The plan for this weekend is the following: I ride with Maraile to Kep (Kaeb) today, spend the night there and continue to Kampot, where we meet Lydia in the morning. The ladies will find a taxi and then we go visit Bokor National Park (Preah Monivong National Park) and the hill station on Bokor Mountain (Phnum Bouk Kou). We want to spend the night in the ranger station on top of the mountain, in the abandoned resort town, maybe visit the waterfall the next day before riding down again. After a short visit at the beach close to the National Park, Maraile and Lydia will continue to Kep and Rabbit Island while I will return home to Phnom Penh.

I start with Maraile only in the afternoon, since we just want to make it to Kep today and spend the night there. Since the rides on national roads are not particularly interesting I report the whole trip in one post. In fact I have been to Kampot and Bokor many times, first in September 2003 with Toby and Katrin, for the New Year Party on the mountain in 2004 (I, II) including visits to Kampot’s caves and Toek Chhou (Tek Chou), on the way from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, and most recently with my buddy Uwe (I, II, III)

02.09.2005

We have not even left Phnom Penh and barely reached the airport when it starts raining. We find shelter and wait for the rain to stop.

After about 20 minutes the rain gets weaker and we decide to continue. We do so only for a few minutes and it starts raining again. We stop at a restaurant and have coffee. We proceed when the rain is getting weaker again.

National Road is fairly narrow and rather busy at this time of the day. This changes when we reach the fork in the road from which Road 31 leads to Kep, while Road 3 goes directly to Kampot. We turn left towards Kep on a road that is one of the best of its kind in Cambodia, with only little traffic.

We keep going until Maraile realizes that she has just lost her phone. We turn around and backtrack for a few kilometers but cannot find it. We turn around and look again but again fail to find it. Then we meet this man at a local petrol station who is kind enough to call Maraile’s phone and to negotiate with the person who has found it. However, we fail to get back the phone today and decide to try again tomorrow.

The man on the phone is negotiating for us.

Once we reach Kep we first check those guesthouses that are a little further up the hill. However, they are surprisingly crowded and don’t have suitable accommodation. Finally we settle for the hotel right at the beach where I often spend the night when in Kep. We have a nice diner in a moderate but charming restaurant next to the hotel. The restaurant has a rich menu including somewhat fancy drinks.

Fried Squid fresh from the sea.

We leave the hotel early in the morning, postponing breakfast until we reach Kampot, which is only about 25 km from here.

Once we get to Kampot we find an excellent restaurant at the riverside, it is Indian or Sri Lankan, I believe. This is where we meet Lydia, who arrived here with a taxi in the morning.

Breakfast

After an opulent breakfast we head to the Blissful Guesthouse, the owner of which kindly organizes a Toyota Camry Taxi. Then we head to the national park, which is about 12 km from here, the ladies straight in the taxi and me with the motorbike and a detour to the gas station.

On the way to the national park. This road has been recently widened and evened out. It looks as if they are going to pave it.

Construction work is going on in a number of places.

Over there is the national park.

This road leads to the entrance gate.

I pay the entrance fee, enter the park and follow the broken road. I don’t get tired of riding up this fantastic road, even though I have done it a few times, the last one being only very few weeks ago. The Lonely Planet notes about this road:

“The French authorities decided to construct a road to Bokor in 1917; the project took several years to complete and many Cambodian indentured laborers perished in the process. With the completion of the road, a small community was established that included a grand colonial hotel, the Bokor Palace, inaugurated in 1925.”

I catch up with the taxi. The ladies seem to enjoy the ride

Down there is Kampot town.

Me on the motorbike.

Unsurprisingly the road continues to be in bad shape.

I meet the ladies again at this spot where the villas are, not very far anymore from the resort and casino. The brochure handed out at the entrance refers to this place as ‘Black Palace’ or ‘Sla Khmao’.

Over there is the casino.

This is a fork in the road a few kilometers further towards the casino. Right to the waterfalls, left to the resort, church, temple and casino (Hotel Bokor Palace).

We go straight to the ranger station to secure accommodation first. We get a basic room with three beds and reasonably warm blankets and some readymade noodle soup.

Ranger with child, upfront a big butterfly, next to a pack of cigarettes for comparison.

This butterfly is not very shy.

A group of Khmers from Phnom Penh arrives with a lot of supplies and starts organizing a picnic.

Later we go on a walk to visit the casino and enjoy the views.

Over there is Sihanoukville.

There are some more buildings east of the casino, among them what used to be annexes to the hotel, town hall, the governors office, royal villas and accommodation for royal guards and servants.

From up here one can recognize fisher boats leaving the mouth of the river at the bottom of the mountain.

Over there is Kol Trol Island. It is right in front of the Cambodian coast yet became part of Vietnamese territory after the French left. Much of the anger of Cambodians with the current border agreement with Vietnam is that it confirms the status of this island as belonging to Vietnam.

We go back to the ranger station where our fellow guests have organized a remarkably party complete with seafood and meat from the grill and lots of alcohol. We are kindly invited to join and this is what we do.

Still later we go to the casino again. It is Maraile’s birthday tomorrow and that is the place to be at midnight. It takes us some time to find the way to the very roof of the building, where we unpack some wine and even a birthday cake.

After some time we return to the ranger station and join the party again.

We start the next day early with birthday cake for breakfast. Then we walk around and to the casino again. The weather keeps changing quickly, sometimes clouds are drifting around and fog is hanging over the landscape.

It is sort of raining when we arrive at the casino, but the rain appears to be confined to only a small area at the top of the mountain.

