Southern Cambodia: Beaches and Mountains

Leaving the harsh history of Cambodia behind, I took a bus to a southern city of Sihanoukville, which is the beach capital of the country and which is more popular than two other southern towns viz. Kampot and Kep. Naturally, the place is quite crowded and hotel prices are a little more than elsewhere. I chose a room with an ocean view, air conditioner, huge bathroom and a swimming pool. All for $ 10 a night, my most expensive room till then. Since the ocean could be viewed from the balcony, there wasn't any need to go out in the sun at all and so I spent couple of those days just sitting in the balcony and reading, taking a swim in the cool waters of the pool and occasionally going out for food or a drink. All in all, it was another relaxing stay.

A beach at Sihanoukville

On the third day, however, I abruptly decided to move on and went to the bus station to catch a bus to another town called Kampot. The minivan was real fast and turns and twists on the road did not slow us down. We completed a 3 hour ride in just 2 and by the time I got down in damp air of Kampot, my insides were squirming. As usual touts were waiting for the unwary travelers and they crowded the passengers as we got down. Being smaller than western folks and not so white helped me to move away quietly, without attracting any of those touts and I felt blessed for that. A short walk found me in front of a tourist information center and I entered. The fellow was good-natured and helpful and immediately pointed a few cheap hotels on a map and handed it to me. I started the walk in search of the cheapest and my first try turned out to be a $ 3 dorm. Thinking that this ought to be the cheapest of the lot, I got in, where I met a couple of Germans who warned me against the bed bugs. Keeping my bags on the bed I moved to the source of bright light in the dormitory, which was a balcony with another splendid view of the river front, which was marked by several benches and green trees along the clean blue waters of the river and a very old looking bridge connecting to the other side of the river. This particular bridge looked uneven, as if it was made out of wastes and whatever was left. It was quite interesting.

Riverfront and the old bridge

The next morning I went to the reception to ask for a bicycle and at that time I met two Germans again. "We are going to Kep" they said. "Want to join?". Five minutes later, I was on the backseat of a Vietnamese motorbike, sky was clear and surroundings were green. Kep is only about half an hour ride from Kampot and used to be the beach capital of Cambodia. Now it is not so famous and less crowded. The ride from Kampot to Kep is beautiful with many a rice fields and salt lakes on the sides. As we neared Kep, vast blue ocean emerged on our right side and impressive green mountains on the left. We found a good beach, parked our bikes near a shop and ran straight to the warm waters. It was very comfortable, except for the fact that by the time we came out of the water, our skin was stinging, the reason unknown. We sat in the Sun drying ourselves, where we met a couple of more Germans and then all of us headed to the famous crab market. But it was bad timing. At 5 in the evening, all the baskets which might have contained crabs in the morning were now empty. Only one woman was selling crabs and so many people surrounded her that by the time we even had a glimpse of the basket, it was empty again. Dejected, we headed to a restaurant, where we had not so bad fish and rice. The sun began to edge towards horizon as we started back, waiting only a couple of minutes to take pictures of the sunset.

Kep Beach

Last of crabs!

German friends

Time to go back

Sunset!

The next morning the dorm was entirely empty and getting ready I started my first ever organized tour in my whole trip. A $ 10 tour of Kampot, which included Bokor national park, a dry waterfall and sunset cruise on the river. Not a bad price! The tour group consisted of an Irish guy, a dutch girl , a french couple and two British girls. Bokor mountain is covered by dense forest and being elevated, has cool weather. There is an abundance of various species of animals and plants. If not too cloudy, one can enjoy beautiful view of the ocean and Phu Quoc island in the distance. Fascinated by the view perhaps, french built a huge Casino on the hilltop about a century ago. There is also a French church and king's summer palace on other parts of the hill. The summer palace was our first stop, which no more than a small house. It's hard to believe that it used to be a king's palace. Dirty walls are now covered with many artistic graffiti. Cigarette butts litter the ground. But one thing is still the same, the view from the front. The vast blue ocean lies beneath the mountain and there on the horizon, an island is visible, which now belongs to Vietnam, though Cambodians believe it to be theirs.

Graffiti

Empty halls of the palace

Summer palace

Stunning view!

