy moments like this were a total tonic to one's soul.

After getting around the last few days, by bus, tuk-tuk and bicycle (see the post that follows), i decided to return to Phnom Penh by car. After breakfast, on the morning of February 13, a driver in his old black Toyota Camry, was waiting in the driveway. After a few farewells, it was 77 km (48 miles) back to the Capital. As we drove off, it crossed my mind that the Meas Family Home Stay would certainly be worth returning to, if i ever found myself back in Cambodia again. Mach and Siphen had been the ultimate hosts.

Recommend the Sihanoukville bound Sorya Transport express bus:
Welcome to Phnom Penh Sorya Transpot :: 2011

Wonderful home stay experience with Im Mach and Siphen Meas:

Cambodian Home Stay

Glowing reviews on the Meas Family Home Stay:

Meas Family Homestay - Guesthouse Reviews, Deals - Cambodia/Takeo - TripAdvisor