So my wife (khmer) and I (white American) have been looking at land to buy for farming, and twice now we've gone to an area which was off the main dirt road on one of the smaller dirt roads and someone warned us (not someone who lived there) of danger. Either the people are violent or they are ex-Khmer rouge who would kill me for being white or they are drug users. We bought land in a new area in Pol Sat where we were warned of Khmer Rouge people, drug users and people who don't care about their lives living there. We've visited it 3-4 times now and haven't had any trouble but we usually enter the land with our Uncle who lives there and supposedly we need to notify the chief of the village when we go, just in case. This last one, near the reservoir in Battambang that the Sangker river goes through, we visited with our friend who was a retired soldier and had a big military coat on, which is why it may have been safe for us. But a friend warned us to never go alone because he heard this area was violent.

I've heard a lot of rumors while being in Cambodia, and so my first instinct is to think these rumors came from exaggerated stories. Perhaps a guy murdered someone for sleeping with his wife and so the rumor spread that this place is violent or something. But actually as long as I don't sleep with anyones wife or get involved with anyone I should be as safe as I was anywhere else in Cambodia. So I was wondering what experience other white expats have had with being off of main roads. Has anyone bought land? Did anyone hear similar rumors and find them to be true or false? Has anyone had any personal experience with being attacked while checking in on their farmland? Also do you have any tips for protecting yourself when visiting land off the main roads? We only have a motorbike.

By main road I mean large cleared dirt road. So though being off the main road might be "remote" it's not the freaking jungle.

Maybe people don't like you guys (or don't want you there)... I've never even heard of that in over ten years. What exactly is your wife asking them? Are you new to the country?

Probably no Khmer Rouge people. Drug users and people who don't care about their lives living there is a possibility. Could be a good source if you party.

Wow I appreciate the quick responses. These places I am talking about are like farming communities where there is no market or anything. The first land was in Pol Sat and it was my Uncle who lives in Battambang who said that area was dangerous and tried to convince me not to go there. We ended up going and buying the land, 3-4 visits so far and no trouble with criminals or violence. While there though the chief of the village just asked that we notify him since I'm a foreigner.

The next land was a few days ago. It was in Battambang way passed the Banan temple out near the reservoir. We drove bikes on small dirt roads for 5 mins to get to the land at the very end. It's a very secluded area with a lot of farm land usually owned by people who don't live there, which is what we want to do. After getting back my wifes friend said "she heard there were violent people there" which then triggerred my wifes memory, she noticed two people who saw us at a little shop selling water and they followed us until they saw us meet up with our friend the ex-military guy wearing a military jacket. For all I know maybe they were just shocked to see a foreigner or a number of different other reasons, but because of the warning now she thinks maybe they wanted to come and steal our bike and everything and only because we had our friend there we were safe.

It's hard, because I don't want to be stupid but I've never had or heard of any experience like this in all my time being here and in Thailand, so it's hard for me to believe that it's SO rife with criminal activity that just the fact that two unknown people to an area come alone there is some high possibility of being robbed.

@Bitte_Kein_Lexus I am new to Cambodia, I've only been here a few months, I lived in Thailand for 10 years though. My wife didn't ask the locals any questions because she didn't know it was dangerous until we got back to the city. So the locals we just talked about farming and how much they are able to sell their Cassava for and tractor costs and stuff. All these warnings have come from people who are not local to those areas. One of the areas we have an uncle who lives there and always says it's safe, but he himself is pretty shady... so it's hard to take his word for it.

Some people are still scared of Covid in the countryside, so maybe that's it. To be honest, riding five minutes on a dirt road isn't secluded at all, so you're definition is different from most. Just ignore them and go on with your business. That's my only guess: covid.

If you act scared and suspicious you will have problems
even if you feel scared and suspicious, predators will pick up on that.
No1 rule anywhere - act and feel confident, walk with dignity, an open face and a slow smile
and the world is your oyster.