The plan for the next two days is to take it easy and then to go back to Phnom Penh by bus. There is not much to report here and I limit myself mostly to pictures.

After I have breakfast I take a moto taxi and ride down to the beach. The sea is sort of choppy and the sky is covered with clouds.

After I have only a short rest I leave again, to the Occheuteal Beach. I get myself a deckchair and spend the next hours mostly with reading and sleeping.

There are a number of Khmer families and a considerable number of people with cameras offering the service of taking pictures of other people enjoying themselves.

At some point I have lunch. Later dark clouds emerge and it starts raining and storming heavily, although for only a rather limited period of time.

Later in the afternoon I leave to visit Snake Island. Unlike on the occasion of previous visits here I see a good number of monkeys.

It is getting dark already when I leave, to the Chez Claude guesthouse. This guesthouse is rather mid to upper range at $20 per night. However, it is located on a hilltop opposite Sokha Beach and has a beautiful view in all directions. It is interesting in terms of architecture, too, as it assembles a number of bungalows from a wide range of styles. There are many stairs to climb.

In the evening I talk to one of the guesthouse staff about the possibility to do a boat trip to a number of islands. He tells me that at this time of the year there are no such trips because there are strong winds and frequent storms.

The next day, weather is nice and sunny in the morning and I visit one of the places at Victory Beach where I have seen boats before. Indeed I find a boat and a captain who is willing to do a multiple hour trip to three islands for $25. The engine turns off a number of times after we start.

The first of the three islands is very close to the mainland and I assume it is Kaoh Pos (Koh Puh). We pass along its coastline and there is a nice beach in a park-like green setting in a bay, and nobody seems to be there. There are considerable waves and the rather small boat is moving up and down.

Sihanoukville.

There are now very considerable waves. I can see that the next island we are going to visit is a couple of kilometres away, and that there do not seem to be many boats around.

We pass a small island where a concrete structure seems to be under construction.

I find the sea is really rough and ask the captain whether he thinks it is a good idea to visit the other islands. He says it is ‘difficult’. After some time we decide to turn around and go back to visit Kaoh Pos.

The captain offers a diving mask and fins and I go for an extended swim. Later I walk along the coastline for some time.

Our boat.

Then I walk back. On the way I come across a local police post. I imagine that it is nice being stationed here work wise, as it is an appealing place and there is not much to do.

Police post.

The engine seems unwilling to operate again when we leave the island.

The captain agrees on $15 for the trip as the involved distance was pretty small. I have some food at the beach and hang out for a while. Later I take a moto taxi and go to the Snakehouse. This is a combination of a guesthouse, restaurant and zoon. Visitors can see various animals, most of them snakes.

Those are cobras.

There is a restaurant which is nicely decorated, with some big jars covered with glass in which there are snakes. I find that the food is very good and prices are reasonable.

This crocodiles is right next to one of the tables.

I stop once in a while on my way home to take a picture.

The other day I bought a ticket for the ‘big bus’ to Phnom Penh for just $3 in the guesthouse. This is good value, given that you have one seat just for you in an air conditioned bus that is considerably faster, and more comfortable than the minibus. It may even be safer and I hear that there is insurance covering damage to passengers injured due to an accident.

I pack my stuff, have breakfast early and go by moto taxi to the place where the bus leaves. I find a comfortable seat in the back of the bus which leaves not too much after schedule. I use the opportunity to sleep for a bit.

The bus stops exactly where the minibus stopped on my way to Sihanoukville. This is at about halve the distance between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville.

This is inside the bus.

The landscape that passes by outside the window looks very dry for most of the time.

Gate of a factory along the road. During lunch time we come across a number of factories where break just started and masses of mostly female workers walk out of the gate. Due to the speed I fail to take a good picture.

This is a checkpoint where fees are being collected for using the road. The existence of these checkpoints is subject to controversy among politicians of various parties.

This is where national roads 3 and 4 depart some kilometres outside of Phnom Penh.

Pictures of King Sihamoni at the roadside.

Car dealer just outside Phnom Penh. There are many of them around here.

Phnom Penh Waterpark.

Back in Phnom Penh: Around Central Market.

I ride home with a moto taxi.

