Motorbike adventures

As is the way to travel around Cambodia, we have been hiring motorbikes to explore the area. Nerves were running high on our first day, but with a bit of practice we were gaining confidence. We knew we'd make it when we overtook our first Cambodians. On the second day, I traded my motorbike in for a a more feminine ride...an automatic moped, which I found a million times easier to drive, as I didn't have to worry what my feet were doing.

We spent a day driving through the Bokor National Park. This involved an ascent of 1079m on a windy road. We felt as if we were on Top Gear, until we looked at the speedo and realised we were averaging 30 miles an hour.

Our route up the Elephant Mountains through Bokor National Park

We re-fuelled our tanks and set off up the Elephant mountains (no elephants to be seen though).

Entrance to the Bokor National Park

Tim and his trusty steed
In other news, Tim's large head is proving quite a challenge - seems they don't make helmits big enough!

Quick refreshment break on the way up

As we were nearing the top, a huge storm appeared. Luckily, we turned a corner only to be greeted by a massive resort, which looked completely out of place in the middle of a beautiful national park. However, we were glad to find coffee and English Breakfast tea. We left to brave the weather, only to return 5 minutes later to take refuge again (and another coffee). We did eventually make it down the mountain and headed to a private beach off the tourist route.

Waiting for us at the top

Today, we headed East to a town called Kep in search of the beach. I had a slightly panicked moment when I ran over a snake wiggling his way across the road. Tim was very patient with me and searched me and the bike just to ensure there weren't any bits of snake still wiggling around. 

Kampot

We have retreated to a little riverside resort in a town called Kampot. We knew it was off-the-beaten track but we didn't realise quite how far it was from the main road. Our poor taxi driver struggled to fit down the tiny country roads, and was making sceptical noises about there being anywhere to stay so far from the main road...but we eventually arrived at our home for the next 6 nights. We ended up staying double the amount of time we'd planned to, because we love the atmosphere and it's a great base to explore the south of Cambodia.

We weren't too sure about Kampot to begin with...it was raining and we got very wet (and a bit grumpy). However, the town improved once the sun was out. There seems to be a lot of expats here and we've met some interesting (and perhaps a bit shady) characters. 

We booked to stay in a little yurt by the river. It's been amazing to fall asleep to the sounds of the jungle, and having a fan feels very luxurious after our homestay! We've been mainly relaxing, trying out all the different coffee shops, taking the kayak up the river, and hiring motorbikes most days to explore the area. The resort is right between a Buddhist village on one side and a Cham Muslim one on the other, all who rely on the river for their every day life. As we've been kayaking down the river, voices appear from the jungle shouting "hello" - ladies washing, children playing, men working...all of them so friendly. We'll be sad to leave this little jungle hideaway tomorrow.

Our riverside home for 6 days

People watching in Kampot

A row of bottoms 

Menu

The bottom of this menu amused me. We were intrigued to meet "Kannikaa". We can confirm that she was neither particularly annoying or a fatty; the dog we cannot vouch for.

Chambok homestay

To get a real taste of Cambodian life, we decided to do a homestay in a village in the countryside. One very bumpy taxi drive later and we arrived at a place called Chambok (http://chambok.org). The community there have set up an ecotourism site, so they don't have to rely on farming for a living. We couldn't have been welcomed by friendlier faces, all desperate to practice their English on us. There were a couple of tour guides with excellent English. The others had limited English and their general answer to everything is to smile and say "yes" (which they feel is preferable than silence or saying they don't understand). This caused some concern when I asked our guide if there were crocodiles  in the lake in which we were swimming...smile..."yes".

There are different activities on offer, and we partook in a trek up to see a 40ft waterfall (which started aboard an ox-cart!) and we were taken by tractor to a local lake for swimming.

Ox-cart ride

Welcome dance from the village's dance group

40ft waterfall (aka our shower for the 3 days)

How we felt after the trek

So our home for the next few days was a house on stilts in the local village. It belonged to an old man, Mek Chee, who spoke no English, and our Khmer is limited to say the least. The room was basic and we got little sleep on our first night. Our senses were overloaded, with the jungle sounds (some of these I decided it was probably best not to picture which animal they belonged to...), total darkness, and the relentless heat. We were determined to get a better night's sleep on the second night, however, this was disturbed again, as Tim decided to add his own sound effects to the jungle chorus. He threw up everywhere. Nice. It was difficult trying to communicate this to our host in the morning, but I'm pretty sure he was aware of what was going on, as the walls were basically made out of paper. We gave him some Scottish shortbread to say thank you and sorry for the disturbance. He seemed a bit perplexed by the shortbread, however, when we collected our bags later on we saw the tartan wrappers blowing around his garden, so it seems it went down OK.

