Beach Life, Cambodian Style!
28th February 2007
After 3 days sweating our backsides off in Phnom Penh, we headed South in search of cooling sea breezes at Cambodia’s ‘premier’ coastal retreat, Sihanoukville.
We were quietly hoping that Sihanoukville would offer the gorgeous white sand beaches of Thailand without the crowds, the reality was a little disappointing. Unfortunately, the public beaches in Sihanoukville suffer from a litter problem, due to a mixture of lazy tourists and locals who know no different.
There is no infrastructure in place in Cambodia to deal with rubbish, so the problem of litter is by no means unique to Sihanoukville, but it really hits home when you see rubbish strewn across the beach, and floating in the sea. We did manage a couple of days sunbathing, and in the evenings, the beach transformed into an open air dining and drinking extravaganza, which was really cool, although probably the main contributor to the litter problem!
Sihanoukville didn’t really work for us, but then again, I guess we have been spoilt with beaches somewhat in the last 10 months! Traveling in Cambodia has re-enforced to us just how lucky we are to be on this trip. In 2 weeks here we have seen much more of this country than most Cambodians will in their lifetime. Cobb, our guide from Siam Reap, had never even seen the sea before and hoped one day to travel to Sihanoukville, which makes me feel a little guilty to be bemoaning my time there!
Next, we headed 150kms along the coast by shared taxi to the town of Kampot. Shared taxis are a uniquely Cambodian experience, fueling the national obsession with how many people can be crammed onto a vehicle. Seeing families of 5 on one moped is not uncommon, and we have met people who have been in a shared taxi with 8 people (including 2 on the drivers seat!). Keen to avoid this scenario, we got together with a French couple and booked out the whole taxi, paying the fare of 6 people to prevent the driver picking up anyone else en route!
The reason for our visit to Kampot (which is apparently home of the best pepper in the world!) was to visit Bokor Hill Station. The Hill station was built by the French in the 1920’s high up on a mountain with great views along the coastline and out to the islands of Vietnam. After the French were chased out of Cambodia, the hill station was used by Khmer Royalty before being abandoned as a battle ground during the time of the Khmer Rouge.
We headed out early morning for the 4 hour journey by pick up truck to Bokor, which is now surrounded by a jungle national park that is home to tigers! The road up the mountain was terrible, by far the worst we have traveled on during our entire trip. The 4×4 truck really struggled to get up the steep incline and navigate the pot holes, which made for a really painful journey for us, sharing the back with 6 others. We did have a bench to cling onto, which helpfully had 2 metal bars as a back rest, which smashed into your kidneys with every bump!
Thankfully, when we finally arrived at the old Royal palace, and the hill station itself, it all became worthwhile. The climate was welcoming due to the altitude, and the old, abandoned buildings, surrounded by mist and clouds, made for a very spooky experience as we strolled around the former Casino, Post Office and Church buildings. It was easy to imagine that, in its hey day, this would have been a very grand place indeed.
After lunch, the mists cleared revealing the awesome views down to the coast over the surrounding jungle. The Hill station is surrounded on 3 sides by steep cliffs, which apparently provided consolation to those who had lost their fortune during the boom times at the casino! As with much of Cambodia, Bokor Hill station can still be a colorful place, our guide telling us that they have ‘underground’ New Years Eve parties here every year. Last January things got a bit out of hand and ended in a gun fight between the locals, with 2 people ending up shot dead! It certainly makes our New Year’s Eve on Sydney harbour look a bit lame!
Tags: Bokor, Cambodia, Kampot, Sihanoukville, Travel
Chris and Charl
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