It is weekend again and I decided to visit Sihanoukville once more, after I have been here only few weeks ago. I also decided to travel by public transport this time, mostly for convenience. It is too late to catch the early buses so I chose to go by minibus. Initially I go to the Central Market where I don’t find a minibus to Sihanoukville but people who show me the place from which these buses leave.

One minibus is about to leave. I pay for two seats, again for convenience (at 5$ each, which is far too expensive, which I learn later on, anyway).

This is the mini bus before it leaves. People fit a lot of luggage into the bus and are just about to attach a motor bike as well (well, other people fit more than twice the amount of luggage into and on similar busses). It starts raining and I am glad I did not go by motorbike.

This is along national road 4, on which I rode only few weeks ago with the motorbike to Sihanoukville.

This is in Kampong Speu, provincial capital of the province with the same name. I am sitting upfront. As a result of paying for two seats, only three people sit upfront, rather than four or five.

Along the road, somewhere around Kirirom National Park.

It starts raining again, pretty strongly, and I am glad again not to be riding the bike right now.

We stop at a restaurant after we drove about half the total distance to Sihanoukville. We have been going very slowly and by now I expect to arrive only in the evening. From here is still 125 km away. It is raining. The place is located at a mountain range and for this reason, clouds seem to accumulate here.

Then we continue the trip, even slower because of the mountains. It keeps raining for some time. Besides, the scenery is pretty and green.

The rain is getting stronger. There is no glass in the window of the door next to me and it is getting pretty wet. People tighten a kroma across the window but it does not remain there for long and it keeps raining into the bus, right next to me.

Once in a while we stop and people get off the bus at places along the road.

It is getting dark and I cannot take pictures anymore. We continue to travel rather slow, increasing numbers of people get off and on the bus, which sometimes takes a lot of time. It is about 8pm when we finally reach Sihanoukville.

I go by moto taxi to the Sovannphoum guesthouse, where I stayed last time around, too. I have diner and spend the evening reading.

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.

The plan for today is to do the boat trip in Ream National Park (Preah Sihanouk National Park). I agreed yesterday with the park rangers to meet today at 8 in the morning and go together to the place where the boat leaves, which is where the river crosses national road 4, some kilometers outside Sihanoukville. We agreed also that I would pay $20 for the trip. The official price is $25, regardless of how many people go.

I ride to the ranger headquarters and from here with one of the rangers to the post from which boat trips start.

This is the post.

I learn that the establishment of the park was funded by UNDP, DANIDA, and other organizations. There are a number of posters and pictures on the walls, among them one with the park’s well defined goals and objectives.

Down there is the boat that we will take.

I start the trip in the company of two rangers.

After we have passed the few houses close to the road there are no indications of human settlement. Dense trees and mangroves cover both banks of the river.

I learn that only one family lives in this ‘village’. There are a number of villages in the park. Most of these people have been here before its establishment and communities participate in park management.

Another village.

Once in a while we come across people in boats.

Another village.

There are more settlements and boats around where the river flows into the sea.

These guys are diving for sea food on the ground of the river.

We go for some time along the coastline and stop at one of the beaches. Nobody is here.

I go for a long swim, with the diving mask I bought yesterday in the market. The water is fairly clear and rather warm, at any rate, very pleasant.

Later some local show up and go for a swim, too. Khmers tend to bath with a lot of cloths.

After some time we leave. The ranger tells me that we walk from here through the forest, for just about half an hour, until we reach a village at the river, where we meet the other ranger with the boat again and head all the way back.

In the forest.

We are coming closer to the village.

The only local educational institution is this ‘Jesus School’. I learn that it is funded by a Korean organization.

We are arriving at the beach again. The hut in the center of the picture is a ranger station.

People are drying very small shrimps in the sun and we have a break and a snack.

Then we leave again with the boat.

This is when we arrive back at the ranger station, which is on the left hand of this bridge along national road 4.

From here I ride back to Sihanoukville. The – rather dated – Adventure Cambodia guide book recommends visiting Independence Hotel, which is located on the far northwest end of Independence Beach. The guide book suggests that this seven story building is vacant and a great spot for views and photos of the surrounding area along the beach.