Further on, we stopped near an old church building. Another century old structure, a little crumbling, its red walls having dark blackish patches. It has a serious haunted feel to it as you roam inside. It might be a little spooky if you venture alone. I did not try that and stuck to the group instead. The french casino is not that far from the church and it is said that it used to be Khmer Rouge's stronghold for years even after their fall from the capital city. The casino which used to have a Gothic feel just like the church has lost it due to preservation project by the government. Once red-black and scary walls are now covered with grey paint. The insides have been cleaned out and now it looks like a semi-finished new building. It is still marvelous, but has certainly lost the charm!

Wonderful view of the church

French Church

Walls

The casino

View from the top of

There are a couple of more century old buildings nearby which are now covered with plants and vines crawling along the walls and the roofs. Dense and thick grass is covering the grounds surrounding these structures and it is very easy to believe that these places maybe haunted.

Another scary structure

Our tour price included lunch and we had it at the waterfall, which had no water due to dry season. We finished our lunch and headed back to the town, where we were given a free hour to roam around before taking the sunset cruise. Our tour group had only one couple and as our boat started its slow, lazy journey on the river, sun slowly sinking to the west, all the rest of us started to feel a little out of place. "What the heck!" I thought and I got up and sat next to the boat driver, an old and frail looking fellow, with broken teeth, who gave me a warm smile as he took a deep puff of a cigarette. There I sat, observing his activities, which were far less interesting than I thought and involved more smoking than anything to do with the boat. It was a pleasant ride nonetheless. While everyone else sat on the passenger seats which were a little lower than the driver's seat and had a roof on top, I sat in the open air and had a better view.

We passed many of these on the way

Green!

Yet another beautiful sunset

With a cool breeze playing on my face and a wonderful sight of dark and dense green trees along the river-side, I found the ride much more interesting without a company than I thought. We saw a private boat from top of which some westerners were jumping in the river, coming back on board and jumping again and felt strong inclination to do the same. None of us carried spare clothes though, and we had to settle for just staring at them with a bit of envy. Our boat took a U-turn as the sky overhead turned bright scarlet and birds began retreating to their homes. Small children still played in the river with no apparent track of time and waved at us as we passed them, their smiles broad and their enthusiasm having no limit. Sooner than I thought, our boat came neare the town and the breeze subsided. The peace which held us for so long was now broken by horns of the vehicles in the distant. Small, dim lights could be seen of the cars and motorbikes crossing the bridge ahead of us. And by the time our boat stopped at a place where it had started, stars had started twinkling in the sky. We got out of the boat, shook hands with each other with satisfied smiles on our faces and parted the ways!

From a beautiful laid back town to sad history of the country

After spending a week in Kratie, almost doing nothing at all, except walking, eating, swimming and cycling, finally it was time to say goodbye to this beautiful town and our laziness. Having packed our bags and geared for the bustle in Phnom Penh, we said goodbye to our hotel owner, who seemed to be gravely disappointed as we did not take any tours from him. He smiled nonetheless and we walked to the market center where vans usually wait to be loaded before heading to PP. End of new year's holiday meant huge crowd going back to the cities from hometown and increase in the van fare. We negotiated a bit and saved ourselves 50 cents each before we were shoved on the backseat with our bags on our laps. Once again, the van was packed with people twice its capacity and it was off!
It took 4 hours before we caught a glimpse of a commercial city in the distant from a bridge over the river. As we entered the city, the first bump welcomed us into its heart. The road seemed to be under development, but lack of any workers and activity meant that the road had been in this condition for a long time. First sign of a corrupt city. More bumps followed and we had to hold on to wherever we could. About an hour inside the city on bad roads and crowded street, we finally reached what looked like the central market and were dropped off there. As is the case with any touristy city, we were surrounded by touts and agents asking us about hotels or tuk tuks. Denying everyone politely, we started east-wards, to the river side, which is crowded by numerous hotels. The streets were lined with food stalls, restaurants and shops. It was a crowded area. Everyone seemed to be hurrying towards something important. After checking out a few hotels, we finally found one to our liking and checked into it. But as the ceiling was leaking, we had to check out again and find a new hotel.

