National Parks

Kampot should be a really lovely town, set on the river with lively markets and several impressive Wats. It is however home to many poor Cambodian families and incoherent western druggies and drunks. It is dirty and characterless, which is a shame because it has loads of potential. The only thing of interest apart from talking to the locals is Bokor National Park in which the king used to reside many moons ago and where the Khymer Rouge had an impressive stronghold.

We decided to do a tour with 'Monkey tours' who took us up in a 4WD on an atrocious road through the most amazing scenery. The journey up took 3 hrs, but we were rewarded with an amazing view from the Black Palace, which looks more like a war bunker these days. After a traditional Khmer Curry (see photo) we went to a Casino and a haunting church. All now derelict, but impressive none the less.

On the way down our4WD spluttered to a stop and in true Cambodian style the driver simply said, "We've run out of petrol". Two hrs later a man in a truck arrived with a can of gas and we were off again down the bumpiest road in existence. Our sunset cruise turned into a moonlight cruise and we got back to the hotel exhausted at 8pm. Great experience tho!

Ream National Park is near Sinahoukville in the south of Cambodia. We had a much more relaxed day here. A peaceful cruise past the mangroves and women neck deep in water looking for cockles and then a walk through the jungle, to the beach for a swim.

Panicked monkeys sprang through the trees as we disturbed their slumber and sea eagles hunted near the boat oblivious to the noise of our motor. The only school for the 45 families within the park is one funded by the Korean Church and children walk for 4 hours at the start and end of the week to go.

3 boats, 2 buses and no sign of Charlie

Our departure from Vietnam started with a short bus ride from out hotel in Chau Doc to a small boat powered by a tiny Vietnamese crazy woman. We stopped at a muslim village and then boarded another boat (Garry did an Indiana Jones impression and ran across 2 boats diving into the boat!) to the Cambodian border. The border crossing was uneventful and involved a walk through a muddy field to a small building, where we got our stamp and they took $50 from us. We walked over another muddy field into the Kingdom of Cambodia.


We boarded another boat which took us up the Mekong to a bus for the journey into Phnom Penh. Not exactly the same experience as Martin Sheen had in Apocolypse Now, but it was certainly an insight into life on the Delta.


Phnom Pehn was a bit of a culture shock at first, especially coming out of a modern city like Siagon. We arrived in the dark, which never helps first impressions, and there were hoards of beggars and kids trying to sell you postcards and motorbike drivers pestering you for a lift and the streets were dirty and smelly and to top it off our hotel had let our room because we were late.


The next day however we were feeling a little less tired and more equipped to face the city. It seemed a little brighter and friendlier. The city is poor and the people are more desperate than in Vietnam. The Cambodians are more reserved and wary and come across as unfriendly and sometimes rude, but you have to take into account the horrors that happened not 30 yrs ago.