That used to be a staircase. You don’t want to go down here.

We decide to skip the waterfall and visit the beach at the bottom of the mountain instead. After only a few minutes the sun emerges from the clouds and we get good weather and view.

Over there is Kampot. One can recognize the white part of the bridge.

While I am riding down that road by myself I become aware of a big black snake that emerges only few meters in front of me from the forest. In fact I cannot but cut it’s way across the road and when I pass the snake it keeps snaking alongside my motorbike for what seems to me is a long distance, even lifting its head to the level of my shoes. At this point I get slightly concerned and hurry up to outspeed the snake.

Once we arrive at the bottom of the mountain we follow the National Road 3 towards Sihanoukville for only a few kilometers and then turn left and get to the beach via a dirt road. There are a number of fishing boats, and some restaurants that serve guests in a number of simple pavilions in the shadow of palm trees at the beach. We order some food and go for a swim.

If you want to visit the following beach then you want to follow the dirt road through this gate which is on your left when you are coming from Kampot.

After a great meal we depart, Maraile and Lydia heading to Kampot and Kep while I ride back to Phnom Penh.

The rain has gotten somewhat weaker by the time we finish breakfast. We decide to head to the bike shop to pick up Uwe’s moto, and to proceed to Phnom Penh via Kep on Roads 33, 31 and 3.

As soon as we leave the guesthouse we realize that most of the road is submerged in massive amounts of water. We pass the market and ride along its full length through deep water. It does not get much better on the main road and even most of the road around the main traffic circle is flooded.

Fortunately, the rain has almost stopped by the time we reach the moto shop. The guys have done their job early in the morning and Uwe’s bike is ready. We pay a modest amount and leave, first towards Kep and then north towards Phnom Penh. The skies continue to be clouded but as time goes by the weather keeps getting brighter.

Uwe in full rain gear.

Myself in full rain gear, in front of the moto repair shop.

Along roads 33 and 31. Those roads are very new, very wide, in excellent condition and there really is not much traffic compared to the alternative National Road 3.

We follow this road until it merges with National Road where we fill up the bikes. After a short break we follow National Road 3 for another 10 or 15 km, until we reach a bigger settlement from which Takeo can be reached via 10 km of somewhat bumpy secondary road. We follow this road to the east until we almost arrive in Takeo town. We take a turn left and continue on National Road 2 for another 30 or 35 km north. This is when we reach a place with a dirt road on our right hand (we are coming from the south) and a small market on our left hand. The dirt road leads to Phnom Chissor, which is located about 5 km from here. I have made pictures of the place on an earlier trip.

Impressive, 11th century temple ruins can be visited here, much of it on top of a mountain that offers magnificent views into almost all directions.

We park the bikes at the bottom of the mountains, have a seat at one of the footstalls and enjoy a soft drink. Soon enough a bunch of local children emerges and many of them attempt to engage us in all kinds of conversations.

After some time a lady arrives with a big bowl full of boiled corn which she offers at a very cheap price. We decide to buy one for each of us and one for each of the children, too, so as to feel better about eating in their presence. Then we order chicken with rice to be prepared while we visit the temple on top of the mountain.

The whole crowed of children follows us when we start climbing the stairs, maybe partly because we supplied the corn and may continue to supply other things. It turns out to be an exhausting exercise to climb these stairs in the heat of the day, however more so for us than for the children.

We reach a small gate at about half the way to the top up the hill. We stop for a short break to enjoy the shadow. The children use the time to enthusiastically sing songs.

There is a modern style temple slightly off the main way to the right once you reached the top. There is a good view from over the surrounding landscape.

From here we walk over the few hundred meters to the area where the ruins of an ancient temple are located. On the way we pass the booth where a man collects the substantial entrance fee for foreigners. It would not be Cambodia if he would not offer entry at half the price without a ticket, an offer that we refuse.

The children are still with us and bring this snake to our attention.

They are also kind enough to take some pictures of us.

In fact they take a lot of interest in the cameras and consequently, quite a number of pictures.

This temple is part of a bigger complex, and aligned with the remains of other ancient structures at the bottom of the mountain.

Above the gate.

Inscription at the gate.

Inside the gallery.

We have numerous company throughout our stay.

We are already on our way back when the kids spot some monkeys.

The children give us company all the way back down to the bottom of the mountain. It becomes increasingly clear that they expect some sort of compensation for their efforts. Luckily, we meet two monks at the bottom of the mountain and consult with them on what amount is a reasonable contribution and on how to ensure fair distribution among the children. The monks are extremely helpful, even changing our money into smaller notes and distributing them to the youngsters.

We enjoy the food that was prepared for us at the bottom of the mountain.

Then we get on the bikes and ride straight back to Phnom Penh where we reach when it is almost dark.

The plan for today is to ride from Kep to Kampot, have breakfast there and visit a number of places in Bokor National Park, such as the waterfall and the abandoned French resort with the Casino. If there is still time we want to use it to explore other roads around the Phnom Popok and into the Elephant Mountains (Chuor Phnum Damrei).

Views from the hotel terrace.

We leave the hotel in the morning and ride the 23 km to Kampot. We have breakfast in a guesthouse where I spent the night when I came here for New Year celebration one and a halve year ago. We try to find out from the hotel owner about other interesting places in the province during an extensive breakfast.

Later we head to Bokor National Park, the gate of which is located about 12 km from Kampot. Still in Kampot, we stop at the petrol station to fill up the bikes for the trip. My bike does not start when we want to leave, and even with the joined efforts of petrol station staff we do not manage to start it.

