After one night in Sihanoukville we took the bus to our next destination in the Cardamon Mountains. The bus dropped us in Andoung Tuek on its way to Koh Kong on the Thai border. From there we had organized a pick-up to bring us to the village of Chi Phat by boat. The alternative was a ride on a motorbike which is quicker and cheaper but the boat ride is much nicer. The village of Chi Phat was once known for land-grabbing, illegal logging and poaching but has since turned to eco-tourism. Everything from accommodation over food to multi-days jungle tours is organized by a community-based center. There is a choice between bungalows, guest houses and homestays with a local family. We chose to stay with a family where we had our own room and shared the bathroom with them. There was no running water but everything was very clean. In the bathroom they had a large, concrete made basin with water used to flush the toilet and to pour over yourself for a shower. It’s quite refreshing to shower like this. The first night we asked our hosts to have dinner there which was made by the mother and very delicious. My favorite dish was a mix of onions, cucumbers and pineapple all steamed together.
We had decided that we wanted to do a two-day trek through the jungle, the highlight being one night in the jungle. We started off in the morning and walked until lunch to our campsite. On our way we first crossed farm land and then a reforested area. Sadly, there had been a large fire not long ago destroying the underwood and killing many of the newly planted trees. It was not going to be the last time we were going to see the effects of a bush fire but every time it made us really sad. While there is still fire clearing going on, our guide told us that this was not done on purpose. We had our lunch at our campsite for the night, where also a small river supplied the water. The river turned out to be rather a muddy puddle that a stream. Judging by the clear water that we were given for drinking it was filtered before it was boiled or used for cooking. After a tasty lunch of vegetable, omelet and rice, we rested for a few hours. The campsite, our guide called it ‘Hotel Cambodia’, has three sheds which supply only a roof against the sun (or rain) for the ‘Restaurant Cambodia’ consisting of the ‘kitchen’ the ‘dining room’. A third shed was built on a platform where our hammocks were set up. They were military grade hammocks with camouflage pattern and an integrated mosquito net. In the afternoon heat I quickly fell asleep and waking up for our walk to the waterhole was tough.
The waterhole was a bit disappointing though. Since we are deep into the dry-season there was no water and therefore no animals coming to drink. There had also been a fire not long ago driving the animals from the area. We could still see some trees smoldering and smoking. However, we were lucky to see a few monkeys if only shortly. Decades of poaching and fires have made them very afraid of humans, our guide told us. Our guide, Kim, was a very positive and friendly man. I think he was around 55 years old. His English was sometimes hard to understand because he was missing most of his teeth and had learned it only as an adult. He told us a little bit about his live. As a child or teen he became a monk before he joined the Cambodian army for ten years. He lived through the terror of the Red Khmer (Khmer rouge) and lost two brothers in prison. He told us that everyone was forced to work on the fields and that the food they got was a lot of water with very little rice. They went to school only for a few hours and were taught very little. Later he joined the Vietnamese army who eventually ended the terror regime. Kim told us all this very freely and seemed to be at peace with the past. When we went to bed, he warned us to always wear our shoes when we leave the hammock as the most dangerous things in the Cambodian jungle are land mines, scorpions and snakes. In this order.
The second day we walked deeper into the jungle. We had to watch every step as there were lots of rocks and sticks. But since our guide was shorter than us, we also had to watch our head because there might be a branch or a bush ahead. It was quite the challenging tour even though it was mostly flat. The heat and the humidity made it even harder. Each of us drank over 3 l of water, most of which we lost sweating. Before lunch we stopped at a small waterfall with a pond underneath where we could swim. Even though it did not last long we enjoyed the refreshment very much. After lunch we visited several hundred years old jars in a cave which were given as burial objects. From there we were picked-up on rode back to the village on a motorbike.
In the evening we had the chance to get a look into a Cambodian wedding. Most of the village seemed to have been invited and the tourists were welcome to join in as well. After arriving at the party with a few other tourists, we were asked to come in. Going in parts of the wedding party, including the bride and groom, greeted us. Someone, I think the mother of one of them, guided us to a table with a tray of beer. All of this happened so quickly and it was difficult to refuse. Everyone was dressed up, the men wearing long sleeve jackets in all colors and the women wearing dresses. We felt rather uncomfortable and very much out of place. We therefore found the backdoor and went home quickly.
The next day started early with an adventurous motorbike ride back to Andoung Tuek where we then caught the bus to Pnom Penh. Here we had to change busses in order to get to Siam Reap where we were meeting with my parents the next day. After arriving in our hotel at 11 pm we immediately fell asleep.
