This is the first of three posts describing a 4 day Khmer New Year motorbike journey along the loop Phnom Penh, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear, Stung Treng, Kratie, Kampong Cham, Prey Veng and back to Phnom Penh. This post deals mainly with a ride through the dry flood plains of the Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Southeast Asia, between Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Thom.

This is the plan: we ride the 92km from Phnom Penh to Kampong Chhnang already in the evening of Friday, planning to get up early the next day, cross the river with the ferry and ride through the flood plains to Kampong Thom. This trip is not mentioned in any of the guide books I use but I found a helpful account of it by Mac on Khmer 440. Without it, I would not have known that this trip is possible and it also has good clues as to how to do it.

It is around 8pm when we reach the Samrong Sen Hotel in Kampong Chhnang, after a 2 hour night ride from Phnom Penh. This hotel, which is recommended, is located on the ride hand side of the road to the port, a few hundred meters after you pass the market. For $8 we get very decent rooms with fan and TV in this new and well-run hotel.

Later we talk to hotel staff, to find out about the ferry schedule to Kampong Leaeng, a town on an island opposite Kampong Chhnang town that we will have to pass on our way to Kampong Thom.

However, the guys tell us that this trip is not possible and that they have not heard of people who did it. We keep talking and later go with one of them on the bike to the port, to ask people around there.

We stop in front of the police station and talk to the officers. More people join during the course of a rather confusing discussion. At first people tell us again that it is not possible to get to Kampong Thom this way. Even attempting this trip is dangerous and ‘crazy’, because there are bandits and robbers out there. The officers accompany this piece of information with raising their hands to their heads like guns and pulling virtual triggers. They also tell us that the ferry to Kampong Leaeng is not operating tomorrow, due to Khmer New Year. When we ask for private boats they say, at first, that boats cannot land on the island because there is not enough water and because there is too much forest.

Later other people say that we can find a private boat but that it is very expensive. If we really want to cross the Tonle Sap, we should ride back either to the Japanese bridge in Phnom Penh or the ferry near Udong Mountain. It seems to emerge from the discussion that the best option for us is to take a private boat for $50 to cover the 40km stretch from here to Prey Kri and to continue from there to National Road 6 by bike. This option is not nearly as attractive as our initial plan as it does not get us very deep into the flood plains and would mean that we end up doing much of the trip on the national road. We are still not convinced that our original plan is not feasible but decide to wait with decisions until after we have talk to the people actually operating the boats in the morning.

So we turn around and have a good diner in the Monorom Restaurant about 5 km to the West along the National Road, the only place that still serves food at this late time of the day.

Next morning we get up around 7, have breakfast in the Mekong Restaurant at the national road, fill up the tank and some extra 3.5 liter gas in plastic bottles, check out, pack our stuff on the bike and ride to the port again.

Kampong Chhnang town in the morning.

Leaving the Samrong Sen Hotel in the morning.

On the way to the port.

We find the port rather busy. We ride down to the place were the ferry usually launches, right at the center of the water front. Many people are waiting for boats, many of them dressed for visiting family and friends over the holidays. Again we are getting contradicting advice. Yet nobody can confirm the possibility of going from here to Kampong Thom. People tell us that the big ferry to Kampong Leaeng is operating but will leave only at 1 pm. Smaller and bigger boats come and go but seemingly none of them with our destination and/or not willing to take our bike on board.

At the port.

During the rainy season, those houses are standing in the water.

Maraile talks to moto drivers at the riverside and Cham, one of them, takes her to the Vietnamese owner of a small private boat. She is willing to give us a ride to Kampong Leaeng for $10. The quoted price seems quite high but we accept as it is Khmer New Year and we don’t want to give up on this adventure. Our attempts to get Cham and his family a free ride to Kampong Leang fails as the boat owner insists that they pay extra.

It takes a few minutes (and a little fear on my part) until our moto is safely on the boat. We reach Kampong Leaeng about 20 minutes later, after a scenic boat ride on the Tonle Sap river.

Fearful moments

We talk to our fellow passengers during the ride. Cham is a teacher at a local high school. He was trained for teaching mathematics and physics but now teaches English, due to high demand and little availability of suitable teachers. He is on his way to visit his wife’s parents in a village on the island.

Fellow passengers.

Cham tells us that it is only about 10 minutes from the ferry landing point to Kampong Leaeng village where one reaches a dirt road that leads in a loop all around the island (consistent with the map). This road is in good condition and it takes about 1 hour to make the loop by moto bike. Also Cham did not know that it was possible to go directly from here to Kampong Thom but unlike everybody else so far he encourages us to try.

During the boat ride.

Rich people on a luxury cruise of the Tonle Sap.

Kampong Chhnang riverside.

Floating houses.

Kampong Leaeng.

After we have cleared the bike from the boat we follow the dirt road through pleasant rural landscape. After 20 minutes we stop in a village. One boy among a bunch of youngsters we ask for the way offers to guide us to the ring road. It turns out that it is hard to miss. The road is in good condition and leads through beautiful countryside and a few villages along the way. There are boats of various sizes sitting on the ground. The soil is very dry and right now this area appears an unlikely spot for boats. We also pass a number of hills. Some of them have Chenla-times temple ruins on top of them but we decide to continue and make getting to Kampong Thom our priority for today. Mac’s report and the map suggest that the trail to Kampong Thom departs from this ring road at the northern tip of the island and next to a temple.

On the island circle route.

We stop in a village when we think we are close to the northern tip of the island. The response of a group of young women we ask for the way indicates that we should go back just about hundred meters where we can see a gate indicating the location of a pagoda.

We stop at a food stall next to the gate for soft drinks, hoping to get people to tell us how to find the way to Kampong Thom. A group of about 8 middle aged men sit inside and appear pretty drunk while a dozen younger villagers are standing around. We approach the older men first but they are too drunk to be helpful. But even the sober younger men and women we ask outside say that it is impossible to go from here to Kampong Thom. We spend about 20 minutes but people insist. Yet they do seem to be saying that if one wanted to try, the way started here at the temple.

The trail to Kampong Thom starts behind the temple at this gate.

Despite all the discouraging advice we decide to give it a try, now that it is still early in the day and that we made it here already. After we pass the temple the trail branches of into half a dozen trails leading through a small cluster of simple houses. We ask one or two people for the way and they point us to a trail that leads towards a hill after we have passed the village.

Right at the bottom of this hill the track turns right. For the next hour or so we follow what looks like a narrow and not very frequently used ox cart trail. It is dry and bumpy and in places has deep and hard prints from left by oxcarts. The kind of prints that make it hard to avoid getting stuck in them with the front wheel. To the right and left are reeds, tall as men, making it impossible to see what is beyond them virtually all along the way.

We stop for a short break after about one hour. It is already getting pretty hot and we realize how painful it is going to be that there is no shade for virtually all along our way today.

We continue for another 30 minutes or so until we reach a fork in the road. Since we have left the village we have not come across anybody. However, until here the way has been very unambiguous and it is easy to identify the widest and most frequently used trail on the few occasions were there is more than one way to follow.

Also here it seems obvious that the ‘main road’ turns right but we check out the alternative, just to be sure. After only a few meters the road ends at some sort of lake, or pond, or lotus flower field. There are people working in this field but too far away from us to ask them for the way. Since this trail (the left one in the photo above) obviously leads to a dead end there does not seem to be much to ask about anyways.

At a closer look it seems the guys in the field are applying chemicals from large containers they carry on their backs.

Now we take a right turn at the above fork and follow the trail for another couple of minutes and there is at least one more track branching of to the left until we reach another lake. There is a guy bathing in the water. He does not look very friendly at first but starts smiling when Maraile talks to him in Khmer. He tells us that the track from here to Kampong Thom is better than the one to Kampong Chhnang. He also tells us that it is only about 20 km or about 1 hour from here to Kampong Thom. We just have to backtrack a short distance and follow a track to the right hand (or the left from Kampong Chhnang) at an intersection between here and the first lotus field.

Happily we do as we are told. However, the trail we get on just 10 minutes later seems to have seen substantial rain lately and has long stretches where the track is filled with mud and water.

We keep following this track. There are easier and tougher stretches but overall, this trail is definitely not better but worse than the one we were riding on before. After about on more hour the high reefs along the track disappear and we enter plains with only short but green grass and a few bushes. The view over the plains is wide open, occasionally we see exotic-looking birds, large and small. The trail is pretty good around here and we can ride faster. There are a couple of tracks, sometimes crossing each other or running in parallel.

After about 30 minutes we have passed the plains and find ourselves again on a muddy track between tall reefs and with little view other than the sight of a few dozen meters of ox cart trail in between thick vegetation. We are in the middle of the day now and it is very hot. Maraile has to get off the bike frequently to walk particularly bad stretches.

After one of those struggles with the mud I feel that the heat is too much to take and want to pause instantly. I try to find cover from the brutally hot sun by squeezing myself under some reeds but find that it does not help at all. It is at this time that we realize that we have lost 1 of 2 bottles of water, the full one, while the other has half a liter or so left. For some time it appears impossible to me that under these circumstances I will be able to cool down enough to be capable of riding to Kampong Thom.

At this point I find the police men’s mentioning of robbers out here rather stupid. Who in his right mind would be waiting out here, having his brains fried in the merciless sun, to hold up the few people insane or desperate enough to make this trip, hoping that one day somebody actually carries anything of any value, with very few ways to get away from the crime scene, none of them quick or easy.

Increasingly I suspect that we have gotten onto a wrong trail. The experience of the last two hours sharply contradicts what the man at the lake told us, namely, 20km good track and 1 hour riding to get to Kampong Thom. We check the compass and find that the track we follow leads to the east, probably already for quite some time, while at this point we should be going pretty straight to the north. And it appears possible that we took a wrong turn while passing through the open plains about 30 minutes ago.