The central market

Our basic room

The next day, all three of us started walking aimlessly. Checking out the surroundings, a map in hand. We realised that we could actually walk to a famous tourist spot, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and started to head that way. Cambodia perhaps has worse history than Vietnam and Laos. First because of its occupation by French in the beginning, then their involuntary involvement in Vietnam war and finally an enemy within the country i.e. Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot. It is one of the saddest episodes of history and quite a long one. It is advisable to read about it before coming to Cambodia to understand and respect the country and its people.
Towards the end of Vietnam war, Cambodia had three armies, Americans, Khmer Rouge and then governing political party. Khmer Rouge with their aggression managed to win this war and took over Phnom Penh. The Cambodians welcomed this new regime as it has finally ended an ever going war. But the peace did not last. Khmer Rouge's philosophy was that every country man need to work in the field to maximize the agricultural produce. Pol Pot believed that education and foreign involvement are bad for the country's development and banned schools throughout the country. Well educated people such as doctors, lawyers, architects etc. were kept as prisoners and schools were converted into prison camp. The regime itself had well educated people at the top, most of whom had completed their education in France or other countries in Europe. Any slightest sign of uprising was punished severely and towards the end Pol Pot became so paranoid about a plot against him that many people were imprisoned or murdered without a slightest proof. By the end of the Pol Pot regime, as many as 25% of total population had been murdered and the country's economy was transferred back to the stone age. It was a gruesome act and reminders of this can be seen throughout the country.
One of such reminders is the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This, previously a school, was a prison camp for political and other prisoners. All the classrooms were converted into jails and the prisoners were subjected to various methods of torture. By the end of the torture, many people would just accept the crimes they had not committed, to get out of the torture. Well, once accepted, they were subjected to death sentence. It is said that screams could be heard throughout the nearby areas when innocent were tortured. The prisoners included children, women and old people. So many people died in this establishment that it is said that the bad stench of decay lingered throughout the premise for months even after the fall of the regime.

Entrance to the museum

School campus

As a reminder, this prison has now been converted in a museum. The now empty classrooms and faded walls are witness to these episodes. Blood marks can be seen on the floor where innocent people were tortured, many of whom could not withstand it and died. Photos have been put on the walls of tortures and dead people. Many of the weapons used for torture are on display. Some rooms have numerous amounts of photos of prisoners, others have photos of the Khmer Rouge soldiers. On both sides, children as young as 5-6 can be seen. Their innocent eyes, quite aloof to what was actually happening.

One of the last victims

Deathbed?

Torture room

Silent witness!

Pol Pot: The reason behind everything!

Victims

Prisoners

Young Khmer Rouge soldiers

It is hard not to feel stunned after going through these rooms and as I sat on a bench waiting for Huang and Yushin, a small breeze playing with my hair, my mind had become numb and it seemed as if all happiness was sucked out of me....by a gruesome act in the past!

Kratie: An unexpected destination!

My bus to Kampong Cham, which supposed to be super-fast VIP one, was scheduled at 6 in the morning from Siem Reap and pick was to be at 5.30. Getting up at 5, when the whole hotel was still sleeping, I entered the lobby to wait for my pick up. The whole hotel staffs were snoring loudly and I decided to wait outside instead. The morning was a little hazy, but still quite warm. The mosquitoes kept zooming around my ear trying to irritate my already sleepy mind further. The pick-up van arrived, insides of which were modified to allow more room for luggage and less for the passengers. There were a couple of guys from Taiwan, carrying what looked like side bags used while cycling. They nodded, both looking quite sleepy. We then picked up an old lady who turned out to be from Florida and whom I had met the night before in a restaurant. Our small pick-up van took us to the southern bus stand where we were transferred to one VIP bus. Even though, there were no seat numbers on our tickets, the ticket checker made sure to spread us away from each other, his intentions unknown. As the bus started to move, a small TV in the front started playing the famous Cambodian Karaoke songs, a couple in the video singing and others dancing the traditional dance, which consist of moving legs and hands as less as possible. As more people got on the bus, the volume of the video was increased and by the time bus became full, I had to clap my both hands on my ears, as the music now was ear-splitting! After about three hours or so, the songs stopped, I breathed a sigh of relief. But immediately after five minutes, they started playing stand up comedy. It reminded me of Marathi comedy series back home, where performers shout their lungs out, hoping to make people laugh...and people do laugh. Higher the volume, more the laughter. And this time, I didn’t understand a thing, making it worse. It was just loud, annoying, brain-killing noise.