I go to Snake Island. I still have to see the monkeys and I intend to walk from there to the Independence Hotel along the beach.

On Snake Island I do not see the monkeys, only some tiny dogs.

I walk along the river to the east, climbing over huge rocks for about 20 minutes.

The hotel is behind the tree in the center of the picture.

The hotel does not look vacant at all. In fact it looks pretty new. I talk to people and learn that the hotel has been renovated by an investor and inauguration will take place soon. It is not permitted to enter.

Then I walk back to Snake Island where I have parked the moto.

I ride back to the guesthouse where I have diner and spent the evening with reading.

The plan for today is to visit Ream National Park and possibly the Kbal Chhay (K’bah Chai) Waterfall just outside town. First I sleep long. When I want to leave the moto does not start. Even with the assistance of several guesthouse staff the engine does not start. I go with a moto taxi to the local big bike mechanic and ask people to join me to fix my bike.

This is one of the main roads in Sihanoukville. It looks like it will start raining soon.

Those fellows are going to fix my bike.

The huge statue of two tigers is one of the landmarks in Sihanoukville.

Those guys seem to know what they are going and after ten minutes the bike starts properly again. They charge me three bucks and I give them five.

I met a local student the other day in the market, Keang, who is willing to serve as a guide and show me around. Keang speaks excellent English and Chinese, too. I pick him up and then we head to Ream National Park. I read in the guide books that one can hike in the park or else take a boat. As Keang does not have an opinion we go to find out on the ground what the best options are.

After we ride for about 15 minutes I can see that there is strong rain right in front of me while there is nothing to cover and wait until the rain is over. In fact it looks like there has been a lot of rain recently, very much unlike in the provinces around Phnom Penh, where there are is serious drought in some areas.

So we turn around and ride back to a pagoda we have just passed.

Three elderly ladies who live on the compound of the pagoda …

… and some junior monks.

I spend about five minutes but it does not rain. So I try again. The sky looks just like before and it still seems to rain in the very same place. Not surprisingly, I get into strong rains after very few minutes. I can barely see the road but manage to take the turn to the national road. The rain stops suddenly only a few hundred meters later.

I follow the road for about twenty minutes, pass the airport which however is not in use and the road winds through rural and very green scenery with the sea in the background, easy and pleasant to ride.

At some point the road meets the beach and then follows just along the sea. As we have plenty of time we decide to explore the area in the other direction before following the road to the park. There is some sort of dirt road along the beach in this direction, but it is in a terrible state and difficult to ride. Much better is a ride on the beach and this is what we do. Tracks in the sand show that we are not the first ones to have this idea.

After not even one kilometer we pass a fisherman village and reach this bridge, which is not in good condition.

After only a few kilometer we reach another river but this time there is no bridge at all. The road seems to end here.

Keang.

So I turn around and head back. This is how the land looks like along the beach.

Some fisherman return from their work when we pass the bridge.

After we get back to the road I follow it for a number of kilometers. Food stalls with hammocks and deckchairs line the beach. There are few customers and those I see are virtually all Cambodian.

I follow the road until we reach a gate behind which there is the Ream Navy Base. The guard indicates that we are not supposed to enter. So I follow a road that leads uphill from here away from the coast and around the Navy Base.

We pass some villages and one pagoda. Occasionally we come across compounds of military facilities, with some huge canons parked outside. Access to those compounds seems free and nobody appears to be around.

This is in one of the barracks. Nobody is around.

I continue following the road along the coastline which initially is paved but later turns into a dirt road with mostly unpopulated, green areas on both sides of it. We follow the road for some time but as we do not know where it is leading I turn around after some kilometers and head back.

The beach is not far from here and I head there, lock the moto and we hike for some time along the shore. Opposite are some islands and once in a while a boat passes but other than that, nobody seems to be around.

We walk for some time but nothing suggests that it is going to become more interesting so we walk back and I go for a short swim. The water is clean and nice but too warm to be refreshing. Then we head back to one of the stretches along the beach where there are food stalls and hammocks.

We order some water and make ourselves comfortable in those hammocks. Not many people are around and most of them appear to be Cambodian tourists.