We decide to backtrack and check if there are other trails leading north. We find one very soon, also leading through thick and tall reefs but it looks too abandoned to be the link to Kampong Thom. We continue to backtrack and follow some of the other trails in the open plains. However, we find that all of them are basically variations on the same trail, not leading anywhere else.

After we have passed the plains again we discuss and decide to turn around again and follow the track we were on. It is possible that we got onto the wrong track after talking to the man in the field. But at this stage we don’t want to ride all the way back there and given a substantial number of tracks around here, this must lead somewhere close to national road 6 sooner or later.

We pass the point were we had turned around before and continue for at least another hour on the trail through the reefs, with lots of sun, no shade and plenty of mud on the trail. Over time the track widens and the number of different tracks increases, which also makes it easier to avoid the deep mud in some places. After one more hour the landscape is wide open again.

By this time we had fallen twice altogether with the bike into the mud. The first fall gets Maraile some bruises and myself slightly burnt skin on the right leg. The second fall breaks one of the mirrors. After we lift the bike it does not start. It does not give a sound although it does not seem that any essential parts broke or have become wet.

We start to worry but decide to give the bike some time and try again. The good news is that we check the compass and find that we are traveling north, which from here makes probably for the shortest distance to the national road.

Reluctantly we start pushing the bike to start it. We don’t get the engine started the first time but at least the starter is coming back. We try one more time and this time we manage to start the engine.

We continue until we arrive at a freshly dug irrigation channel that crosses our way and reaches from one end of the horizon to the other. Afar we can recognize a couple of excavators. These are the first signs of obvious and immediate human activity since we left the village on the island. We have a short break before we continue on the dirt road along the channel to the left (north).

Exhausted.

We keep going until we follow a neat 90 degree right-turn of both channel and road.

Now we see occasionally trees and finally, people and cattle. We stop a young couple with a child on one of these modern-day ox carts. They tell us that they, too, are on a trip from Kampong Chhnang to Kampong Thom. The latter is about 1 hour from here.

Now the ground is entirely dry and much of the trail sandy. In the distance we recognize hills, groups of trees and finally, houses.

We enter a village with a well-maintained dirt road leading right through it. We follow the road and stop at the first sign of beverages for sale. We stop and buy a coke each from the friendly vendors.

There is a well with a hand-operated pump nearby and a couple of young men having a bath. We use the opportunity for refreshment, too. Then we just sit for a while with the drink vendors and some locals, talk and play with their kid.

Oddly, the guy on the left holds a dead snake in his hand.

People tell us that the main road is just 5 minutes from here and from there it is only 5km to Kampong Thom. We leave and ride the little remaining distance to the Arunras Hotel, where we have a reservation for these smart rooms with balcony on the top floor.

The last kilometers to Kampong Thom.

We are coming on this dirt road and it is here where it meets the national road, pretty accurately 5km south of Kampong Thom.

This sign reads “6” (like in national road 6) and, below, “Staung 85”.

After some rest and a shower we meet Vothear, my long time friend and guide in Kampong Thom, for diner. He is getting married next weekend. During our discussion it emerges that Maraile will return to Phnom Penh tomorrow morning, while Vothear and I proceed to Stung Treng, via Preah Vihear Province.

Smart hotel room

Views from the balcony

The plan for today is to ride from Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri all the way back to Phnom Penh. This is quite a ride in terms of distance but fortunately the road is in good condition. Most of it is paved, much of it recently. We plan on first traveling to Snuol on Provincial Road 76, a distance of 135km on decent dirt road. From Snuol we follow the recently upgraded National Road 7 through Memot towards Kampong Cham.

About 12km before reaching Kampong Cham we turn south right after we pass Chob and follow Provincial Road 11 through Prey Veng to Neak Luong (Neak Loeang, Neak Loeung), a distance of almost 100km on paved road with little traffic through rubber plantations. The route through Prey Veng is a moderate detour but due to little traffic and the bending road a much nicer ride than the alternative National Roads 6 and 7. Moreover, these roads tend to be terribly jammed in the evenings, particularly during holidays such as today. We cross the Mekong River in Neak Luong and head back to Phnom Penh on National Road 1.

20.11.2005

We have breakfast at the Long Vibol Guesthouse and stop at a gas station in Sen Monorom to fill up and clean the bikes before hitting the road.

Sen Monorom in the morning

Cleaning and filling up the bike, checking tires.

Break along the dirt road to Snuol.

Toby stretching

The road is in good condition most of the time, though the ride is a fairly dusty one.

Myself

Becky and Toby

This is a few kilometers before we reach Snuol

Shortly after we reach Snuol where we get on National Road 7. This road is in mint condition and has little traffic, allowing for traveling at top speed most of the time and this is what we do.

Break to fill up the tanks of the bikes.

From here we ride to Memot, were we have a break and some lunch. A wedding is taking place and people have beautified the road side with colorful fabric.

Children are flying kites in a neighboring street

We keep riding towards Kampong Cham. At one point we come across this car which apparently has broken down. The driver has marked the spot with some wood only a few meters before and behind the car, and is in the process of repairing his vehicle right in the middle of the road.

I am having some problems with my bike. The engine starts stammering and after a few hundred meters, turns off. After some minutes I manage to start again but a few kilometers later the same happens again. This keeps happening a number of times. Its not the petrol since the other bikes are ok. I figure that the pipe between tank and engine is clogged. At some point we find a mechanic and stop to have it fixed. We use the chance to also clean the air filters of all bikes which are very dirty.

Roadside repair shop

My bike and young chicken

From here it is only a few kilometers before we reach Kampong Cham. We turn left (south) a few kilometers before Kampong Cham and follow Provincial Road 11 through Prey Veng. This road makes for a very nice ride, certainly compared to alternative National Roads 6 and 7. It is narrow but paved and leads through rubber plantations. We reach Prey Veng town, fill up the bikes again and continue, passing by the Ba Phnom area, follow the road along the Mekong River until we reach Neak Luong.

We realize that we are on a tight schedule if we want to make it to Phnom Penh before dark. We are lucky and manage to get onto the ferry right away.

However, National Road 1 between Neak Luong and Phnom Penh is in regrettable conditions, very narrow and bumpy and on top quite crowded. Accordingly we are traveling significantly slower. Inevitably, the sun is setting down and we are riding the last few kilometers to Phnom Penh in the dark.

We ride straight to the posh Foreign Correspondents Club at Phnom Penh’s riverside, were we have food and drinks and celebrate the exciting trip and the fact that we made it without getting hurt or lost.

The plan for today is to ride from Kaoh Nheak to Sen Monorom, where we want to spend the next night before heading back to Phnom Penh. This is the second part of our trip from Rattanakiri to Mondulkiri through forest and mountains. We get up fairly early and have breakfast, before we hit the trail again.

19.11.2005

Village in the early morning

Myself in the early morning

Breakfast in the neighbors’ house, in the company of a pig. We are lucky again as it is a sunny and dry day.

We visit the local school after breakfast and are delighted to find a new building with a teacher and two full classes, remarkable given the remoteness of the place and the overall state of education in rural Cambodia. We learn that children in this class have four different mother tongues.

Two of the villagers tell us that they are traveling in the same direction and are kind enough to show us the way.

After a few minutes the trail is getting challenging, fairly steep on some streches and still wet in shadowy places.

First break

Another break

This happened when I lean too much on my moto

Small village along the way

In another village, with a big logo of the ruling party CPP. We see few, if any, signs of the opposition party.

We reach a river. Luckily there is a ferry.

Here is how it works: You ride the bike carefully onto the ferry, keep seated and balance the bike while the ferryman walks the boat through the river the other bank. There is a rope put up between both banks to hold on to and keep the boat on track.

Becky and ox cart driver, looking at each other in mutual fascination.

Yet another village. A billboard informs about a WWF supported project in this area. Toby works for WWF and is familiar with the project, so we stop for some time and he talks with the people.

Local children

Toby with local staff of WWF supported project.

After some time we reach this bridge, which has a sharp bend right in its middle. We decide to have a break.

Right now there is little water in the river

Under the bridge: The construction does not look particularly trustworthy.

From here the track gets somewhat tougher.

Becky fall and her leg got stuck under the moto.

Katrin right after falling into the mud.

Nice spot for falling.

We continue riding until we hit a very nice, recently upgraded dirt road.

Becky kissing the ground and thanking the gods for sending this marvelous road.

From here it is only about half an hour to Sen Monorom.

Filling some more gas into the tank in order not to get stuck on the last few kilometers.

Road under construction

We reach Sen Monorom and ride straight to the Long Vibol Guesthouse. I have spent some nights here when I came to Sen Monorom about two years ago. I reported this trip here, here and there.

We visit a local restaurant to have diner and beer before going to bed early.

I have been looking forward to this part of the trip for a long time. During the next two days we attempt to travel from Banlung (Ban Lung) in Rattanakiri to Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri, straight through forest and mountains. This trip is considered one of the most exciting in Cambodia. The authors of the Adventure Cambodia guide book have dedicated a whole 6-pages section to it, entitled “The Death Highway” (their account is posted further down on this page). This title may be a bit exaggerated but they did it (the other way around) during the wet season and ended up doing much of the journey with broken dirt bikes on oxcarts and tattered Russian jeeps.

We plan to spend the night in Kaoh Nhek, a village about half way to Sen Monorum. Tomorrow we continue to Sen Monorum. What thrills me is that we don’t have any spare clutch lever or front tube left before even getting into the rough part of the trip.

8.11.2005

We had long discussion about the relative merits of having a local guides versus doing the trip by ourselves. Lim tells us he would charge about 60$ to get us to Sen Monorum which I feel is inexpensive. After all he would have to return to Banlung on a very long loop through Kratie and Stung Treng. Nobody would go by himself all the way back through the wilderness.

Toby speaks Khmer well and is familiar with the area as he has been up working up here many times over a period of several years. Finally we decide to rely on his pathfinder and language skills and go without local guide.