One of the friendly staff heads with the other bike to the local mechanic. A few minutes later two men appear on a motorbike. They bring the bike to the repair shop which is only a few hundred meters from the gas station.

At the petrol station.

After a few minutes of investigation I learn that repairing my bike will require exchanging a small computer which is about $50. However, they are willing to first try if the respective part in Uwe’s bike can make my bike work again, which would indicate that it is indeed this part which causes the problem. However, the bike does not work with the spare part either and after some further search the mechanics find out that it is the switch at the handle bar which does not work. They fix it within few minutes for a very reasonable price.

While we are waiting, people occasionally drop in with their bikes. One guy introduces him self as ‘Bad Boy Kampot Town’ and offers weed.

Time goes by while the bike is taken apart and put together again. It is almost noon by the time we leave. We cross the bridge and follow National Road 3 towards Sihanoukville. After we have left the town behind we find that the road is under construction all along the way to Bokor. In most places, this means that a wide road is already evened out but not yet paved. In other places we ride on a bumpy stretch of road next to the main road. At any rate, it is an easy ride and all the construction work seems to indicate that there will be a nice and wide road all the way to Sihanoukville in the not so distant future.

At the riverside in Kampot.

Then we reach the point where a secondary road departs towards the foot of the mountains. The place is easy to recognize because there is a huge traffic circle at this junction. The sign says “Preah Monivong Bokor National Park”.

Over there is National Road 3.

The entrance to the park is at the bottom of this mountain.

We pay $5 to the ranger at the entrance gate and enter the park. We follow the narrow road which is winding its way up the mountain in sharp turns. What we are riding on does not actually deserve the name road and is very broken in most of its parts. Only few fragments are left of what appears to have been a paved road, long time ago. It is my impression that the condition of this road has declined very significantly since I was here last time, when I was riding with a passenger. At any rate, riding up this mountain is something of a challenge and great fun.

Once in a while we stop and enjoy the view. Down there is Kampot.

We continue to ride up the mountain while the climate is getting noticeably cooler and clouds appear.

After some time we arrive at a plateau area on which the shells of previously wealthy villas are build right along the mountainside overlooking the coast. However, there are too many clouds preventing us from appreciating the fantastic views of the sea, islands and the higher stretches of the mountain that one can see around here on a sunny day.

Clouds are floating all over the place which makes for a somewhat creepy experience.

We spend some 30 minutes and head towards the resort area. After another 7 km we reach a fork in the road and follow the road to the right for another 10 km until we reach the waterfalls, called Popokvil. The road is slightly better than the one leading to the villa place. Some stretches are paved and others covered with small stones. We don’t see anybody besides a couple of Western tourists who are leaving with a pick up truck when we arrive. We lock the bikes and walk down to the waterfall and climb to its lower level. There is some sort of pool and we go for a bath in the brownish water.

We check the clock after this refreshing experience and find that it is late afternoon, maybe already too late to both visit the abandoned resort and make it back to the main road before dark. We decide to give it a try, hurry back to the folk and follow the road to the left for a few kilometers to the resort area.

We ride to the old casino, park the bikes and explore the building and its surroundings.

Unfortunately we cannot appreciate the stunning views from up here that range from Vietnam to Sihanoukville, due to the clouds. Nevertheless, this building in the midst of clouds floating around makes for a fascinating atmosphere.

We ride back and stop at the old church. It looks as if it is made of red bricks but in fact it is built entirely from concrete, including the altar.

It is now early evening, close to sunset. It is getting dark rapidly also due to clouds and the thick forest along the road. We ride straight back towards the entrance gate of the park, passing the fork and the villa area. It is almost dark by the time we pass the villas and we rely on the rather weak headlights of the motorbikes. Despite these light conditions we speed up and ride fairly fast, first in order to get as far as possible with daylight, then because we have gotten into racing mood.

However, at about half of the way to the main road Uwe realizes that his back tire is flat. There is nothing we can do about it at this point other than to continue riding down the road, now slowly. We keep riding through the dark forest, on the broken road and at very slow speed, until we reach the ranger station at the bottom of the mountains. We meet some rangers and they advise us to go back on the main road towards Kampot and to stop at a repair shop about 3 km from here.

This is what we try. However, we find that the only businesses that are still open at this time of the day are restaurants. We do not find any repair shop and ride back all the way to Kampot. We go straight to the mechanic who has fixed my bike earlier. The shop is closed but the people are still there and we leave the bike with them to fix it in the morning.

My buddy Uwe has just arrived in Phnom Penh for a joint 4 weeks Southeast Asia trip. Our somewhat ambitious plan is to start with a three day motorbike trip to Kep and Kampot in Cambodia, while our visas for Laos, Burma, Vietnam and are being processed in Phnom Penh, and later to visit all these countries in that order.

I have been to Kampot and Kep (Kaeb) a number of times (Kampot and Kep – Ein Tag am Meer, Phnom Penh to Kampot, New Year at Bokor, Caves in Kampot, Sunset in Kep, Swimming at Toek Chhou, By Motorbike from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh via Kampot), but always went on National Road 3. According to the map, National Road 31, which departs from Road 3 about half way from Phnom Penh to Kampot and leads more directly to Kep, is under construction. Contrary to the map, a number of people told us that the road has long been finished and now makes for a comfortable ride.

We leave in the early afternoon with two motorbikes. There are few clouds by the time we leave and it is fairly hot. We follow National Road 3 to the south. More clouds appear and after some time there is a bit of rain here and there but luckily, it does not start raining strongly.

