The motodop driver, porter who guides tourists in Phnom Tbeng
REM Thoeun is one of many v illagers who live near t he peak of Phnom Tbeng, earning his income in the eco-tourism sector at Preah Vihear prov ince’s Tbeng Meanchey natura l heritage site.
Thoeun earns most of his liv ing as a motodop driver (a motorbike ta x i rider) tra nsporting tourists to popular loca l attractions – including Tbeng Waterfa ll, the Three Rock Pagoda and the Taing You waterfa ll and pagoda – in and around Phnom Tbeng.
But he a lso works as a porter, carr y ing things from the mountain’s foot to t he peak.
Thoeun says his only option is to ta ke up jobs requiring hard labour to support his family as he did not have educationa l opportunities as a child.
Some 24 years ago, when the last remnants of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge militants were fighting the government, Thoeun’s family moved him from the line of fire and went to find a better life on the mountain.
Thoeun, 27, told The Post: “I’ve lived here since I was t hree years old when my parents moved us from Kulen district because of t he fighting.
“They were worried about safet y and kept shifting from place to place before finally sett ling on Phnom Tbeng. After the whole countr y was freed of t he rebels, we decided to remain here permanently, even though at the time we barely sur v ived going up and down the mountain [for money].”
Growing up on the mountain, Thoeun did not have the opportunit y to study at school or learn a t rade.
So though he now wants to find a new job outside his backbreaking labour on Phnom Tbeng, Thoeun says he does not know what else he can do.
“I want to find a job in town but I don‘t k now what to do. I want to start a new life that can earn me a higher income.
“I first studied in Grade 2 when I was 15, but I found it difficult as I was prett y old for t hat low grade,” says t he illiterate fat her of t wo.
Driv ing a tourist on t he back of his motorbike, Thoeun nav igates a long t he muddy trail, ta k ing t he time to describe t he scener y to his passenger.
Dr iv i ng pa st a st ack of rock s he rema rk s, “t hey [ loc a l s ] a r e super st it ious about t h i s plac e. T hey bel ieve i f t hey c a n pi le t he rock s up h ig h, it w i l l boost t hei r for t u nes”.
On the days when Thoeun works as a guide, he picks up his customers around 9am. They have lunch at Dombok Khmao Pagoda before heading to a waterfa ll located about 1km from the temple.
Thoeun says tourists a lso love hiking to the Three Rock Pagoda before v isiting Taing You waterfa ll and pagoda.
Tourists can choose to spend a night at Taing You Pagoda or return in the evening, with a round trip costing 150,000 riel ($ 37) per person.
Thoeun says: “Most tourists hike up Phnom Tbeng v ia the 1,345 steps of the Three Rock Pagoda. Then, they head to Taing You temple and t he waterfa ll. There is another option ... t hey can ta ke t he 15k m trek up an unpaved trail from Bakkam v illage, in Chheanmuk commune, but it is not popular.”
At the Three Rock Pagoda, where his client prayed for happiness at the shrine and enjoyed the va lley v iew from the mountain top, Thoeun ta kes a brea k and sips a cold drink at a small store.
He is stood among a dozen porters standing at the mountain peak, waiting to receive bookings for porter and transport jobs.
“I a lso work as a porter to carr y things to the mountain peak. But sometimes I have nothing to do as most people don’t bring heav y items and they don’t k now we offer such ser v ices,” says Thoeun.
Like the other porters, Thoeun gets 30,000 riel to carr y a load of between 30 and 40kg.
“Occasionally, generous people give me 40,000 to 50,000 riel to carr y a pack of milled rice. I can carr y t hings about t hree or four times per day. But usually, I only get one job per day, or nothing at a ll,” he says.
For those who plan to v isit Phnom Tbeng and need transportation, Thoeun can be contacted v ia telephone (088 773 3062).