The trail we are going to travel on has never been constructed as a road with a built up surface. Other than motorbike, it is doable only by oxcart or by skillful driver with a capable truck. I found this travel report by Andrew who did the trip by truck in 2003.

Information useful about traveling in Rattanakiri can also be found in dedicated sections of Tales of Asia, Canby Publications and Travelfish.

Views over the lake in the morning.

We decide to start the day with an early bath in the Yeak Laom Volcano Lake, just outside the other end of town and a must see in Rattanakiri. The lake is a marvelous piece of natural beauty and local indigenous tribes attach great spiritual significance to it. Until recently this was considered Cambodia’s finest attempt at preserving a natural site, designated as protected area already in 1995 as part of a community driven natural resource management and eco-tourism program. There is even a small but well done museum about indigenous culture, a trail around the lake and a wooden platform for jumps into the deep and clean water.

Katrin and Toby, lake and platform.

Katrin and myself.

After breakfast in the garden of the hotel we head back to Banlung to fill up the bikes.

We are surprised to encounter a whole bunch of people on dirt bikes, all with fancy motos, at least by our standard, and each with the full range of advanced gear. They make a lot of noise. We learn that, while this group travels on main roads only, one unfortunate member fall with his bike and suffered a complicated fraction. He now requires transportation by car to the hospital in Phnom Penh which has sort of ended for all of them what looks like a well-planned bike trip.

Katrin and Becky. The vehicle of the injured biker is on the Land Cruiser’s roof in the background.

We get started and follow the dirt road to Lumphat, a town located about 30km south of Banlung. After a few minutes of riding we overtake the group on bikes whose members are riding slowly and cautiously in an orderly line.

Asking for the way

It may not look like it but the bigger problem is not that there is no track but that there are too many and nobody to ask for the right one.

The road is dusty but decent at first but increasingly turns into a trail with mud and water in many places. The rainy season has ended only few days ago in Phnom Penh and maybe not yet here.

This is when we reach the Srepok (Sre Pok) River close to Lumphat. It is actually on this river and along that stretch of it that much of the movie Apocalypse Now was shot, with Marlon Brando in the role of mad Colonel Kurtz who during the Vietnam War sets up his own army and autonomous zone up here.

We find a ferry at the bank of the river. However, the river bank is fairly steep and slippery. Riding onto the ferry is moderately challenging. You want to go very slowly because otherwise you ride over the few planks on this small boat and straight into the deeper part of the river (Becky had some interesting experiences with similar settings elsewhere).

Toby with Apocalypse Now face expression.

One of the ferry men.

Becky and river

The other bank of the river is as steep as the first one and even more slippery. However, this time around the challenge is reversed: it is not to minimize speed but to maximize it while accelerating on the boat and plank in order to make it all the way up without slipping or getting stuck.

After we pass the river the ‘road’ does not get better. To the contrary.

We keep riding for some time until we reach a small village and a few minutes later an intersection. We want to make sure not to take the wrong way at this point. Toby rides back a few hundred meters were we just passed a group of villagers, in order to ask one of them to show us the way. After what seems like a long period of time Toby comes back, with two villagers on the bike. We learn that local people – I forgot which indigenous group they belong to – have had bad experiences with outsiders in the past and agreed to come along only if two of them could go together.

The villagers show us the way and Toby gives them a ride back to the village.

Katrin and Becky performing a traditional dance to make sure it does not rain today (?).

We keep riding for some time through light forest. It is demanding to follow the narrow trail for longer periods of time, through sand and mud, over roots and rocks. Bikes drop occasionally.

This is when we finish a short break. We have not a very clear idea of how close we are to Kaoh Nheak, where we wont to spend the night. We have not seen people in a long time and increasingly realize that time is becoming an issue.

Then we meet two villagers on an oxcart. We learn that it is still far to Kaoh Nheak.

Becky and Toby are into natural resource management work wise and I learn that this type of light forest is ideal for a wide range of wildlife.

I can imagine how this small creek looks like in the rainy season and that it will be next to impossible to pass it. Even now these spots are not without challenges.

Finding a way in the deep grass is sometimes challenging.

We keep riding and for a long time don’t see anyone again. Then we recognize some sort of lake or river to our left and later see some people on its bank. A few kilometers more and we reach the village.

However, this is not Kaoh Nheak. We talk to villagers and learn that it is still a considerable distance to get there. Nevertheless we ask for the way and continue.

The trail surface along this stretch is mostly dry. It is also extremely hard and has deep oxcart tracks running all over it which makes for a very bumpy and rather slow ride.

We are not exactly sure whether we are still on the right way and start consulting numerous maps. Meanwhile the sun is gone and it is clear that there is less than 1 hour of daylight left.

After a lengthy discussion we decide to ride back to the village and spend the night there.

We reach the village where one lady offers us food, fish, rice and some vegetables. One man is kind enough to offer his house for us to spend the night.

After diner we head over to our host’s house (too bad I forgot his name). He intends to vacate the whole building and to spend the night in the house of his relative. Obviously we don’t want his entire family to endure such inconvenience yet he insists and it is too hard for us to turn his offer down.

We move our stuff into his house. Our host suggests visiting the near river for a bath. We sure can use one. It is a 10 minute ride to the spot. We put on kromas for a Khmer-style bath and get into the water. This is the best bath I had in a long time and it takes long to get rid of all the dust.

Right after we have a bath

Toby has the sensitive idea to take pictures with our host, to give the ladies a chance to change.

Toby and host

Myself and host

We ride back to the village and put the hammocks we brought from Phnom Penh.

All four hammocks have a mosquito net. Only three of them are insulated. I sleep in the fourth hammock. My night is a frosty one and I advise you to bring insulated hammocks for your comfort.

We put up hour bungees between the motos to use them as washing lines for our bathing cloths.

Later villagers invite us to another house to join for diner. This is what we do.

The food is tasty.

This is what the Adventure Cambodia guys write about people in this area:

“The people who live along parts of this sparsely populated stretch of Cambodia are forgotten souls. They have been left by the central government to fend for themselves, without any thought given to basic needs, such as a useable road to travel on or simple health information and access to medicine. You certainly don’t trip over any NGO aid groups here to help, either …”

“Most of these people own nothing from the modern-day world and live in rough bamboo huts lighted in the evening by the bamboo torches they make for themselves”.

The first part remains partly true, certainly as far as usable roads are concerned. As for government services, we do find a newly built school including a teacher and pupils the next day.

That people here own nothing from the modern world is obviously not true, at least not anymore. Almost all houses we see are built from solid timber. The house is lit by strong neon light with electricity supplied by a large and loud generator behind the house. There is also a massive stereo and a TV set.

We have the impression that people may have started the generator for us while we would prefer an evening without neon light an noice. However, there does not seem to be a sensitive way of asking for it.

Toby conversing with Khmer lady.

Our host puts bottles with rice wine on the table, people of all ages emerge in the house and the big stereo rumbles into action.

Few minutes later people start dancing.

Notice in the background TV set and receiver, DVD player and most importantly, a sizeable amplifier. Music consists mostly of Khmer and Lao traditional and pop music.

I have yet another glass before joining the dancing. My Khmer dancing skills are actually pretty undeveloped. Some of the villagers join while most of them prefer to just watch.

Yet another glass

We are all very tired and slightly drunk by the time we head home and go to bed.

The plan for today is to ride from Kratie (Kracheh) to Banlung (Ban Lung) in Rattanakiri (Ratanakiri). This is not a big deal in terms of distance but we anticipate the road to be in poor shape, particularly between Stung Treng (Stoeng Treng) and Banlung. We start the day with a generous breakfast at the Red Sun Falling Restaurant, a great place for Western food in Kratie and the only one as far as I know, run by a guy named Joe from Chicago. They even serve delicious brownies but unfortunately not this morning.

17.11.2005

Mekong River in the morning

Breakfast

Getting started

We follow the paved but bumpy and narrow road to the north until we reach a fork after about 20km. The road to the left leads to Sambor and while the one to the right is National Road 7 leading to Stung Treng.

We turn right and after a few more kilometers of bumps and potholes arrive on the wide road that we are very pleased to find perfectly even with virtually no potholes and only little traffic. This latter road is currently undergoing comprehensive upgrading with substantial support by the Chinese government. It looks like it will be paved very soon. Accordingly, we enjoy a smooth ride at fairly high speed.

The upgrading of this road is a major effort and involves the construction of a number of new bridges, here right next to an old bridge which seems to have collapsed long time ago.

We reach another major fork after about 150km and within less than 2 hours, much to our surprise. From here, National Road 7 leads to Stung Treng town to the left (just 23km from here) while Provincial Road 78 to the left leads to Banlung.

We have a break and some food at the restaurant right at the fork before we continue. Recent and not so recent experience suggests that the 200km of dirt road between here and Banlung is in exceptionally bad condition. Therefore, we decide not to visit Stung Treng and to ride directly to Banlung instead to make sure we reach it before dark. However, much to our surprise we find that this notoriously bad road was recently repaired and now is a state-of-the-art dirt road that allows for smooth and fast traveling all the way to Banlung (with the exception of some of the numerous bridges, which you want to keep in mind).

We keep riding for some time until we find that Katrin’s bike has a flat tyre. Fortunately, even in this sparsely populated area it is only a few hundred meters to the next repair place. This garage is easily recognizable since the owners have attached an old tube to a tree next to the road.

We find that the punch is fairly big and decide to invest the only front spare tube we have, rather than fixing the broken one. It seems those mechanics have not a whole lot of experience with fixing this kind of tyre and they apply some fairly unorthodox (and time consuming) methods.

To my greatest delight, Toby reveals that he is in possession of some of these delicious brownies from the Red Sun Falling in Kratie. How he managed to get hold of it is still a mystery to me. These are the best brownies I ever had. Toby is such a cool guy.