This is when we stop for the first time to buy some petrol.

We keep following National Road 3 until we reach the fork where National Road 31 departs to the right. We stop and have a snack.

We find out very soon that Road 31 is in very good condition, in fact in much better condition than Road 3, since it is wider, very even and has no potholes. Besides, there is much less traffic. And finally, the landscape along the road is more appealing, with a number of mountains, some covered with forest and some rock formations with bizarre shapes.

We pass the railroad a number of times and come across a number of villages and one or two towns.

Uwe

After some time, we assume that we are already close to Kep, we arrive at another junction. After we talk to some locals we learn that we have to turn left sharply. According to the map, we leave road 33 here and proceed for the last few kilometers to Kep on Road 33A.

We have checked the guide books and decided to spend the night in the “Le Bout du Monde” guesthouse. However, when we arrive there we learn that it is temporarily closed, because the French owner went to Phnom Penh. Therefore, we go to a small hotel next to the beach where I have spent the night on a previous trip to Kampot. We get a clean double room with balcony and sea view at modest $7 for one night.

After a short break we take the bikes and cruise the road along the beach to the east.

We visit the Royal Residence on the way back. The building looks largely abandoned, no idea when any King was here for the last time. We find a family whose members are having diner and appear to live here. Maybe the husband serves as guard. At any rate, we donate a dollar and are allowed to walk around and enjoy the nice view from a number of terraces overseeing the sea.

It is now almost dark and after some time we ride back to the hotel. We have diner, including some drinks, in the restaurant that is attached to the hotel, while listening to Khmer pop music. The food is very good and the service friendly.

Today is Thursday and I want to ride back to Phnom Penh in the morning. In fact I want to be in the office in the afternoon. Now that I came to Sihanoukville on national road 4 I want to return via Kampot, which is along national road 3. The guide books suggest that this road is covered with bomb craters which make for a bumpy and time-consuming ride. However, people in the guesthouse told me that the road is ok, so I give it a try. It is the first time that I ride on national road 3 between Sihanoukville and Kampot.

I start at about 8 and by that time it looks clouded and rainy, after it has been raining all night. National roads 3 and 4 depart about 30 from Sihanoukville and I am familiar by now with the stretch of it between here and there. I am glad it does not start raining.

This is where I turn right to follow national road 3 to Kampot, along the coastline. It is raining over there along a chain of hills.

The road is indeed excellent.

However, parts of it are flooded from the strong rains last night and covered with substantial amounts of water. However, most of the time I can ride fast.

The road continues to be very good for some time and there is not much traffic. The landscape on both sides of the road is truly beautiful, the mountains to the left and the sea to the right.

There are some rural homes along the road but not many and I see few villages.

After I leave national road 4 I ride for just about 30 minutes when road conditions change dramatically. The wide lanes turn into a narrow secondary road which in many of its parts is not paved. Besides, there are indeed huge holes in the road once in a while.

I come across many construction sides, too, and assume that this road will be upgraded soon.

Obviously, the state of the road forces me to ride slower than I had anticipated. In addition, traffic increases and so does my concern that I won’t make it to the office directly after lunch time.

After some time I reach what looks like a town, assuming this must be somewhere between Sihanoukville and Kampot.

It is only when I see a bridge over a big river that I realize that I just arrived in Kampot. I stop at the river close to the bridge and drink some water.

Then I continue the trip. From now on I am familiar with the road, as I have been to Kampot with the motorbike twice. The surroundings of national road 3 are particularly appealing at this stretch of the road between Kampot and Phnom Penh, not least due to the hills on both sides of the road..

I stop once in a while to take a picture. The land around here is very dry. I keep reading in the newspaper that there is a shortage of water in the provinces closer to Phnom Penh and that the rainy season is late this year.

The road is fairly good most of the time, and increasingly so the closer I come to Phnom Penh.

It is about 40km before I reach Phnom Penh that I have a break and drink some water in this town.

Then I ride to Phnom Penh. As usually, the last part of the journey is very slow and hectic, in the dense and chaotic traffic in the outskirts of Phnom Penh. I am very tiered when I reach the apartment.

It turns out that I was lucky, as it starts raining heavily shortly after I arrive. It keeps raining for some time, which gives me the opportunity to rest before I leave for the office.

After we return to Kampot I hang out with Gabe on the terrace of the guesthouse again. He is determined to meet Tamey and Jamey in Sihanoukville and leaves the guesthouse after a few hours. After I did not sleep all night I do not feel like traveling to Phnom Penh today. So I talk to Klang, the guide and driver at the guesthouse, and we agree to meet in the afternoon to see some of the caves in Kampot. And to visit Kep to see the sun setting there.

Klang and the owner of the guesthouse give this dog a wash, which the dog enjoys very much.

So in the afternoon I take Klang on the back of my moto and we ride on the road to Kep. After some kilometers we turn left and find Phnom Chhngauk.

Getting some petrol in Kampot before we leave.

This is the first cave we visit. The temple inside was initially devoted to Shiva and is about 1400 years old. We spend some time exploring the main hall. There are other tunnels at the back of this cave but right now both of us do not fee like getting into caving. A number of monks enter the cave and I talk to them for a while. Their pagoda is only about 6 km away but it is the first time they come here.

Main hall with the temple to the left.

Temple

This hall is very high and the impression one gets while looking up to its roof is not unlike the feel of a gothic cathedral.

This is when the monks arrive.

This is the view from the gate of the cave.

