It was kind hard to leave the silky waters of Phu Quoc, but the south coast of Cambodia was calling so on we trot. Our transportation back to the mainland was somewhat different to the fast hydrofoil we had arrived on from Rach Gia. Our moto driver dropped us off at the end of the wharf while we both looked around for a modern watercarft...but none to be seen, except a brightly coloured, rickety looking, wooden,open-air boat. There were plenty of locals hopping on so it couldnt be that bad. And it wasn't'. The trip was mellow, though slightly longer, the breeze delicious and again all at a nice, realxed pace. They even showed James Bond (The Spy Who Loved Me, in case you were interested), rather than the standard screeching vietnamese pop we have become so accustomed to.
So we sailed into Ha Tien relaxed and ready for the madness...and again our expectations were shattered. The border town to the south-east of Cambodia, Ha Tien was a chilled-out fishing village. Plenty of friendly locals and a night market that we chomped and snacked our way around was a great farewell to Vietnam (for a little while anyway).
Our journey to the Cambodian border lead us past a limestone karst outcrop which towered over a small marketplace, It was here that the Khmer Rouge killed 130 villagers in the late '70s. Many towns along the Cambodian border have similar stories, and of course we were to see plenty more once inside Kampuchea (Cambodia to the locals) itelf. The border crossing was surprisingly low-key. Locas from both sides can go through with a valid passd (though no-one seems to check) as long as they have dismounted their motorbike, bicylce, pony or cow. For us it was a simple matter of showing our passports to anyone who was in uniform, and that was quite a few people.
back onto the motos, and off to Kep, a low-key seaside town. The 45 minute trip on the back of the bikes was a great intro to Cambodia. More rural than Vietnam, more space, more dirt and more cows. Stilt houses dot the ploughed landscape, with splashes of vivid green from the newly sown paddy fields. Orange and maroon clad monks seem to pop up everywhere, some looking decidedly devout, others smoking ciggies and pissing on trees!
Kep was magic - a cool coastal breeze and a uber-relaxed, no-hurry feel, perfect for swinging in a hammock by the seashore...bummer. Delectable fresh crab at the local crab market - our first taste of Cambodian cuisine. The town was a popular getaway for the French during the colonial era, and now the town is littered with beautiful but hollow, vine-covered villas, and the waterfront is lined with old lamplights and tiled walkways.
From Kep to Kampot, again courtesy of two friendly moto drivers. Kampot is bigger and more happening than Kep...but not much. A riverside retreat this time, the forest-clad Bokor National Park provides a refreshing back drop to the dirty roads of the town. A significant highlight was discovering a little cafe called Epic which employs mainly deaf and disabled locals, and just so happens to make amazing carrot cake and brownies...OHMEGOD good!
We toured around the country-side for a day, mainly visiting some pretty cool cave-temples under the limestone karst mounds which pepper the land. By the way, about pepper...Kampot has world-famous pepper...but who knew eh? As for the caves, we went to three. The first, a little disappointing as it was supposed to be the best, but we had a great local kid show us around, and I loved the feeling of mud oozing between my toes as we checked out the deepest caves, so it was fun (I like to call it mud, but there were a few bats flying around...). The second one was what we though was the third one, but it wasn't. Essentially some entreprenurial kids jumped out at us and said 'this way, this way', so of course we beleived them. Turns out it was an adventure. They made us squeeze through narrow, claustrophic and dusty caves, through viney jungle, to the top of the karst for spectacular views of the area, and then back through ant infested, prickly foliage into the caverns. It wasn't til the end that we realised this wasn't the cave with the temple in it....so off to the cave-temple. Very cool too. An ancient hindu temple had been built inside this cave back in 600AD. The temple was small but housed a (now defunct) stalactite and stalagmite formation, and of course copious amounts of incense and the usual offerings of bananas and mangoes.
So Kampot was fun, and we stayed there a little longer than planned as our next stop , Sihanoukville, wasn;t shaping up to be a place we wanted to spend time judging by what fellow travellers had to say. And, sure enough it wasn't. Sihanoukville is a busy resort/beach town with a real sleazy vibe to it. We have billboards about drink driving in NZ, they have billboards about child sex, prositution and human trafficking. The main beach is filthy (though it wouldn't take all that much to clean it up), and kids as young as 3 roam the beaches begging or selling bracelets, massages and god knows what else. As you could imagine, Costa and I did not take well to the situation. Syringes on the beach, and lone old men playing in the ocean with young Cambodians isn't what I want to support. So it was a one night hit for us and on to Phnom Penh.
And here we are...not much to report as we are saving the sightseeing until Nik Parkin (of the Tree Ninja Massif)arrives this arvo. But for now Phnom Penh is great - more low key than Saigon, less high rises and oh..about 10 million less people. Amazing what a difference that makes. Interestingly the child sex and prostitution theme continues here, with extensive notices in each guesthouse room about the do's and don'ts. A couple of classic bar signs we have already seen are:
Eden Bar - Liquor in the front, poker in the rear and..
Knickers and Liqour
Charming!
Finally, a few comparative comments between Vietnam and Cambodia
- Far less people in Cambodia. Vietnam there were peps everywhere, even in rural areas (though we were in the south). Cambodia has space.
- Cambodians speak good English. Nearly everyone here speaks reasonable english, unlike vietnam where hand signals and poor attempts at Vietnamese got us by. Cambodian are very surprised when we speak Khmer to them. I think this is becuase Vietnamese pay for school, whereas school is free for Cambodians
- More expensive in Cambodia...(not complaining, I know it's cheap, just an observation!) And most things are US dollar.
- People are less responsive to smiles. Vietnamese loved to smile when we did - not so much here?? Still lovvvvelly people though!
- Far more of a western influence in Cambodia. English is everywhere and there is heaps of international food available, it's almost easier to eat foriegn food than Khmer cuisine.
Just little things, but they make a difference in the day to day.
Next Angkor Wat, and for those from the Huff Street Crew, I'm meeting up with Miss Jessica Jade, stoked!! Will have a havana for you all :)
G & C