Becky and Katrin having fun with our bungees.

Meanwhile the mechanics inserted the new tube into the casing and put the wheel back on the bike. However, when they try to inflate it they realize it has a punch, too. It does not matter at this point whether the spare tube was broken all along or in the process of inserting it with sharp devices. The process starts anew and this time around involves fixing the tube with cool but time consuming hot patches.

After a total of about 2 hours the tube is fixed and the bike ready to go. We consider ourselves lucky. All roads from Kratie to here have been in exceptionally good condition and allowed us to arrive here early enough to still have enough time to make it to Banlung comfortably.

We have been riding for another half an hour or so when Becky rides at significant speed into a fairly deep pothole which causes her and the bike to fall spectacularly. Luckily she does not get hurt. However, the clutch lever is broken.

Becky with broken clutch lever and downed bike. It strikes me how weak and vulnerable these bikes looks when they are down.

We do have one spare clutch lever but prefer to change after we reach Banlung. Toby manages to ride the bike without clutch.

We reach Banlung before dark and ride straight to a mechanic where we have Becky’s clutch lever changed and the chains lubed. Then we ride to the Hotel (I forgot the name which is unfortunate; it is nice and clean, with capable staff and beautifully located next to the lake) and check in, tired and dusty but very satisfied with how the day went. Later we have diner in the attached restaurant and meet up with Lim to make plans for tomorrows ride through forest and wilderness towards Mondulkiri.

With a week of holidays on the occasion of Cambodia’s Water Festival comes the prospect of a multiple day trip to the northeast, with fellow traveling enthusiasts Katrin, Becky and Toby. The overall plan is to travel Cambodia’s northeast from Phnom Penh on a loop via Kampong Cham, Kratie, Rattanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie, Prey Veng, Neak Luong back to Phnom Penh. Admittedly, details of the route emerge only on the flight. The only given in the plan is the part from Banlung in Rattanakiri to Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri, a stretch of forest, mountains and wilderness which we anticipate to be the most exciting part of the trip.

For today we aim only at reaching either Kratie or Stung Treng.

16.11.2005

We manage to have breakfast reasonably early and fix the bags on the bikes. This is when we are about to leave Phnom Penh. We happen to all ride similar bikes, a model that is fairly useful and common in Cambodia, however not the coolest one around (note that I am not in the photo). That it is the same model helps cutting own on the number of spare parts we carry.

This is only two minutes and 50 meters later. My bike has a flat tyre; luckily right next to one of the countless small businesses in Phnom Penh specialized in solving precisely this problem. We have the first break of our trip. I was the one pushing for planning and for leaving early.

20 minutes later we are leaving Phnom Penh, heading north towards Kampong Cham on National Road 7. Road and traffic conditions are very good. For much of the distance to Kampong Cham we travel a close to the top speed of these bikes, basically without a break.

We reach Kampong Cham town and fill up the bikes in the petrol station at the roundabout at the Japanese Bridge over the Mekong River. From here we ride the few hundred meters to the Mekong Crossing Restaurant. That place is run by Joe, an American expat who is running the restaurant as well as a local school. Joe is also a great source of up-to-date travel information about the area. During yet another breakfast we weight with Joe the merits of the three options to get from here to Kratie. I have detailed the options in another post.

We decide to follow a dirt road from here along the western bank of the Mekong River to Stung Tran (not to be confused with Stung Treng) via Wat Hanchey (Han Chey). In Stung Tran we want to cross the Mekong with a ferry and proceed on another dirt road along the eastern bank of the Mekong to Kratie via Chhlong (Chloung).

We are delighted to find that the dirt road from Kampong Cham to Wat Hanchey (Road 223) has been upgraded after the last rainy season. I have been riding this road only a few months ago when it had many potholes. Now the road is perfectly even, allowing for a relaxed ride and full appreciation of the beautiful, fertile landscape with charming riverside villages along the way. The ride to Hanchey is a matter of only about half an hour. We reach the mountain, ride up to its top, park the bikes and take in the idyllic atmosphere and enjoy the breathtaking views over the Mighty Mekong River.

Last time around I looked in vain for this ancient temple, which is, however, hard to miss. The temple is located right hand a few dozen meters from the road were one reaches the plateau on top of the mountain.

The mountain is located next to the Mekong and close to a major bend in the river with a island right in front of it. These features, among others, make Hanchey the best viewpoint over the Mekong in Cambodia as far as my opinion is concerned. There are a number of religious buildings and monuments all over the plateau along the hill top.

Walking along the verge of the plateau we come across this remarkable billboard. It informs the visitor about the “Cambodian Universal Buddhist Center” project, which, according to the painting, involves the construction of a massive, multistory building with a sitting Buddha measuring dozens of meters on top of it, in the middle of an Olympic-stadium-sized square and flanked by two more multistory buildings. The projected site for this monstrosity appears to be that very mountain. The bottom of the signboard reads: “Chey Giri Mountain, Hanchey/Prekback Commune, Kampong Siem/Steung Trang District, Kampong Cham Province”.

A closer look offers relief: “Fund resources: National and International Generosity”. Being aware of a wide range of bizarre excesses of donor activities in Cambodia I still doubt that such a project will attract the kind of funding its realization would require. Other than the painter’s phone number the signboard contains only references to 4 different ‘Fund Raising Offices’ in Phnom Penh, Preah Vihear (!), Phnom Hanchey and at Prasat Chey Proeuk Pagoda (not sure where that is and there is no phone number). Finally there is also an internet address that appears invalid: www.cic-kh.org.

From left to right: Becky, Katrin and Toby.

We spend some time walking around and then ride down the northern side of the mountain and proceed on the road along the western bank of the Mekong to the north, towards Stung Tran, which is about 10-15km from here. In strong contrast to stretch of road to Hanchey we are now riding a very bumpy and in places fairly muddy dirt road. Traveling from Kampong Cham to Kratie along this route is certainly more appealing than the alternative route National Road 7 via Snuol, due not least to the charming character of villages along the Mekong.

We watch out for a ferry and reach this spot where some boats are waiting at the bottom of what is an extremely steep river bank. Luckily, this is not the ferry place.

Travelers with new friends.

After a few more kilometers we reach Stung Tran where we easily find the ferry place. The people operating the ferry are some laid back fellows hanging out in hammocks in the backside of the boat. At a rather high price of $2 each they take us to the other bank.

Stung Tran’s riverfront.

On the ferry.

We reach the eastern bank of the Mekong River.

We get off the ferry, pass a small settlement and from here follow what is called Provincial Road 308 in the map to the north. This road leads to Kratie through Chhlong, all the way along the Mekong River, which makes it very easy not to get lost. The condition of the road varies widely: some stretches allow higher speed with little interruption whereas other places require slowing down and following narrow paths around obstacles on the road.

After maybe 2 hours of riding we reach this gorgeous village where we attempt to find lunch. We find a restaurant next to the river. Khmer lunch time is already over but some meals are still available, among them yummy fish cake and pork. We enjoy an extended lunch break including conversation with locals and some coffee.

None of us has traveled this part of the road before and we have only a very vague idea of how far it is from here to Chhlong or Kratie and how long it will take to get there. In order to find out, Toby talks to one of the restaurant owner. The resulting conversation in Khmer is very short but hilariously funny and certainly the highlight of our stay in this village:

Toby to restaurant owner: How many kilometers to arrive in Kratie?

Restaurant owner: You will arrive by 5pm.

Toby: How many hours from here to there?

Restaurant owner: What time is it now?

What makes it even more funny is that she turned out to be right: It is 5pm sharp when we reach Kratie’s riverfront.

Tower at the Mekong River. I suppose this was built under the French in order to exercise control over traffic on the River.

Short break for talking to locals and taking in the beauty of the scenery, and for having some water.

This guy is an English teacher at a local school and speaks English very well.

This is a river we cross a few kilometers before we reach Chhlong.

Hill with temple on top of it, on the other bank of the Mekong.

The sign in the background says ‘Chumnik Commune, Kampong Cham Province’. This place is about 15-20km south of Chhlong. The road around here is still unpaved yet in fairly good condition.

This is shortly before we reach Chhlong. The place can be recognized easily as it is the only, and fairly short, stretch of paved road on this route from Kampong Cham to Kratie.

I traveled on this road between Chhlong and Kratie only a few months ago when most of the road was submerged by the flooded Mekong. Knowing what the road looked like back then leads me to anticipate this road in distinctively bad condition. Contrary to this expectation, the dirt road has been fixed and evened out recently and makes for a smooth ride.

We reach Kratie town at 5pm and check in the Heng Heng Hotel right at the riverfront. Next thing is we have a seat at one of the stalls along the river, dusty as we are, and order these yummy fruit shakes that they sell here. Later we have diner and go to bed.

Kratie Riverfront in the evening.

The plan for today is to again go on a trip with great guides Lim and Lot, this time on a loop from Banlung to the east and south. We travel by motorbike and visit Ou’Sean Lair Waterfall and the Bokeo mines in the Ou Ya Dav area (hope I got it right).

If you require a guide in Rattanakiri just call Lim: 012517418.

30.10.2005

These are rubber tree plantations.

We stop briefly to fix the bike. This is Lim.

Longhouse in a one of the villages. We walk through the village. Few people are at home and we spend some time talking with children.

People have gotten stuck with this vehicle

Along the way we see a variety of butterflies.

From the right: Lot, Lim and me.

Then we reach this town the name of which I forgot. From here it is not far to the border with Vietnam.

We pass the village on the way to the Ou’Sean Lair Waterfall a few kilometers from here. The ‘road’ is getting more challenging while we come closer.

We reach the water falls and have a break. The same river falls over a succession of four or more waterfalls only a few dozen meters from one another. The falls and forest make for a very charming place. We go for a swim and eat some of the fruits we bought in the market in the morning.

Then we head back to the village.

