Bun Roeung Ancient House is a 100-year-old wooden Khmer home tucked down a side road in Wat Kor village, a short ride outside central Battambang. An army commander’s family built it in 1920. The Khmer Rouge took it, wrecked most of it, and used it as a barracks. Today the family shows visitors around. It was the first stop on my big day out in Battambang, and it turned out to be the calmest, most human hour of the trip.
Getting to Bun Roeung Ancient House
We rode out on a rented scooter from our hotel in the old part of town. It took us 15 to 20 minutes, down back roads and through a lot of dust. Pro tip: if you’re on a bike, wear a face mask and sunglasses. Battambang’s roads in the dry season are no joke.
The house sits in Wat Kor village, beside the road along the Sangker River. You turn down a small side road, and it’s tucked away at the end, easy to miss if you’re not looking. Search “Mrs. Bun Roeung’s Ancient House” on Google Maps and it comes right up.
From here, the Battambang bamboo train is only about a 7-minute scooter ride away, which makes the two an easy pair for one afternoon.
A Short History of Bun Roeung Ancient House
Our host gave us the story in pieces as we walked, and I filled in the rest later from a Phnom Penh Post profile of the house.
It was built in 1920, during the reign of King Sisowath, in the classical Khmer style with wide verandas. The builder was the wife of Nou Pinet Phoeng, a wealthy army commander who later became a lawyer. Mrs. Bun Roeung is their granddaughter.
In 1975 the Khmer Rouge killed Bun Roeung’s father, her mother and around 30 other relatives. They seized the house and used it to store supplies and quarter soldiers. When Bun Roeung returned in 1979, about 80 percent of it had been destroyed. The family rebuilt, and in 2005 the provincial authorities listed it as an official “antique house” under a program to preserve traditional Khmer architecture.
Inside Bun Roeung Ancient House
The house works as a small, informal museum. You’ll see old photographs of the house and of other traditional homes, plus small models showing how these wooden houses were built and laid out.
The highlight for me was upstairs. The hardwood floors are beautiful, worn smooth and dark from a century of feet. Standing up there, with the breeze moving through the shutters, you get a real sense of how well these homes were designed for the heat long before anyone had air conditioning.
Outside there’s a small turtle pond, which made a nice quiet break in the shade. Everything about the place moves at a slower speed than the rest of Battambang.
Old Things That Are Still in Use
My favorite moment had nothing to do with the house itself. My friend is Cambodian, and as we walked around, she kept pointing at things on display and saying they have the same ones at home.
That stuck with me. Some of the “historic” household objects in a heritage house are still part of everyday life in Cambodian homes today. It made the place feel less like a museum and more like a family home that happens to be very old.
Meeting the Family
The woman who showed us around told us she’s the niece of the last owner, and that she lives next door with her husband. She answered every question we threw at her, about the house, the family and the village.
She also told us something that stuck. They used to get a lot of visitors, she said, but this season tourism in Cambodia is down about 48 percent. The government’s own numbers back her up. The Ministry of Tourism’s first-quarter report shows international arrivals down 44.8 percent on the year before, and arrivals from Thailand down almost 95 percent.
Part of the reason is the land border with Thailand, which has been closed since mid-2025. A lot of tourists used to come into Cambodia overland from Bangkok, and that route is shut. On top of that, the conflict involving Iran has pushed fuel prices and airfares up around the world, and fewer people are traveling. For a small family-run place like this, fewer visitors means a lot less coming in.
Cost and Practical Tips
According to the Phnom Penh Post, entry is free and there’s a donation box. Given what our host told us about visitor numbers, I’d leave something generous. A few dollars goes a long way for the family keeping this place open.
- Time needed: about an hour.
- Getting there: scooter or tuk-tuk, roughly 15 to 20 minutes from the old town.
- Dress: modest is polite; it’s a family home.
- Shoes off: expect to take them off before going upstairs, as in most Khmer homes.
- Ask questions: the family is the best part of the visit.
- Pair it: combine it with the bamboo train and the bat cave for a full afternoon.
Wat Kor village has several other old wooden houses too. If this kind of thing is your speed, take some time to walk or ride through the village.
Is Bun Roeung Ancient House Worth Visiting?
Yes. It’s not a big attraction, and it won’t give you the photos the bamboo train does. What it gives you is context: a hundred years of one Cambodian family, the war that nearly wiped them out, and the people still living next door today. Pair it with the Well of Shadows memorial and you’ll understand Battambang much better than if you only see the highlights.
Final Word on Bun Roeung Ancient House
Bun Roeung Ancient House is a quiet, honest stop: a family home that survived the Khmer Rouge, opened to strangers by the people who still live beside it. Give it an hour, ask questions, and leave a donation. Then ride seven minutes up the road to the bamboo train, and finish your day at the Battambang bat cave.
For our full costs, where we stayed and the rest of the weekend, see my Battambang weekend trip write-up. For coffee before you ride out, check where to eat and drink in Battambang.
Have you visited one of the old houses in Wat Kor village? Which one, and what did the family tell you? Tell me on Facebook or Instagram.