The monks pass when we start the moto. Usually it is considered insensitive to take pictures of monks. However, this time I ask whether I can take a photo and they agree. For the picture to be decent they have to adapt their clothing which takes some time.

The next two caves are in this mountain.

Those caves are dark and there are a number of bats. I brought my flashlight and we spend some time in the cool cave before we leave the place and travel to Kep. There is not much to see inside and there is not much light which makes taking pictures difficult.

This cave is called elephant cave, because this rocks inside has the shape of an elephant’s head.

This is another cave of which I do not know the name anymore. It is only a few minutes away from the elephant cave. Inside there are a number of religious objects, like the Buddha in the center of this picture.

The landscape along the coastline in Kampot is somewhat different in that there are mountains. Kep is a town built by the French to provide space for their holiday residences. Today, many of those houses are seriously damaged and empty. Still, the place has its appeal. Moreover, the only beaches I have seen so far in Cambodia are in Kep, since I never went to Sihanoukville or Koh Kong. Klang wants to ride the moto and I get the backseat and try to take some pictures.

This building used to be the King’s holiday residence. However, he did not come here for many years and the house looks rather abandoned.

The view from up here is remarkable: one can see the sea with fishermen’s’ boats, the beach, and many small islands.

It is not yet time for the sunset and we decide to go on a ride through the town before returning here. This is the road along the coastline, with the characteristic statue of a naked woman in the center of the picture.

We have a drink at a food stall close to the beach, before we return to Sihanouk’s residence. This is Klang on the moto.

Sunset viewed from Sihanouk’s residence.

After the sunset is over we get on the bike and ride back to Kampot. It is getting dark rapidly. Once in a while we pass places where the grass is burning.

We ride back to the guesthouse. The owner has grilled two ducks and invites me to join for diner. We drink some whiskey and later I decide to go out for a bit with Klang and Khey, another guide. The three of us ride together on the dirt bike. I leave driving to Khey, who knows well how to do it.

It is after 12 am when we arrive back at the guesthouse.

Initially I wanted to ride back in the morning to be in Phnom Penh by lunchtime. Yet Klang and Khey persuade me to spend the noon in Kampot and leave to Phnom Penh after lunch. They want to go to Toek Chhou, a place at the river with some rapids where one can go for a swim. I have extensive breakfast and later we leave.

We come across hundreds of students who either go home for lunch break or return to school. This is a common view all over Cambodia. And a very characteristic one, because student are dressed similarly. The three of us are traveling on one moto again and Khey is driving.

The landscape is not without its appeal.

Klang and Khey on the moto. Again, the three of us are traveling on just one moto.

We reach the place where two other tourists are already having a swim. We order food for later and find a place in the shadow to hang out. Klang and Khey start doing their laundry while I go for a swim and hang out with those tourists. It is a young couple, he from the US and she from England. Both work as English teacher in Phnom Penh.

Later two boys appear with self made harpoons. We spend some time trying to talk to them and to understand how they construct those harpoons. Later they go fishing and catch a number of small fishes within very few minutes. This is surprising because those fishes are really small and difficult to hit with this self made weapon.

Later our food arrives. We have company from a mid aged lady from French. She is traveling alone and came with a local guide. She had spent much time in India and Cambodia teaching blind people massage so that they can make a living.

We have food and talk for some time and than ride back to the guesthouse. I pack my stuff, get ready and leave. Again there are only about three hours left before it is getting dark.

I keep riding without having a break. I am surprised to reach Phnom Penh after not much more than 2 hours. And it is the first time nothing on the moto broke during the entire trip. Phnom Penh Bike Shop is still open and I bring back the bike and ride home with a moto taxi.

I get up by 7:30 and have breakfast at 8 am. I meet Gabriel, a 22 years old American guy and a couple from France. We spend the noon talking in the guesthouses restaurant on the roof again. And we enjoy the sight of the surrounding mountains. Later the French people leave and I hang out with Gabe for some time. Both of us want to go to Bokor Mountain to joint the party. Ye we are both not sure how we want to get there and how we can spend the night. Gabe manages to persuade me to take him on my bike. So we assume we won’t be able to sleep at night anyway. So we leave our sleeping bags and stuff in the guesthouse. And we reserve a room for the next day.

People and guide books alike suggest that the road up the mountain is difficult to ride. Most people go by truck. So I am not very comfortable with traveling with two persons on the bike. Moreover, it is usually much more fun to do the bumpy stretches alone.

It is already 1:30 pm when we go to the market. We buy some food and water and have lunch. We leave at about 2:30 pm to Bokor, which is just about 35 km from here. The first part is paved road and easy traveling. We cross the river and follow National Road 3 through the picturesque landscape, following the coastline on one and the mountain range on the other side of the road. Then we turn right and get onto a rough, unpaved road up the mountain. After we pay $5 each to enter Bokor National Park. The road is mostly unpaved and sandy, covered with small and medium sized stones which make it a bumpy ride. I cannot pay much attention to the environment. We pass mostly through dense forest, while climbing up the road with many turns. While we get higher we recognize the beautiful surroundings, the coastline with a number of mountainous islands and the wooded mountain range along the mainland. Many birds make the forest a noisy place. Generally, it seems the road was improved on its worst stretches, making it relatively easy to ride. There is significant traffic in both directions, mostly motos and trucks. I use the horn a lot in the turns. Sometimes we get stuck in the dust behind slowly traveling trucks, frequently with soldiers on its back.

With Gabe in the market.

On the way up to Bokor Mountain.