I learn that cockfighting is popular around here.

This is a Russian made vehicle that seems to be particularly popular in the northeast. Presumably they were important from Vietnam at some point. These vehicles were a common sight during my childhood in Eastern Germany with loads of Soviet forces around. However, back then I never saw one that seemed anywhere close to that state of disrepair, although the one here appears to be still in heavy use.

We have a seat in a restaurant and order coffee. The place is crowded with mostly male customers watching boxing on TV. Multiple TV sets show Thai and Khmer boxing respectively and observation indicates that a lot of betting is going on. Other patrons play pool in the shadow on the backside of the house.

After a break we leave to visit the Bokeo mines area which is just a few minutes away from here. I learn that until recently this business was conducted by mostly poor and self-employed laborers, many of them ethnic Vietnamese. Few got lucky enough to make it worthwhile. With simple tools, deep holes are dug in the ground, oftentimes with only a small entry on top but chambers of considerable proportion underneath. These people work with little protection and take a marked risk as some of these chambers have collapsed and killed workers.

More recently the situation has changed with companies moving in and starting mining operations on a bigger scale, hardly to the benefit of local communities.

Along the road are bigger and smaller holes in the ground with heaps of red soil around from small scale mining.

Bigger holes from bigger scale extraction.

We stop and spend some time going through the soil, searching for gems but don’t get very lucky.

Lim and Lot.

Phal got slightly luckier.

Mining equipment

From here we follow a road to the west of the one on which we came, back to Banlung.

Locals manage a range of obstacles in the road with great ease and skill.

Occasionally we see uniformed and armed people.

This is a cashew nut plantation, I believe.

Great skill is also required to keep these vehicles running.

In the rubber plantation.

We learn how trees are cut and rubber is collected.

From here it is not far to Banlung. We reach when it is almost dark. Later we go to have diner and visit various places to taste rice wine and other local specialties before we go to bed.

In the morning, we meet Lim and Lot again and have breakfast together. Our flight is later in the morning and we spend the time until then purchasing traditional rice wine in jars and some stronger varieties in plastic bottles.

Lot and Phal with rice wine jar.

Banlung airport is a rather basic aviation facility. This is the check in and gate, the latter quite literally.

This is the aircraft.

On numerous occasions during the few days in Rattanakiri I have observed new 4WD vehicles with the logo of the UN refuge agency UNHCR. The Cambodia observer will know that during recent years, many ethnic minority refugees from Vietnam have crossed the border to escape from discrimination and government crackdowns Vietnam’s central highlands. The fait of these people has become an issue of some discomfort in the relationship between UN and the Cambodian government which does not wish to displease its patron’s across the border. Most of the refugees who made it to Phnom Penh have been resettled in third, Western countries. More recently, groups of refugees under UNHCR protection have been resettled to Vietnam, partly against there will with ugly scenes in Phnom Penh involving refugees being beaten by police and soldiers and forcefully loaded on buses to Vietnam. This, obviously, has let also to argument between human rights organizations and the UNHCR.

The point of bringing this up here is that after most passengers have boarded the plane, two UNHCR vehicles arrive at the airstrip and about 15 people including children are rushed from the cars onto the aircraft. I assume these are refugees from Vietnam who have suffered persecution and whose destiny is uncertain.

Go-Cart track just outside Phnom Penh.

Rice fields.

A Buddhist Wat and a school next to it, close to Phnom Penh.

The plan for today is ride to ride on motos from Banlung to Voen Sai at the edge of Virachey National Park (Virochey, Virachay), which is about 35km northwest from here at the banks of the Tonle San River. From there we will take a boat and follow the San River to the east to Ta Veang (Taveng, Taveaeng), taking in a Tompuon cemetary at Kachon village on the way. In Ta Veang we change transportation again and return to Banlung by moto. We travel with Lim and Loth, two great and capable chaps we met during our working days in Banlung. Lim and Lot work part time as guides in and around Rattanakiri.

If you require a guide in Rattanakiri just call Lim: 012517418.

29.10.2005

On the way to Virachey.

Lot and his motorbike. Lot tells me that the spot in the background is used to burry the bodies of criminals.

When we reach Voen Sai at the southern bank of the San River.

Arranging a long boat does not take long and a few minutes later we head east on the San River.

Kachon village. We stop here to visit the village’s cemetery. This destination is mentioned in various guidebooks and villagers seem to encourage visitors and also benefit from contributions. I tend to think that visiting cemeteries of most other indigenous villages in Cambodia is not encouraged by the community and would be very insensitive.

We are told that an old widower in the village has already built his own coffin, which is stored under his house.

This is on the cemetery.

The man buried here seemingly was with the police or military. The statue has a uniform including sunglasses and a cell phone that makes my co-travelers envious.

We talk to an elderly man who is member of the local Commune Council and tells us about developments in the village. After some time we continue.

This is when we reach Ta Veang. We walk around the village for some time before heading back to Banlung.

Looks as though the local CPP branch is not particularly active.

Local woman. We have a break and some coffee (from Laos) before we continue.

We come across the headquarters of Virachey National Park. The logos of Ministry of Environment, Worldbank and Global Environment Facility are on the signboard.

Lim and Phal.

Lot and Phal

On the way we visit two villages inhabited by indigenous people. Villagers prefer not being photographed. We spend some time walking around in the village, talking with people and observing laid back village life.

From left to right: Phal, moto driver whose name I forgot, Lim, and Lot. Then we get started again to ride to Banlung.

It is dark by the time we reach Banlung and all of us are very dusty. We have diner after a thorough shower.

It is one of these rare opportunities my job provides to visit Rattanakiri, and I travel the pleasure to travel there with my colleague Phal. Not the first time, since we went there before, in 2003, to undertake interviews. The plan for today is to travel to Stung Treng via Kampong Cham and Kratie by mini bus and ideally all the way to Banlung in Rattanakiri province. I tune out the work-related aspects of this trip and report what may be interesting for the traveler.

We leave Phnom Penh early in the morning with a mini bus run by Mekong tours. Tickets to Stung Treng were purchased the other day, at modest $12 each. We find the bus at the Mekong office close to the port at the riverside and both vehicle and driver appear capable. There are not more passengers than seats on the bus, something rather rare in Cambodia. Halve of the passengers are foreign tourists. We are confident to reach Stung Treng early enough to find a truck or taxi to Banlung today, the provincial capital of Rattanakiri province.

There is a nicely paved road from Phnom Penh through Kampong Cham and Snuol all the way to Kratie and we spend relaxed and eventless hours driving through rural Cambodia. At one point we stop and by accident meet this guy who is feeding milk to a baby bear. He tells us that he works for the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary and that he is taking the bear there.

We reach Kratie and spend more time than expected, because the driver aims to fill seats left empty by passengers who stay in Kratie. We spend the time walking the water front and having one of those tasty fruit shakes at the riverside.

The next 20 km or so are pretty bad road.

This changes when we reach the stretch of National Road 7 that is under construction, with Chinese assistance. Though not paved, this road is wide and even. Many new bridges have been constructed or are close to completion. I guess the road will be paved, soon.

I keep quoting the same recent arcticle from the IHT. The article references an interview with Chanthol Sun, minister for public works and transport in Cambodia:

“Heading north toward Laos and then to China is Route 7 through Stoeng Treng Province, across the Sekong River where it joins the Mekong.

He is a firm supporter of Chinese road-building for its quality and speed and says Route 7 could be finished a year ahead of schedule. When it is done, he wants the Chinese to build eastward to link with roads to Vietnam.”

A new bridge is built not far from Kratie town next to the old bridge that has collapsed long ago.

At some point we stop and have a snack. One meal on offer at the roadside restaurant is made from what locals refer to as ‘crocodile that lives in the jungle’. People also serve grilled monkey.

The sun is setting down when we approach Stung Treng town and it becomes obvious that we won’t make it to Banlung today. We check in at the Sok Som Bath Hotel at the northwestern corner of the market.

We get lucky as in the evening we meet a driver who works for CIDSE and is kind enough to offer a ride in organization’s 4WD the next day. After early breakfast we head east on Road 78. In many places the dirt road is in pretty poor shape. However, it was just perfect when I came more recently. I assume that right now the Stung Treng – Banlung ride will not take more than 2 hours. Will post a report of this trip soon.

We reach a place where a truck got stuck in the middle of the road. People try to pull it out with another truck and we witness the steel cable breaking during one such attempt, with the heavy cable whiping dangerously fast through the air.

A Toyota Camry passes the truck with remarkable ease. Our driver tries with the 4WD and passes only after a number of attempts, and we continue.

There are some really heavy trucks on their way through the forest, very slowly dragging through the mud and further spoiling the road.

We stop at the driver’s house along the way. He owns a number of domestic animals, goats among them.

After some time a bunch of goats arrives, under the supervision of the drivers young sun. The infant goat wants to drink and with obvious routine and not very gently, the boy grabs the mother goat’s feed, pulls them to make it fall so the youngster can drink.

This is when we reach Banlung.

The market.

We spend the rest of the day and the next with work.

Today is a holiday, more precisely: Pchum Ben Day (Bonn Phchum Ben, P’chum Ben, Bonn Pchom Ben). It is on the occasion of this holiday that Cambodian Buddhists pay respect to the dead through celebrations and offerings that take place at wats.

The plan for today is to join one such celebration in a wat in Svay Rieng Province with my colleagues. We drive all the way to the Vietnamese border, visit the border crossing at Bavet (Moc Bai) and have a look at the casinos that have sprung up on the Cambodian side of the border. After that we join the Pchum Ben ceremony at a wat not far from the border. Visiting casinos and paying respect to the dead on the same trip seems an odd combination yet Cambodians have a great capacity to accommodate contrasts, tensions and contradictions.