The food was all prepared by the 330 women in the community, who took turns to cook for the tourists, guides, and the members of the NGO which had helped set the project up.  It was big effort to cook so much food, but then they only had to do it roughly once a year.  Their food was delicious, if not exactly what we westerners were used to. On the last morning, we were offered porridge for breakfast. Our western (and slightly delicate) stomachs were really looking forward to this. You can imagine our disappointment when the dish below arrived. So it seems Cambodian porridge = mushy rice. Oh well, at least they brought us a side dish of chicken to go in our porridge (!)

We loved our stay at Chambok, and meeting the people there. It is admirable how they have pulled together as a community, and protect and look after the poorest families.

The Killing Fields

I really didn't have a clue about the Civil War and Pol Pot's regime before I came to Cambodia. We've visited a few places to learn about what happened here. Our tour guide at The War Museum near Siem Reap had been in the army that liberated Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge, and he shared his story with us, which wasn't easy listening. Whilst in Phnom Penh, we visited Choeng Ek, one of the former Killing Fields of the Pol Pot regime. This was a place where people were brought on mass to be killed.

The Killing Fields, Phnom Penh

2 million people were killed by Pol Pot's regime, and another million died from starvation. It was very hard hitting walking around a place where thousands of people had been murdered less than 30 years ago. When it rains, teeth and bones come to the surface, which the staff there collect each month.

Perhaps the most chilling scene at the Killing Fields

Travelling around Cambodia, you can't help but notice how young the general population is. Around 70% of the population is under 30, because of the genocide. The manager at our last hotel looked like a school child on work experience, trying to look grown up in his suit. It seems younger people here are having to step up and take responsibility far beyond their years.

Faces of prisoners at S-21

We visited Tuol Sleng S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, which I found very harrowing. There were rooms full of photos of people who had been tortured and killed here. Some of the rooms were left untouched, so you really got a sense for what it was like.

Prison Rules

I LOVE the innocence in this picture 'Peace is nice', drawn by a school child.

Picture hung at Tuol Sleng

Angkor wat

The sight-seeing highlight or our trip so far has to be Angkor Wat. No trip to Siem Reap is complete without a day or two zipping around the different temples. Our trusty tuk tuk driver, Gram, kept us supplied with water and always greeted us with a cheery smile. 

We must have climbed thousands of steps in the 30C heat, and seven temples later, we were totally exhausted. 

In a daze, whilst descending temple number 6, Tim misjudged a step and went over on his ankle. As I was putting my first aid training into action, a small boy came over to try and sell us some postcards (persistent (!) children vendors are a common sight throughout Cambodia), he quickly stopped trying to give us his best sales pitch and a look of concern came over him. He was genuinely concerned for Tim and his wellbeing. It felt the wrong way round. 

This is our experience of all Cambodians. They are some of the most genuine people, who can't do enough to help you (and always with the biggest smile). They have a great sense of humour and are always open to a bit of friendly bartering. 

Another example of their kindness was today when we left out hotel in Siem Reap to head to Phnom Penh. Tim has a tendency to be a bit forgetful... On our way out, a member of staff came running downstairs with his phone he'd left in our room. What great customer service. We then got on a minibus, which was driving around Siem Reap, rounding up people from their various hotels in order to transport us to the coach station. At one hotel stop, the Manager of our hotel suddenly appeared at the bus door, clasping Tim's sunglasses. Turns out, Tim had put these down when he was receiving his forgotten phone, but in the joyous reunion with his phone, he then put these down and forgot about them too...oh Tim. We're not quite sure how the Manager found us, as we'd been driving around for a while, but it was an example again of how genuinely good the people of Cambodia are.

This was my favourite temple, Ta Prohm, often described as the 'tree-strangled' temple. It was amazing how familiar it felt, presumably because it is the backdrop to many movies. 

Floating down the river

A floating village in Tonle Sap Lake was our destination for today. Meandering down the river in our boat = perfect for people watching. 

Middle/right - moving house floating village style

Most people seemed to be fishing or relaxing watching the world go by. For those who wanted something more active, there was a floating basketball court. 

The best way to see Cambodia

Today's lesson: quad biking is possibly the best way to explore the countryside.

We spent a couple of hours zooming along red dirt tracks, past rice fields and houses on stilts. The countryside is amazingly colourful and peaceful, and the villagers so welcoming. All the while, the clouds were darkening and we could almost smell the rain. Second lesson of the day: don't wear a white shirt to go quad biking.

Safety first

Excited children came running out to say hello (very possibly in search of sweets). Still, they are all adorable.