After a one hour ride we reach a small, abandoned pagoda like building, with a number of people with moto bikes hanging out. We have a break, too and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Later I meet Vuth and Dara, who just arrive from a multiple day moto cross trip with a Frenchman. As there is some time left before it gets dark we decide to visit the waterfall first, which is another 30 minutes from here. We hang out for some time and then ride to the old Casino on the top of the mountain, where the party is going to take place.

This is at the waterfall.

There is not much water at this time of the year.

Dara, the French guy, and Vuth

Kind of tired.

Sunset is over by the time we reach the top of the mountain. There are a number of buildings up here, including the abandoned casino, a church and a pagoda.

We have to pay another $5 each entrance fee before we are allowed to enter the compound of the casino. There are maybe some 200 people, with many dirt bikes around and some trucks and tents. People are still arriving and hang out in many places. I park the moto and walk around for a bit to take pictures in the remaining day light.

There are some clouds but lower than the summit of the mountain. The sun has set down and the last light colors those clouds.

The old casino and its abandoned look offer an odd contrast to the natural beauty of the surroundings. People hang out all over the place, inside, on the terraces and in the grass. There is loud music and the DJs are setting up their equipment. A huge fire burns in the old fireplace.

This is at the backside of the casino. People came on all sorts of vehicles but mostly on dirt bikes and trucks. Some people where smart enough to bring their tents. I learnt that it is the third time this party is taking place and a number of people are here for the second or third time. I get to talk to a number of people and most of them turn out to be of French or American extraction. Those people are young and a majority of them rather tourists than expatriates. I would estimate about one third of the crowd is Khmer, among them many teenagers and men who seem to be here for business rather than enjoyment.

People are still arriving and their headlights can be seen from far away.

After I explore the site I meet Gabe again. We come across two girls who turn out to be American, like he, and 22 years old as well. Jamey and Tamey are twins. They hang out at a small wall which separates the garden from the cliff. Entertainingly there are two holes in the ground, one about 80 cm deep and the other as deep as two meters. Those holes cannot be recognized when coming from the other side. So while people pass by a considerable number of them falls into those holes, which really is a funny thing to see. Of course we warn them but most are unwilling or unable to listen to us.

People come and go, we are having drinks and talk, time goes by and taken together I find myself quite comfortable. However, it is getting colder and a strong wind is blowing constantly. The climate up here is significantly different from the lowlands.

Still later we go and dance, walk up to the terrace and explore building and surroundings. We are inside when the New Year starts but there is no countdown or anything that would indicate the significance of the moment. Only music.

A few fires are burning around the building, with groups of people sitting around them. Later we find ourselves sitting with a number of people around one of those fires. We have no choice but to get closely together due to the cold. There are all sorts of people from Canada, Ireland, Britain, France and so on. Generally I am surprised about the seemingly high level of education among people attending such events. There are doctors and scientists and many students. Jamey and Tamey, for example, study and teach at Berkeley in California.

Given those temperatures there really are not many options other than sitting around the fire. I was lucky enough to bring my windbreaker as well as two long sleeves. Others where less fortunate and some people are here with just t-shirts, shorts and sandals.

When we sense the first sign of sun rise we leave the casino and find us a rock a few hundred meters away, from where we can observe the beginning of the first day of the New Year. Only slowly it is getting brighter. Than the sun appears. It is rising rapidly, changing the appearance of the mountain with it and warming us.

The first sun rise of the New Year. This is how the future looks like.

We walk back to the casino. Music is still on and many people start packing their stuff together already. We hang out for another hour or so, getting warmer and having some coffee.

Than I leave, again with Gabe on the back of my bike, to Kampot. Again and not surprisingly there is significant traffic on the road. Riding down this mountain is much easier than riding up and I enjoy it. Finally we get stuck behind two huge trucks whose drivers are unwilling to let us pass. Only at the bottom of the mountain we can pass them and travel back on the paved road to Kampot.

Some weeks ago Dara and Vuth had told me there would be a massive yew year party at the casino on top of Bokor Mountain in Kampot province. They told me they would go and asked whether I would join. I agreed and reserved a bike at Phnom Penh Bike Shop for December 29. I just gave back the (pretty used up) Honda Baja yesterday to lucky! lucky! Today I find at the Phnom Penh Shop that only one bike is left, which is a Honda Degree. Those bikes are the most common, cheapest and in many cases oldest dirt bikes available in Phnom Penh. Yet at this point it is not likely that I get a better bike anywhere else and I take it.

Furthermore I learn that Dara, Vuth and the owner of this shop have left already to hit Kirirom National Park on the way to Bokor. I have been to Kampot but never saw Bokor before. And I do not mind having a special New Year party. After I get the bike I decide to leave the next day, to go the 150 km to Kampot. This gives me more time to spend in Kampot and I assume there are fewer crazy people on the road heading to this party. Kampot is a three hour trip from Phnom Penh, mostly on National Road 3. The plan is to go some time the next day the remaining way to the top of Bokor Mountain. The road up to the summit of the mountain is said to be difficult.

It is only by 2:30 pm when I leave at home in Phnom Penh, after I packed my stuff and tied it to the bike. After not even 500 m I ran into a police check point on Norodom Boulevard and of course the police men pull me over vigorously. One of the officers points at the place on my bike where the plate belongs. The plate is missing. I did not see that before and feel a bit guilty. However, a strong majority of vehicles in Cambodia does not have a plate. I tell the officers this is a rented bike and the plate is not my business. They insist that I pay and so I pay the modest 8000 Riel. Than I leave to Kampot south on national road 3.