22.10.2005

We leave Phnom Penh by car early in the morning, heading east on National Road 1. This road goes all the way to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) in Vietnam and accordingly it sees massive traffic most of the time. Given that this road connects capitals of countries the governments of which cooperate closely it comes as surprise that one third of the Cambodian part of the road is narrow and broken in many places, more precisely, the stretch between Phnom Penh and Neak Luong at the Mekong. In strong contrast, the same road is wide and in excellent conditions on the other side of the Mekong all the way to the border.

On National Road 1, one can cross the Mekong only by ferry, at Neak Luong (Neak Loeang). The only bridge in Cambodia that spans the Mekong is the Japanese Friendship Bridge in Kampong Cham.

A recent and related article in the IHT raises hopes that this will change rather soon:

“A key bridge is planned at Neak Luong, on Route 1, about a third of the way from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Only a ferry crosses the Mekong here, and only in daytime, causing backlogs of traffic and severely limiting trade with thriving southern Vietnam.

“The Japan International Cooperation Agency has completed a feasibility study, and everyone expects Japan to build the bridge – but an official decision whether to go ahead or not can still take a few months.”

On the way to Neak Luong.

My very first trip on a big motorbike was to Neak Luong.

Cars waiting at the ferry in Neak Luong. It is holiday and many people are traveling. A number of mostly ethnic Vietnamese people sell snacks, soft drinks and sun glasses.

Interestingly, the name of this ferry is Vishnu. Odd combination again since Buddhism has constitutional status in Cambodia and is the religion of a great majority of the country’s population. As many readers will know, early Cambodian history was strongly influenced by Indian culture and Angkor Wat, the most spectacular monument of Khmer identity and greatness, was originally founded in honor of Visnu. The temple’s ceremonial approach is from the west, probably precisely because of the association of the west with Vishnu.

Once we cross the Mekong there is a wide and perfectly even road. After passing the road there are some mountains on the left hand. This is the Ba Phnom area. Ba Phnom is one of the earliest religious and cultural sites in the Kingdome of Cambodia, dating back to the 5th century and the time of the mysterious Funan.

Shortly before we reach Bavet we stop at a restaurant and have breakfast. Later we continue to the border.

We visit two of the casinos at the border. Both are rather crowded. Surveillance cameras are all over the place but taking pictures is forbidden.

One of the casinos.

Hummer SUV parked in front of the casino. This vehicle is popular among Cambodia’s rich and powerful and their spoiled offspring.

Later we visit the border crossing. Impressive buildings are under construction or were recently completed on both sides. As many readers will know, this border line is highly controversial among Cambodians. For many centuries, the Mekong Delta on the other side of the border has been part of Cambodia’s territory and many ethnic Khmer form now a national minority in this area which now is in Vietnam. Discussion about the legitimacy of this border and its demarcation has a central place in contemporary Cambodian politics. The current border is based on a treaty that PM Hun Sen signed in 1985 when Cambodia was under Vietnamese occupation. Few weeks ago a new border treaty has been signed by both governments to confirm the status of this border, under fierce protest of the Cambodian opposition that led to a number of high profile arrests and international attention.

The architecture of buildings on both sides of the border is strongly informed by respective national traditions and contrast strongly with each other. Moreover, they seem too large to only house checkpoint facilities. Rather, these buildings appear to be deliberate monuments of national identity and statements of national ownership.

Cambodian side of the border.

And the Vietnamese side.

A modern supermarket has been built but has no opened yet.

Border marker from 1986.

From left to right: Maly, Phal, Dara, a friend of my colleagues whose name I forgot and Samnang.

From here we drive to the wat to join the Pchum Ben celebration, which takes place on the 15th day of the waxing moon during the tenth month of the Khmer calendar. It lasts 15 days, each of which is called a day of Kan Ben. A Ben is an offering.

The final day of Pchum Ben is the most important for all followers. On this day, the rich as well as the poor prepare food and other offerings for a visit to the pagoda. In wats across the county, collections of offerings are dedicated to the souls of ancestors. If this duty is ignored, believes hold that the soul is cursed and will haunt the neglectful descendents for the rest of the year. Money raised among Buddhist followers and offered to monks on this occasion goes towards new robes for the monks, the construction or renovation of temples and community developments such as the construction of bridges and schools.

This is outside the temple. Musicians play drums and two dressed-up men dance, to the amusements of a bunch of children.

People get ready for the ceremonial walks around the temple. Women in particular are dressed in beautiful traditional cloths.

Monks enter the temple.

People enter the temple.

A new bed is among the offerings.

Inside the temple. The monks are sitting in one half of the room, facing other people sitting in the opposite half of it. Both are separated by the offerings that include a wall of paper cartons containing new robes.

After some time we leave and drive back to Phnom Penh.

Long wooden boat outside the temple on the grounds of the pagoda.

It is time for an extended weekend trip again. The plan is to ride from Phnom Penh to Kampong Thom today and meet up with Vothear and Sokhom, two friends of mine who are excellent guides for exploring the temples in Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear and Siem Reap.

The plan for tomorrow is to follow National Road 6 towards Siem Reap town for another 100 km or so, passing Stoung and Kouk Thlok Kraom on the way until we reach Dam Daek. From here, we follow the newly upgraded Road 66 to the north for about 30 km, until we reach Prasat Trapeang Noem, close to Beng Mealea (Boeng Mealea), an ancient temple. After visiting the temple we plan to proceed on what is a new road towards the northeast until via Svay Leu to Prasat Kor Ker (Kaoh Kerr, Chok Gargyar, Phnum Dai), another ancient temple, or rather, a complex of dozens of them. From here we continue on a more modest road and via an extensive detour through Trayang to Kulen (Koulen) and finally to Tbaeng Mean Chey (T’beng Meanchey), the provincial capital of Preah Vihear province, where we spend the night. The next day we return to Kampong Thom on Road 64 and from there I continue home to Phnom Penh.

02.10.2005

Unfortunately there will not be enough time to visit Preah Vihear temple (I, II) or Anlong Veng near the Dangkrek Mountains at the Thai border, two of my favorites in this part of the country.

There is not much to report from the ride on National Road 6 to Kampong Thom, it is one of the best in the country, at least along this stretch. The process of upgrading road 66 to Beng Mealea is obviously very close to completion and we enjoy a smooth ride on a very even dirt road after filling up the bikes in Dam Daek.

With that road, the ruins of Beng Mealea are very accessible even to big groups of tourists in buses from Siam Reap or Phnom Penh. However, I don’t see buses and during our visit only 2-3 foreigners and some local visitors. At some point we reach a ticket booth and pay a considerable amount to enter the complex. Also the ruins themselves have been made more accessible, with the construction of wooden bridges and stairs across the area. We go with one of the guides who provides us with more information.

This temple was built under Suryavarman II in the 12th century. The temple is at the centre of an ancient Angkorian road which connects Angkor Thom and Preah Khan. More than 10 bridges can still be found in the jungle along the way. I have come across one of them on a previous visit.

Vothear and the guard.

It is apparent that the much of the area and the interior of the few buildings still standing have been cleared to make it easy and comfortable for tourists to visit. It is also good to see in principle that guards have been employed to protect the site and prevent further looting, destruction and theft. I hope this is what they do. Besides, nothing indicates efforts to conserve functioning structures, leave alone reconstructing those that are collapsed.

For the most part, this place has been taken over by the forest, and there are stacks of stones from collapsed structures all over the place.

This is when we leave the temple compound, which is surrounded by a moat which measures 1200m by 900m.

The bridge over the moat is still intact, although it appears very worn. A crude wooden structure supports the Naga monument that marks the entrance to the temple compound.

From here we follow various simple but smooth dirt roads via Svay Leu to Koh Ker Temple.

There is a small group of people around when we reach the outer gate of Koh Ker temple, among them the district governor. We talk to them for some time and learn that we got lucky, today there are no personnel to collect entrance fee so we will get to see the place for free. Funny to be told this by the governor in charge of the district.

This is what the Lonely Planet writes about Koh Ker:

“Koh Ker, a former 10th-century capital of the Angkorian empire, is one of the most remote and inaccessible temple sites in Cambodia, long abandoned to the forests of northern Cambodia. Also known as Chok Gargyar, it served as the capital of Jayavarman IV who, having seized the throne from a rival, left Angkor and transferred his capital here, where it remained throughout this reign. His son and successor Harshavarman I moved the capital back to Angkor in 944.

There are a remarkable number of religious buildings in the Koh Ker region, considering the short space of time that it was the capital of the empire. There are more than 30 major structures and experts believe there may have been as many as 100 minor sacred buildings in the region. It was also a prolific period for gigantic sculpture and several of the most impressive pieces in the National Museum in Phnom Penh come from Koh Ker…”.

Well, the road is not too bad now, Koh Ker is fairly accessible and does not seem very remote. It still did when I came here a few years ago. Back then, the temple and indeed its inaccessibility left I lasting impression on me. On top, it was the first pyramid temple I saw in Cambodia and because back then I went here – with Sothear – straight from Kampong Thom town and much of the time through the jungle without any recognizable road. However, despite improved accessibility I don’t see any tourists, neither foreigners nor Khmers. Only a number of local people are around.

The actual pyramid is surrounded by at least two balustrades through which one follows a way through a number of smaller structures, most of them more or less intact.

The temple is actually higher than it appears in these pictures, and so are the wooden stairs that have been constructed for people to climb it. Yet climbing them is very rewarding as the top of this pyramid offers fantastic views of the surrounding area.

After some times we can see clouds accumulating and it starts raining in some places. Vothear tells me that it regularly rains at this time in the afternoon but that we will make it to Tbang Mean Chey without getting wet, because the rain is coming from the West and we stay ahead of it.

We climb down the temple and walk back to the motos. I see two armed man, not a totally uncommon sight in Cambodia yet I wonder who or what they are protecting against who around here.