I spend some time reading. The owner of the shop tells me that it is possible to take a boat and spent the night on the island to be picked up again in the morning. I ask her about the national park but she says it is not possible to access it here, and she does not know where I can do it.

Once in a while a boat leaves or arrives.

I check the tourist guide and find that the headquarters of the park rangers is located close to the airport, only one kilometer after one leaves the national road. So we head back.

Coming from Sihanoukville, this is the intersection where you turn left, leaving the national road and get on the road along the coastline, and to the national park headquarters.

This is the sign on the right hand.

We find the headquarters with a number of park rangers. I learn that boat trips leave only in the morning. There are guided hiking trips of 2 or 4 hours which we can start immediately. Entrance to the park is $4. I opt for the 2 hour trip.

I go with Keang and one of the rangers, who is just about 18 years old. He tells me that he had just finished school and started working for the rangers. His major task is cooking and he is happy with it.

It is pretty hot at this time of the day and the guy walks quite fast, even uphill.

At first we walk through dry land with some bushes and trees and not much that seems to deserve special attention.

We come across this ‘water fall’, nice but also not very impressive. The guide tells me that there is another water fall of about the same size which however is not part of the 2 hour tour.

Then we climb one of the hills.

Over there is the coastline with some island close to it.

The road over there is national road 2 to Sihanoukville.

This is the national park, on the other side of the hill.

We walk down the hill on the other side of it where we find a small pagoda. There is a rock in front of it, with a wooden construction around it. I learn that people are in the process of working this natural rock into a statue of Buddha.

This is the statue of a tiger, also made of natural rock, but much smaller than the Buddha one.

In a long bend we walk back to the headquarters. At one point we come across those kids.

There is also a village and there are some dirt roads which are easy to ride with a moto bike, but I assume this is not the idea of creating a national park.

This is a newly built school, with a Chinese grave in front of it.

This is the airport. The ranger’s headquarter is located just opposite this building.

I spent some time in the headquarters, where there are maps of the park and all kinds of posters with pictures and information about endangered species in the park and other aspects of it. I also agree with them to come here tomorrow morning at eight, to go together to another ranger post at the river to go on the boat trip through the national park.

Then I head back to Sihanoukville.

On the way we pass the junction where a dirt road leads from the national road to Kbal Chhay water falls. As there is still plenty of daylight I decide to visit it.

This is the junction. When you come from Sihanoukville on the national road, you turn left here and follow the red dust road.

Watch out for this sign at the roadside.

This is on the dirt road along the way. It is easy to ride with any means of transportation and there is not much traffic.

We pass the entrance gate, where I am charged 3000 Riel ($0.75) without receiving a ticket before I reach the parking spot. There are some food stalls and a good number of local tourists.

I explore the waterfall for some time. There are very significant amounts of water involved which I learn will increase substantially during the rainy season. This is an attractive place and not least for this reason on the cover page of the ‘Adventure Cambodia’ guide book.

People enjoy taking pictures in front of the fall and some kids are swimming in the small pond at its bottom.

After some time we head back to Sihanoukville. Once we arrive there we ride up one of the mountains, hoping to find a place with a good overview to enjoy sunset. There is some sort of hotel or casino on top, but the view is not as nice as I was hoping.

This is the port.

There is a concrete replica of Angkor Wat. I have seen a similar model on the compound of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

After some time we ride down to the beach, to a place called Snake Island which is however not an island. I hear that there are no snakes but monkeys.

I do not see monkeys either.

Fishing boats are leaving at this time of the day.

I leave and ride to one of two pagodas in town, located on a hill and for this reason called Wat Loeh, or ‘the upper’.

A ceremony with traditional music is taking place inside, but none of the people around can explain to me what it is about.

This monument on the compounds looks in large part similar to the Angkor-style Independence in Phnom Penh, smaller copies of which can be found in various places in Cambodia.

I ride back to the guesthouse and do some reading before going to bed.

After the major part of my current assignment is done I decide to spend an extended holiday in Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville (Sihanouk Ville, Kampong Som) is where the white beaches and tropical islands are. Sihanoukville is also one of the few places in Cambodia with a high concentration of tourists and this has been among the major reason why I have never been there.