As usual, after I pass the outskirts of Phnom Penh I can increase the speed and travel pretty fast. I come across many road construction sites all the way along the way to Kampot provincial capital. Where the road is not paved this involves a lot of dust.

This is still close to Phnom Penh.

This is after I passed Tram Kak and before I reach Chhuk.

To make sure I reach Kampot before it is dark I keep riding more than half the way without a break. Only about 50 km before Kampot I stop in a village to have some rest. I order coffee and get some food in the market. Then I site down at this stall at the roadside and eat. The owner and her daughter do not speak English and I practices my few Khmer words.

Later a lady comes along and starts talking to me in Khmer. I feel she behaves quite offensively. She inspects my nose and arms and keeps talking to me in Khmer. The owner of the place and her daughter seem to feel embarrassed by this lady’s behavior but don’t intervene. The lady does not go away and keeps talking to me. This goes on for some time. I feel uncomfortable but try to enjoy my coffee and a cigarette. At some point I take a picture of her, to do something. She does not stop bothering me. Only after about 20 min. she leaves, after I tried to consistently ignore her. I want to point out that the way this lady related to me is quite opposite to the way I usually encounter Khmer women and in fact Khmer people, who tend to be rather shy and soft spoken. Later the owner’s son arrives. He is 16 and studies English. He translates for his mother that the lady is crazy. Later I leave, too.

Crazy lady.

I have been riding this road just about four month ago. But it looks quite different. This road is being overhauled and broadened all over the place. There are stretches with many potholes but most of the time it’s a decent ride.

The landscape changes gradually with more small mountains and mountain ranges the closer one comes to Kampot.

Once in a while one comes along a Mosque.

It is already late afternoon and I am still riding. Shadows are getting longer. On one occasion I ran into a very deep pothole which I did not recognize before it is almost to late.

When I arrive in Kampot provincial capital the sun is about to set. This is close to the market.

The Mealy Chenda Guesthouse seems to be all right according to the guide books. I quickly find it and get a decent room with bath room and van for $4. I hurry up to the terrace to take a few pictures while the sun is setting down behind the mountains.

I have some rest and later go to the terrace again to hit the restaurant. Before I reach there I get to talk to Klang, works as guard and taxi driver. For tomorrow he offers a ride with the truck from the guesthouse to Bokor Mountain for $12. While we discuss I recognize Phillip on the next table, a traveler from Germany who I met in Kampong Thom some weeks ago. He is talking to a guy from Canada and I join them. We have food and talk for some time. None of those guys intend to go the Bokor Mountain the next day.

So I end up spending the evening with those guys on the terrace. We talk a lot and when we decide to go to bed I still don’t know how to go about tomorrow.

I met Katrin a couple of times, who is consultant and works on indigenous land rights. Once I met her with Dietmar who is on a South East Asia backpack like tour. As it happens, Katrin has some passion for big motos and a friend who is into motos, too. Dietmar wants to travel to the south and see Sihanoukville. So we thought it would be a good idea to travel to Kep over the weekend, which is a small town at the ocean.

We start with a breakfast at the Foreign Correspondence Club (FCC), which is a place that is at the riverfront, sort of expensive frequented by foreigners who can afford it l to hang out here.

This one is taken from the balcony at the backside of the FCC to the east. On the opposite side of this square is the National Museum. The building to the left is most likely among what remains from the French. In the center is a place where people play soccer in the morning and evening.

After the breakfast it takes us some time to get our bags together and fix them to those motos. We are four persons and travel with three motor bikes. Tobi, Katrin’s friend is the most experienced driver and takes Dietmar. And we distribute the bags nicely among the three bikes.

We are not in a hurry and once in a while we have a break. At this point one of the bags had loosened and we lost one of the rain jackets. However, when we stopped this Cambodian guy stops as well to hand over the jacket which he had apparently collected for us on the road. This is characteristic for this particular sense of honesty among the majority of Cambodians. Some Cambodians keep telling me I should not trust the people on the ground. However, my experience is that people are extraordinarily honest and have never disappointed my trust.

At this point we have still about 2 hours to go to Kampot. The road is in a good shape, there is actually not so much traffic and driving is a very enjoyable affair under these conditions.

This is about half an hour before we arrive in Kampot. The landscape as well as the climate appears to be significantly different from Phnom Penh. There are a number of mountains which are covered with forest. It is cooler compared to Phnom Penh and the closer we get to the coast the more it looks like it will rain soon.

In the foreground is bridge in Kampot and in the background some of those mountains. It seems to be raining over there.

This is the Marco Polo guesthouse, where we have a drink. They have excellent pineapple milkshakes. However, we decide not to stay in Kampot but to go to Cape, which is a town abound half an hour from here. We try to call a guesthouse or hotel their and use any of the numbers provided in three recently published tourist guide books. However, none of them works out. So we decide to go there rather sooner, find accommodation and have some sort of lunch.

Once we arrive there it does not take us long to find a hotel with rooms for $6 which are nice and clean. This is located directly at the sea. It would be wrong to say at the beach, because at this point there really is nothing like a beach. We have only a short break and then go to a place at the coast where there really is a beach. In addition there a small huts where one can sit and order food. For obvious reasons the local specialty is seafood.

This is when we order. We are lucky that Toby speaks Khmer quite well. So ordering becomes an affair of long consultation, recommendation and negotiation.

Possible locations to have food include on the beach, on the grounds on the street or in those huts. In either option one is sitting those mats. We choose the hut, because it is about to rain.

