Around Cambodia

Serendipity Beach June 13, 2005

Anisa wanted to have some real vacation after her last week of school, so we went directly out to the beach. It's technically the rainy season, though it hasn't really rained much yet, so we were almost the only tourists there. It was very relaxing and we didn't do much besides sit around on the beach reading. The south along the coast is much greener than around Phnom Penh. The scenery between the capital and Sihanoukville was beautiful. It was a big change because we started into the hills, the land around Phnom Penh is flatter than the Netherlands. We explored the scuba options, but everything's closed for the rainy season. Luckily Anisa is a wonderful person to travel with, she's really good at going with the flow and taking it easy. So, we had a lot of fun just hanging out together.

Bokor June 16, 2005

Our next adventure was Bokor National Park. Bokor was made a park in 1993, so it's still a new part of the budding national park system here. Anisa has wanted to visit it for quite some time and it's a common day trip out of Kampot, so we decided to give it a shot. I'll admit the road was rougher than I had expected. Riding a dirt bike up the bumpy, rocky road left bruises on me, so sitting was out of the question that evening, but it was beautiful up there. 

The humidity and even the heat dropped away as we climbed up what they called the "mountain". It might be a hill compared to the Rockies, but compared to the rice paddies around, it looked like a mountain, even to me. We saw lots of remains of French colonialism and former palaces of the Cambodian Royalty. The place wasn’t just discovered during colonial times; Cambodians have always known that it is gorgeous up there. There are bears and tigers in the park, but you really have to stay up at the ranger station for some time before you get lucky enough to see large mammals. We were just there for the day. 

We rode up to the park on 220cc dirt bikes. I'm glad Anisa voted for hiring bikes with drivers. I can hardly believe they offered to rent the bikes to us to drive, considering that road we wouldn't have made it very far. From the back of the moto I could at least look around as we drove, though I was very uncomfortable all day. The butterflies made the first impression on me, they were everywhere, in all colors and most were huge. Looking up at the trees sometimes it seemed they had more butterflies than leaves above the canopy in the sun. It was an amazing place, up at the top made almost eerie by the clouds that blew up over the ridge from the ocean down below.

We stopped to explore a giant shell that used to be a casino. It’s three stories high and is just cement and rebar left. No glass in the windows or even remnants of flooring. The stairs were intact, so we climbed up and were admiring the swirling clouds and mist when I saw something move in the bushes below us. I elbowed Anisa and pointed, sure that I must be imagining things. There’s no way we would be lucky enough to see a tiger or bear on a short day trip.

There was more movement in the trees and shrubs. To our surprise, several heavily armed military emerged from the forest and lined up, out in the open. Suddenly, a whole platoon was lined up, with three people who were obviously officers marching up and down. Even stranger, in the silence we clearly heard French. This is the last thing I would have expected. 

They weren’t there long, and melted back into the forest as quickly as they had appeared, leaving me wondering if I had really seen that. We went back down the stairs to the bikes and drove down to town without talking much. The trees looked very different than they had on the way up. I had been picturing a national park like I’m used to in the US, where you expect to see wildlife. I did not expect to see military training, or a burned out shell of a casino, for that matter. 

Phnom Penh, June 25

Back in Phnom Penh, we went up to the north side of the city and had dinner in the backpacker neighborhood. This was almost out of town, on the edge of a big lake. The streets were narrow and twisted, like an old French village. On our way, Jim warned us to be careful. I wasn't sure if the area had a reputation for being dangerous because of the stereotypes of foreigners, or because of the stereotypes of Cambodians who hang out with foreigners. Anisa told me it's mostly because of the amount of drugs that are consumed by the backpackers. Fortunately we didn't run into any of that but found that our usual beer - Anchor - is cheaper there than in most other areas of town. We happened to be there on a night that a Cambodian family was celebrating their son's 4th birthday, so they brought little grills and platters of vegetables and meats out to the tables so all the assembled backpackers got a free dinner. We ended up at a table with a British woman and her two daughters and a couple guys from California. It was good food, and we weren't about to turn down a free meal. The next day we packed our bags and got back on the bus.

Back to the beach, June 27

So, though we'd already been there, we headed back to the beach. We had played around with the idea of going to Kampong Cham, but it felt like tourism for the sake of going somewhere that tourists are supposed to go. So, I was very happy when Anisa suggested we abandon out northward travel plans and head south back to the beach. 

We just stayed at Serendipity, close to where we had been before. Anisa treated me to a nicer guest house right on the beach. The weather was better this time too and the ocean was a dreamy turquoise. We arrived on Sunday, so there was a bit of a crowd on the beach since Khmer families come there on the weekends. By Monday it was deserted and we had the place to ourselves. We only stayed a couple days because Anisa and I both leave Thursday for the US and we had some last minute errands to run in Phnom Penh before we take off. It was a very relaxing and nice end to a long month in Cambodia.

My strongest lasting impression is how far the country has come since the Khmer Rouge destroyed everything. Construction is everywhere: bridges, wats, schools, roads, homes, hotels, everything. I was very impressed by how many places had internet and how many schools dotted the countryside. Most of the country is undeveloped, but considering where they were 20 years ago, Cambodians have come a long way. It's incredible what they have accomplished in such a short time. 

It's a beautiful country. I'm glad Anisa moved there and was so eager to show me around. Having a friend who knows the place at least a little makes a big difference.