From there we follow a narrow but new and perfectly even dirt road through the forest. This road provides access to a number of smaller temples around here. Some of them I have visited before. Others are ‘new’ as Vothear tells me, cleared of mines and made accessible through the road only in recent months. There are quite a number of temples in relative close proximity and we visit some of them before we head to Kulen in order to make it to Tbang Mean Chey before dark.

From here the condition of the roads varies greatly, but it is easily doable for motorbikes all along the way.

I was here before, and back then the road is very bad in some places.

This is around Phnom Kulen, a place that I would like to explore on another trip.

This is where we fill up the tanks and meet some locals.

It starts getting dark when we leave this place, which forces us to slow down. We are both tired when we reach Tbaeng Mean Chey. We check rooms in three accommodations and opt for the Prum Tep guesthouse, where we have a break and shower before we go to have tasty diner in a simple restaurant, after which we go to bed early.

There is dense fog all over the place when I wake up in the morning. The plan for today is to ride all the way back to Phnom Penh via Kampong Thom. I hope to see one or the other temple along the road, and that it will not be raining too much.

There are plenty of places that serve breakfast and we sit down to eat.

An old monk is begging for food.

After breakfast Vothear takes me to the place from where it is possible now to travel to Stung Treng. This is where you need to cross the river.

After a few minutes we leave Tbaeng Mean Chey on Road 64 to Kampong Thom. This road has very recently been upgraded. I have never traveled it before but right now it is a nice and safe ride, little traffic, few potholes, and more importantly, beautiful landscape all along the way.

This is when it is becoming obvious that it is raining just a few hundred meters in front of us.

We make it to this temple and find cover inside.

It does not seem as if the rain will stop anytime soon.

This is inside the temple.

After about one hour the rains starts getting weaker and we leave. Over there are some signs warning of land mines, so I assume this area has been demined only recently.

This town is called Phnom Dek and unfortunately is not in the map. It is about 60 km north of Kampong Thom. It was from here that we went through the jungle to Prasat Bakan last time I came here. This for is you face when coming from the south to north. Follow the road to your left to get to Tbaeng Mean Chey. Follow the road to the right and you get to Stung Treng.

From here we continue along road 64 towards Kampong Thom. The landscape along the way is scenic and the road has recently been upgraded.

It starts raining again but not for very long.

Then we reach the National Road 6 and Kampong Thom shortly after. We have lunch at a roadside restaurant. Later I say good bye to Vothear and head to Phnom Penh.

Only very few days are left before Water Festival. I come across a number of boat races and other events involving boats along the way.

Today the traffic is quite distinct from other days in the following way. The entire population including myself seems on the way to Phnom Penh, to attend the water festival, while virtually nobody is traveling the opposite direction. The traffic to Phnom Penh has taken over both of the road’s lanes in many places.

Words and photographs by Moeun Nhean

The northeast of Cambodia is the place to visit at the moment: it’s seriously green, strangely volcanic and noticeably cooler than the rest of the country. Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism H.E Lay Prahos is very excited about the area’s increasing potential—an area attracting more and more tourists.

Lay Prahos says 1,005,648 tourists visited Cambodia in the first nine months of 2005. “Even we’re surprised at that number!” he says. “That amount is a 37.4 percent increase for the same period in 2004.” He expects numbers for the whole of 2005 to be about 1.3 million and hopes that number will be even higher this year. The Minister admits that as tourist numbers grow, Cambodia must look to providing better services, particularly in the less-explored regions, which also have much to offer.

“Most tourists come to visit our country because they want to see the famed Angkor Wat temples. But many don’t realize this country has kept hidden some of its more natural attractions. We have wonderful pristine environments in the Kingdom like Koh Kong for instance, and Cambodia’s northeastern provinces are perfect for eco-tourism,” Lay Prahos says.

He says the northeast covers Kratie, Mondulkiri, Ratatakiri and Stueng Treng provinces. “These areas all have enormous potential.”

“For years we’ve focused on promoting the world

heritage site of Angkor Wat as our prime tourist destination. Then we’ve promoted Phnom Penh, the center of government, economics and culture and Sihanoukville, our coastal area with its beautiful white sand beaches,” he says. “But now there’s a fourth notch in our belt, and that’s eco-tourism in the northeast of Cambodia.”

He says the government has greatly improved road conditions between Phnom Penh and most provinces in the country, and will soon turn to more remote and smaller village areas.

“We have many places to invite tourists to and we want to make it enjoyable for them to travel around the kingdom. With good road conditions linking everywhere, tourist destinations are more easily accessed and explored. Nationwide it is possible to go anywhere easily by car and we have paved the way for tourism in the Kingdom. Now the northeast provinces seem a much closer destination for travelers because of the acceptable road conditions.”

I recently heard foreigners saying that when they go to [the northeast] they … feel like they are ‘return[ing] to nature.’ They enjoy seeing hill-tribe people living off the land and reaping the benefits of their natural surrounds. It’s quite difficult to see these sorts of unaffected places in other more developed

countries, even in neighboring countries. It is hard to find a place quite like the northeast of Cambodia.” He says each of the country’s provinces has its own unique scenery and way of life, with many different ethnic groups scattered throughout.

“But in Mondulkiri for instance, this uniqueness is very pronounced: there are upland forests and great expanses of grassy fields reminiscent of European countries, but different in that they’re untouched. This is nature at its original. And in Ratanakiri province it’s different again, with landscapes of streams and tropical forests.”

Director of the Ratanakiri provincial tourism office Tra Nut Seang says there are 12 natural tourist destinations in the province, some of these include hill-tribe visits and half are waterfalls including Ka Chhang, Cha-Ung, O’Sin-Lae, Koh-Andet and Ka-Teang.

“However, one of the best waterfalls is O’Sin-Lae: a beautiful seven-tiered waterfall. It’s as beautiful as a painting,” Tra says. “Around the area of this waterfall there is also diamond mining. Families in these parts have mined for generations and still use traditional tools to look for the jewels. The diamonds here are younger than those found in Pailin, therefore cheaper to buy.”

Ratanakiri boasts much more than waterfalls and diamonds though, including Yeak Laom, a lake at the center of an extinct volcano; Veal Rum Plan, an ancient lava field and the beautiful Virachey National Park.

“Tourists never miss Yeak Laom lake … which is 48m deep and 800m across,” Tra says.
He says according to Ministry of Tourism figures, 40,000 visitors came to the province in the first nine months of 2005. “Interestingly, 50 percent of those were local visitors.”

Travel details:

- A daily pick-up from Phnom Penh’s Central Market to Banlung will take you 14 hours. For nationals the cost is $20 and for foreigners $25.

- Flights are preferable. There are direct flights from Phnom Penh to Ratanakiri. Contact Phnom Penh International Airport for more details.

- Accommodation in Banlung ranges from $5 to $30. Terra Rouge Lodge is recommended by most guide books.

- The best time to visit is between November and April when the weather is much cooler than the capital.

This weekend allows for only a one-day trip and I am planning to ride with Maraile to visit Angkor Borei and Phnom Da (Phnum Dai) in Takeo (Takaev) Province. The place is said to be most beautiful and unique during the rainy season, when most of the area is submerged in water. On my previous visits (by motorbike via Phnom Chisor; by boat from Takeo town) the place was entirely dry. In strong contrast, it is definitely rainy season now and there have been extensive rain in the past weeks and even flooding in some other areas. I add some pictures from a more recent trip to Angkor Borei and Phnom Da via Phnom Chisor (Phnom Chissor, Phnom Chi Sou) below this report in the same post (by bike to Phnom Chisor in 2003, and in July 2005)

We take the motorbike to reach Takeo town and head to the riverside to find a boat. We don’t have to look for long to find one and to agree with the driver on the price (US$ 25 for the round trip). Two Khmer passengers join the ride on the fast boat to Angkor Borei.

25.09.2005

Last time we made the same boat ride on one of the ancient water highways. Back then the supposed highway was nothing more than a chain of narrow and shallow waters through an area of dry fields, in most places too shallow for bigger boats to maneuver. This time around the whole place is flooded and besides a few trees spread over the wide landscape the place appears to be just an enormous lake. We enjoy a fast and reasonably comfortable right to Angkor Borei, which lasts for about 35 minutes.

The railings of a bridge, presumably over a river that now merged with the limitless lake that surrounds it.

This is when we reach Angkor Borei.

Last time we took a moto to make the few kilometers from Angkor Borei to Phnom Da. This time we go all the way by boat.

The hill in the background is Phnom Da, with the ancient temple on top of it.

We meet a number of locals from a close by village.

Some of the views from the top of the mountain.

It looks as if we got lucky to make it here without getting wet. It is obvious that strong rain will start soon.

We find cover from the rain in the temple, together with the villagers.

The rain stops as suddenly as it started. What strikes me about rain in Cambodia is that it often is a very local phenomenon; it rains heavily in one place and not at all in a place right next to it. You can see the rain coming and going and both happens fast most of the time and is often accompanied by strong wind.

After some time we climb down the stairs and walk back to the boat. The driver is visibly about going to Takeo right now. The reason for this is not obvious to me and becomes only clear once we move with the boat away from the hill and surrounding trees towards the open sea that is the lake.

The ride from Takeo to this place in the small boat has not been particularly smooth or comfortable. However, now there are waves of considerable size, and they become bigger while we move away from the shore. The small boat moves dramatically up and down and despite the strong engine we go only slow, decelerating while riding up a wave and then crashing down into the wave valley behind it. One time the boat comes down particularly hard and the board on which we are sitting breaks.

Visibly growing with the waves are also the concerns of the boat driver who even offers that we return to Angkor Borei and spend the night in his house. Spontaneously we do not like the idea and convince, rather: persuade, the driver to keep going. However, the experience of being out there alone in a small boat with the big waves on a lake that seems boundless is really intimidating at some points. Later we wonder if maybe the boat driver is not a good swimmer, which is not unusual in Cambodia. One way or the other, capsizing the boat in the middle of the lake, with trees only every other kilometer, is not a pleasing prospect for anyone.