We are lucky that we managed to get here without having to cope with rain. Shortly after we sit down in this hut it starts raining, which involves strong winds. At the same time it is about to get dark. This picture is taken with longer exposure times out of the hut. Upfront is the road, behind the roach the beach and next to the beach the sea.

We are very hungry and we have ordered all sorts of food. This includes crab and shrimps, fish soup, all sorts of vegetable and rice as well as roasted chicken.

Altogether this meal is a time consuming affair and by the time we finish it is dark. There is a statue close by which pictures naked women. Those statues are rare in Cambodia.

This is the statue. From this perspective it looks sort of obscene.

This is at the backside.

Some people apparently cannot but climb it.

And some people take a call wherever they are.

However, we enjoy ourselves.

Shortly after that Dietmar and I kick of with two of the bikes to leave the couple alone. Our departure involved a funny choreography: the statue is located on a base in the water and can be reached via some sort of bridge. This bridge is fairly narrow and there is water at both sides. At the same time those motos where parked in a way that we had to turn them. .so apparently both of us tried to avoid starting the moto but prefer to sit on it and push it back and forth. This must have looked really funny and Katrin and Toby freaked out entirely.

We went back to the hotel to get some drinks and hang out in some hammocks which are located directly at the beach. Later we went to sleep.

This is the view from our window at the sea in the morning of the next day.

The hammocks I just mentioned are located in those huts.

Again we spend considerable time with having food. However, it is weekend and all of us where looking for the chance to recover from something.

Than we decide to go to the beach. However, we find a place where a trip to Rabbit Island is offered. We find the idea of visiting an island instead of the beach along the road appealing. Before we leave to the island we go to the local market to buy some fruits.

Then we go to the place where the boat is waiting. Those children are playing with a dead water snake.

Then we depart to the island. At this point it is about to start raining.

In the beginning of this 20 minutes ride it starts raining. Furthermore, it does not look like it will stop raining soon. Quite the opposite: it appears that more rain is coming. And this is infact what happened. In addition there is strong wind and some waves. However, that does not spoil the good mood on board.

This is shortly before we reach Rabbit Island.

Although there is not much beach in sight I thought this is a beautiful island. It is still raining when we arrive.

At the place where we reach the island there is a stable and rather wealthy house which might serve as some sort of guest house. Under the house a number of locals is playing pool.

We learn that the beach is on the other side of the island. So we go there to see it, while it is still raining.

After a short walk of about ten minutes we arrive at the beach, while it is still raining.

We decide to go for a swim. After that we hang out for some time on a bamboo rack at the beach. It is still raining. This does not bother us much since we are wet anyway. However, the rain is getting stronger.

This is one of the huts that is build close to the beach.

After some time we decide to go to this hut and wait for the rain to become weaker.

However, the rain does not become weaker.

Quite the opposite. The rain is getting stronger and it is storming.

I sort of like windsurfing and naturally I am always looking for spots and opportunity to go for it. Infact I experienced on many occasion that it is not that easy to find spots with daily strong wind and this looks like a cool opportunity, regardless of the rain.

So we decide to move into the hut.

We spend about one hour in this hut before the rain is getting weaker. We use the chance to move back to the boat. After all, we still want to arrive in Phnom Penh before it is dark.

A chance for the last shots on the spot. Behind those palm trees is the beach.

There appears to be dense vegetation on this island.

When we arrive at the boat it is still raining.

For the animals around here it is time for lunch.

We leave with the boat to the main island.

It is still raining and we are still in a good mood.

When we arrive at the mainland it is not raining anymore. We ride back to the hotel. When we pass the short band of beach at the road it is crowded with mostly local peoples going for a swim and having food.

We have lunch at the hotel. This is a slow process but we have time because it is raining again.

Then it stops raining and we kick off. We ride back to …. Dietmar has decided to stay here and travel to Sihanoukville alone, where he intends to meet a friend. We do not manage to convince him to travel back to Phnom Penh. Even though Dietmar forgot his teva sandals in Phnom Penh while the remaining pair of shoes was wet we failed to persuade him.

This is the place where we say bye to Dietmar. Than we drive to the petrol station and fill up the motos for the journey back. At this point it is already impossible to reach Phnom Penh before it is dark. At the same time those moto’s lights are not very bright and do not contribute much to safety.

However, now we are three people on three motos which allows for fast traveling. The way we are riding those motos cannot but be considered speeding. I actually think we are reinforcing each others bad driving behavior. So we are driving quite fast on this narrow road, passing all the other vehicles.

It is worth mentioning that all of us have the same type of motor bike, which is a Honda Degree. Compared to the bikes I rented earlier this one is lower and lighter, but it still has a powerful 250 ccm engine. To have a low and light bike is a practical thing because it allows to easier control the bike where there is mud, water and potholes on the road.

Later on there is a wider road with fewer potholes that allows for even faster speeding. We keep speeding and have only very few breaks to fix the bags properly to the bikes.

This is when it is getting dark. At this point it is still more than a one hour drive to Phnom Penh. However, we cannot continue driving like before. The power of the light of this sort of moto is rather limited and does not allow to really recognize what is going on on the road. At the same time all types of people, animals and things are on the street. In particular, people still keep traveling with ox carts and other vehicles without light. So we have to drive very carefully from here.

When we reach the better roads of Phnom Penh we can go faster again. After this long and tough ride I feel very comfortable with the moto and enjoy riding in fast in town. Lucky lucky is already closed and I decide to give back the moto tomorrow. For the time being we hang out in a new bar close to the national museum. At one point I visit one of the pizza restaurants at the riverside to pick up some happy herbs. We have some drinks before we go home.