The so-called VIP bus was supposed to take 5 hours to Kampong Cham, but at around noon time, we stopped for lunch and were still nowhere near the town. Two more hours passed before we stopped again and this time our driver told us to wait there for another bus. Apart from the Taiwanese guy and the American lady, there was one more French girl with us and the waiting time gave all of us some interaction time and by the time our next van did turn up, all of us were friends. The minivan was supposed to take everyone except me to Kratie and the American woman advised me to join them. I quickly scanned lonely planet and wiki travel pages about Kampong Cham and having found nothing of interest, decided to go to Kratie, which was going to be my next destination anyway. I was prepared to pay the extra price, but I think they thought everyone was headed to Kratie which was 4-5 hours further from Kampong Cham and no one even asked me for the ticket.

Waiting on the "highway"

As the evening rolled past, the scene changed significantly. Our little group had turned out to be quite chatty and in spite the fact that a 6 sitter minivan was loaded with more than 15 people, our mood was quite mellow. A dark mass of cloud hung in the air on the east side and the setting sun on the west created quite a contrast, lighting the whole scene in vibrant colors. The green of trees seemed to be so bright as if watching a high definition TV show. This part of Cambodia is known for its thick cover of greenery thanks to Mekong and rainfall. The rolling hills in the distance, all bright green as the sunlight reflected on them was quite a sight. Huge gardens of palm trees kept passing on our left side and a few stilt houses here and there. The road was narrow and rain swept. Not dirty, but perfectly clean and just wet enough to look dark gray shade against the green grass on either side. Despite having a tough day in the bus and despite the fact that a 7 hour journey actually took more than 12 hours, I couldn’t help but feel quite jolly. This was the tropical paradise!

We checked into the first hotel we saw. I shared a three-bed room with the Taiwanese guys, Yu Shin and Huang, for $3 per person. Kratie is a small town located on the banks of Mekong. It does not attract too much tourist attention and hence is a low profile town.

On the banks of Mekong

The next morning, hiring a bicycle, the whole group (except the American lady) started exploring the river side. We kept the Mekong to our left as we road through the countryside. The roads were flat and had plenty of cover of over-hanging branches of tree, making the journey much more comfortable that it would otherwise have been. On the way we passed numerous small villages and as we passed these small children kept running behind us, shouting “Helllloooooo” and waving it us. You can’t help but smile at them and shout back...no matter how many times you have to do it. There were numerous mango trees on either side of the road and we stopped for a while to enjoy the taste of tangy green mango.  Continuing on, we left the tar road and took a small trail instead, which led us through a tiny village consisting of stilt houses and lots and lots of palm trees. Half naked children were still running and waving behind us. Except for them, the village seemed quite deserted and soon we realised the reason for this. We came around a house which was crowded by a large number of people sitting on the corridor outside a stilt house, as if the whole village had gathered. As we passed them, almost every one of them waved at us, inviting us to join them. I called out to others to stop and parking the bike I climbed the stairs to join them. Immediately they started to ask me questions, trying to say something, all of which went over my head. So I just waved and said “Happy new year”, which they understood, as was apparent from their wide smiles and hands raised in toast, carrying beers. I was forced to take a few cans of beer myself, which I took passing a few to my group, still standing below. Huang joined me and together we emptied a few cans to help us feel less embarrassed. A few cans later, I was feeling light-headed as my glasses were passed from one person to another, each trying them on. It was a bunch of nice people!

Black Panther!

New year party with locals

With so much beer in our belly, me and Huang no longer felt the afternoon heat and after saying goodbye to village-folk, we enjoyed the ride even more. About 15 kms from the town, we came across a sign of Dolphin and realised that it was the famous Dolphin spotting place. But we kept this excursion for the next day and headed onwards. A couple kms more and we reached rapids, where the Mekong is shallow and really fast. Small sheds have been built with hammocks inside for relaxing. It costs less than quarter cents to rent these hammocks and enjoy getting drenched in these rapids. We spent rest of the afternoon there....getting drenched in the shallow waters, having some water therapy, reading and taking a nap on the hammock.

Wonderful rapids!

Relaxing

Sunset

Time to head back

As the Sun began to sink, we started back. But it took less than 15 minutes for dark rounding on us. And we had to rely on our mobile light to guide us back to the town!

After the sunset