I have no idea how this man manages to stand upright in the boat.

I know these waves don’t look big in these pictures at all, but they are big enough I tell you.

Slowly but steadily we get closer to the Takeo riverside and finally reaching it, speeding up on the final stretch as the waves get smaller while we approach the land. I am somewhat relieved to have solid ground under my feet. Also the driver, who is entirely wet and freezing, is visibly grateful to have made it and glad to accept a generous tip. We walk to the only restaurant we find at the riverfront. It is built on stilts in the water right at the riverside. We have a late lunch, sitting outside on a veranda, in a good position to observe what is happening on the lake and on the street.

Men unloading live pigs from fast boat.

Later we ride back to Phnom Penh.

Rather than writing a separate post, I add below some pictures from a more recent visit to Phnom Da and Angkor Borei, by Motorbike via Phnom Chisor.

Views from Phnom Chisor.

One can recognize Phnom Da from here.

Monk with dog and MP3 player.

This is one of the few occasions that I am traveling Cambodia for work rather than pleasure, together with my Cambodian colleagues around the great lake. It is the first time that I am making a trip all around the Tonle Sap Lake. I tune out work related issues here and focus instead on impressions from the road starting from Phnom Penh via Kampong Thom to Siem Reap, Battambang and back to Phnom Penh via Kampong Chnang.

18.09.2005

This is when we cross the Japanese Bridge in Phnom Penh. It is obviously rainy season and most of the land is submerged in water. All along this trip it is not obvious where the river ends and the flooded land starts.

One of the brick production sides just outside Phnom Penh.

On the busy road from Phnom Penh towards Kampong Cham.

Girls are selling lotus seeds as snacks at the roadside.

There are some really nasty potholes in the otherwise superb road to Kampong Cham, shortly before you Skuon. Truck and car drivers claim the entire width of the road to avoid the potholes.

From left to right: Kidan, Dara, Phal, I and a random Cambodian man on a moto.

We have a break in a restaurant at a lake a few kilometers west of Kampong Thom town.

Some Cambodian tourists are going for a swim and have an excellent time.

We are driving behind a luxury Lexus SUV when we see an infant water buffalo starting to cross the road. A big truck is coming our way on the other side of the road and it is becoming obvious that either this truck will hit the buffalo and send it our way or the buffalo will avoid the truck by getting back on our part of the road. Yet the driver in front of us does not reduce his speed. The buffalo indeed turns around and is right in the middle of the road when the SUV hits it at fairly high speed, catapulting it dozens of meters. We can partly see how the infant buffalo is rolling over a number of times in front of the SUV. Surprisingly, it gets back on its feed next to the road and walks to its buffalo mother.

These are the fellows in the Lexus, inspecting their broken headlight.

We come across this bridge somewhere between Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. It is an ancient bridge without any obvious modern additions yet part of the National Road from Cambodia’s modern to its ancient capital and the nation’s greatest attraction Angkor Wat. Presumably hundreds of buses and trucks pass this bridge everyday, and the river water forcefully pushes through its gates every rainy season. It appears that a new bridge is being build a few hundred meters from here.

We come across many fields submerged in water and houses accessible only by boat.

In a market not so far from Siem Reap.

We reach Siem Reap town and briefly visit the gates of Angkor Wat.

As usual there are many people picnicking in the area around the main entrance.

On one of the following days we visit the provincial department of culture and get a chance to witness Apsara dancers practicing.

We visit a small temple in town, opposite the Royal Residence, before we head to Battambang. These are some sort of bats which live on a couple of trees around this place. These bats are rather big.

Along the way from Siem Reap to Battambang.

Only a few kilometers outside Siem Reap town the previously paved road turns into a dirt road with numerous, partly water-filled, potholes. This is remarkable since this is a national road connecting major centers of the country.

This town is famous for its stone carving. Unfortunately I have forgotten its name.

These men are working on two extraordinarily large stone lions. We hear these lions have been ordered by the governor of the province, presumably for a major bridge.

Then we reach a place with an enormous accumulation of big vehicles right on the road. It appears impassable from far.

A large truck got stuck in the middle of the road and heavy machinery was brought in to free it.

Another truck got stuck a few kilometers away.

Later we reach a town a few kilometers before Battambang. I forgot its name. It has a monument that houses what seems to be an ancient lingam (phallic object as a symbol of Shiva) of considerable proportions.

The place is also popular for the variety of foods served in local food stalls.

This is a major beetle, fried. I prefer it a number smaller and have some fried crickets.

Later we reach Battambang and visit one of the ancient temples close to town. I believe it is Ek Phnom.

Later we hit the road again, pass through Pursat, have diner in Kampong Chnang and finally arrive back in Phnom Penh.

The plan for this weekend is to ride with Maraile on the bike to Kampong Chnang (Kampong Chhnang), spent one night and one day there with laid back activities such as taking in some of the local sights.

We leave Phnom Penh only in the afternoon and head north on National Road 5, towards Kampong Chnang and Battambang, the former being only 91 kilometers from Phnom Penh. Guide books complain about the poor quality of this road a few years ago but nowadays the road is excellent, pretty much all the way to the Thai border. The sun is setting down after we pass Udong Mountain.

10.09.2005

Arriving in Kampong Chnang only in the evening, we follow the advice of outdated guide books and ride straight to the Hotel Rithisen on the River Parkway and check in. The place is not particularly charming and the rooms are not particularly clean. Later we find that there is a new hotel, at about half way between the market and the riverfront (right hand when coming from the market), which charges the same rates but is much nicer and cleaner. I have been to Kampong Chnang before, in 2003 on the way to Battambang, but never spent a night here. I am not the only one since many people pass through this town on the way to western Cambodia and Thailand but few people stop in Kampong Chnang. Also the guide books have little to say about the place. The Lonely Planet’s ‘Things to See and Do’ starts with stating that “Kampong Chnang has nothing essential to check out, but the riverfront area is interesting to explore”.

After a short break we take the bike and cruise around. Later we find a restaurant and have diner. The rest of the evening we spend on the hotel’s terrace on the third floor.

A high variety of insects is flying in enormous numbers around the light and covers much of the walls and ceilings. At one point before we go to bed we ask one of the staff if we could get some insecticide to spray the rooms. He is so attentive that we find him a few minutes later spraying major parts of the entire terrace. Thousands of dead insects accumulate on the floor within a few minutes, and is later elegantly disposed of with broom and dustpan.

These pictures are taken in the morning from the hotel terrace.

Initially we were planning to take a boat or ferry, cross the river and visit the island, with its several ancient temples from the Chenla period including Prasat Srei and a town called Kampong Leaeng. However, we talk to people at the riverside and learn that the regular ferry will leave only late in the afternoon, too late for us. Individual boats can be chartered at about $30 for the roundtrip.

We have not enough time for the ferry and are not in the moot to invest in the boat. So we decide to get a rowing boat and explore the floating villages around Kampong Chnang town, which should be particularly interesting at this point of time given the high water levels.

This is where we find the boat, only few hundred meters away from the hotel and impossible to miss as the road ends right at the water. The place is crowded with people and we have no difficulties finding a friendly female driver who takes us around in a rowing boat.

Many members of Cambodia’s ethnic minorities live in this place, such as Muslim Cham, ethnic Vietnamese and Christians.

Children using big bowls to get around.

Maraile and I try to row the boat ourselves for some time but we fail very badly and people around us are having a good time. I now have much more appreciation for the elegance and grace with which Cambodian’s at all ages skillfully maneuver these wooden boats through rivers, lakes and rice paddies, seemingly effortless.

Back at the riverfront.

We take the bike and ride downtown, in order to visit the market and the highly recommended, inexpensive Mekong Restaurant at the national road. In one annoying episode, we leave our helmets on the bike while briefly exploring the market. The helmets are stolen when we return to the bike after just a few minutes. Later we buy new helmets at one of the shops near the market. Luckily, helmets are rather inexpensive in Cambodia, most of the more advanced models at offer cost less than $ 20.

After we finish lunch at the Mekong Restaurant we head west on a dirt road towards some close by hills with a pagoda on its top, called Wat Sahn-dtoot (Srae Thmei). We find easily a number of quite and peaceful places, some of them with magnificent views of Kampong Chnang town and its mostly flooded surroundings.

We hang out for some time, relax and appreciate the tranquil charm of the place. Later we get on the bike, ride down to Kampong Chnang town, have a coffee in the market and head towards Phnom Penh.

We visit one of the hill top pagodas (Wat Phnom Robath and Phnom Chahm-bpoo) only about 10 kilometers outside Kampong Chnang. The place offers beautiful views over the Mekong River before the backdrop of flooded plains and green fields.

One can recognize Udong Mountain from here.

Some monks are here, too, quietly enjoying the beauty of the scenery.

From here we ride down the mountain and follow National Road 5 towards Udong and Phnom Penh. From Udong, we take the alternative Road 51 down to Phnom Penh. it is very wide, in very good condition and has not much traffic. However, it does not go to Phnom Penh directly so you don’t really save time compared to National Road 5.

We have been planning on a short visit to Phnom Baset on the way but when pass Udong it becomes obvious that substantial rain is ahead of us. We keep going rather fast and are glad for every kilometer we make without getting wet.

http://cambodia.mellenthin.de/archives/2005/07/10/phnum-baset-longvaek-and-beckys-jump-into-tonly-bassac-river-all-by-motorbike/

Finally we reach National Road 4 west of Phnom Penh, still dry. We have a short break and enjoy a fruit shake at the roadside.

If you are coming down Road 51, it is on the small road ahead that you reach National Road 4.

We head to Phnom Penh and it starts raining very strongly when we are about to pass the airport. We stop and put on rain gear but wait for the rain to become weaker. This does not happen so we ride the last few kilometers in the rain.