Sihanoukville is about 230km from Phnom Penh. My colleagues strongly advice me to go by bus. Yet I have been looking forward to do this trip by motor bike and decide not to take the bus. It may sound trivial, but during almost one year outside Cambodia, the idea of riding motorbikes in Cambodia became almost the essence of freedom to me. In practice I find it often tiring or boring, sometimes even painful, but in principle I still greatly enjoy riding the bike and opt for it whenever I can. I am also in the privileged situation of having Toby’s bike, so it is not a difficult choice. However, riding the bike gives me also a sense of vulnerability.

There are basically two options to ride to Sihanoukville: on national road 4, which is supposed to be the best road in the country, and on national road 3 through Kampot. I choose the first option, as it is the most time efficient, and because I have been riding on national road 3 to Kampot before, but not on national road 4 beyond Kirirom National Park.

As usually, the journey starts later than planned, after an extended breakfast. After that, I fill up the moto and head towards Sihanoukville. The first part of the trip is familiar, as I have been to Kirirom just about three weeks ago.

I take these pictures after I have been riding for about one hour.

It has been raining almost daily for about two weeks, but the landscape looks still fairly dry. This is one of the few places where I note an accumulation of water.

The road is really good.

This is a few kilometers before I reach the road that leads to Kirirom National Park, which is located at about 110km distance from Phnom Penh to the south.

Sihanoukville has the only deep sea port in Cambodia and since there is no railway network to speak of, a lot of goods are transported on this road with trucks.

The landscape turns greener and hillier after I pass the road to Kirirom.

Clouds are accumulating along the mountains, reducing direct sunlight which makes riding the bike a more pleasant affair.

There is not much traffic. While many well-of Cambodians travel to Sihanoukville on weekends, they tend to start much earlier than I do. Increasingly, the road leads up and down and big trucks struggle to make their way up the hills.

The road continues to be in excellent conditions.

I ride for about another hour and than have a short break.

This is how it looks like around here.

Shortly after I come across a junction with an accumulation of food and gas stands. I assume this is where road 48 to Koh Kong meets national road 4. I have a seat at one of the food stands and drink some water.

After a short break I continue my trip through green and hilly landscape.

Increasingly it looks like it will rain soon but it does not.

It is about 20km before I reach Sihanoukville that the engine turns off and for some reasons it does not start again. I use the unwanted break to study the map.

This is where the engine stops operating.

After very few minutes two cars crowded with Cambodians stop and ask what the problem is. I explain to them and they are extremely helpful. One of them removes one of the small pipes that lead from the tank to the engine. There is air in it and he lets it fill with petrol before he puts it in place again. After that we push the moto and he manages to start it. I am really grateful.

However, the engine stops working again after only very few kilometers. I repeat the procedure and manage to start without pushing. The same happens two or three times again until I come across the place of a moto mechanic. I point at the spot on the moto where the problem is according to my imagination and ask him to do something about it. There is a lever at the pipe from the tank to the engine which says ‘on’ and ‘off’. He brings this lever into a position somewhere in between. I am not convinced but the problem does not occur again (I will find out only after my return that there is a third position, ‘reserve’).

This is only a few kilometers before I reach Sihanoukville. It is the first time that I get to see the sea, and some tiny islands in it.

Down there is the port of Sihanoukville.

There are countless guesthouses and hotels in Sihanoukville. I checked the guide books before and opted for Sovannphoum guesthouse, a reasonably priced accommodation close to Ocheuteal (Occheuteal, Ocheateal, Ocheurteal) Beach. It takes me some time to find it. When I reach it, I get a decent room with Western bath, van and TV for $5. Later I see that there are rooms with TV starting at $3 but overall I am very satisfied with my guesthouse. It is a pretty late back location.

My back hurts from riding the moto all day and I decide to visit the local Seeing Hands massage place, where I get a very therapeutical 11/2 hour massage for reasonable 4.50$. It is dark when I leave. I ride back to the guesthouse, have some foot and later go and walk along the beach. There are many bars and guesthouses along a large stretch of the beach. Customers seem predominantly Cambodians, but I see some foreigners, too. Overall, most places are very empty. Later I come along a part of the beach where there are no bars and no people. Next to it, a new golf course is under construction. After some time I walk back to the guesthouse and go to bed.