Back in Pattaya

Saturday, 10 October, 2004 – Pattaya

Awoke with the rising sun this morning, in spite of the fact that I am in Pattaya; the land of endless beer and go-go bars and according to government statistics, 75,000 “working girls”. Having come in from Cambodia a week or so ago (who is counting days) for a bit of R& R from Cambodia, it has been wonderful to experience a bit of “civilization” from the never ending chaos, turmoil and dirt that is today’s Cambodia.

Yesterday was an easy day, having taken my time getting out of my door at the Diana Golf Resort and after a short 10 baht ride in the back of a pickup truck referred to here by foreigners as a “baht bus”, made my way to Dolphin Circle where I still was able to find Ms. Lek renting her stable of motorcycles.

She recognized me immediately even though it has been nearly a year since I used one of her bikes and after an exchange of pleasantries, a 1,000 baht deposit and a 200 baht rental charge, I was soon headed down beach road to one of my favorite places for breakfast, the Heaven on Soi 13.

The Heaven is probably one of the better places to chill from Pattaya’s entertainment and action. It is a small out of the way place, with only a handful of rooms surrounding a pool and a rather large and homey feeling restaurant with large screen TV and all the regional newspapers you could possibly want.

After spending an hour or so reading the news and seeing that the king of Cambodia has finally made good on his many months of threats to abdicate, I wonder about what is in store for me with my return to what will obviously be more high drama in the continuing saga of what one might call “Cambodian politics” (I call it gangsters and thugs).

Having spent many years in Thailand, it was in 2003 that I finally made the leap across the border to seek out my “fame and fortune” as Thailand had become far to complicated to either work or live for any extended period of time.

Although Thailand for many years has been my adopted home, even when I have had to leave for extended periods of time, recent policies with the government of Thaskin Shinawatra made it abundantly clear that unless you are very wealthy and/or Asian, you were no longer welcome.

As many resident ex-pats have recently found, life and working in Thailand has gotten far more difficult than it has ever been. From resident visas, to work permits, border crossings and immigration hassles to banking laws, there is no doubt to anyone, that Thailand wants to make it as tough as possible to claim Thailand as your home.

That is terribly sad as Thailand and its common people are truly wonderful. For so many years I have not felt more at home while living in such exotic places as Bangkok, Phuket and along the Eastern Seaboard including Pattaya, Nakula and Bang Chang. I look back through the thousands of photos taken from those years and they are always filled with smiling faces and happy people, having fun and letting the trials and tribulations of western existence wash away.

The thing about Pattaya which keeps bringing me back is it acts as a “anchor” to my living in and around Asia. I know it and its locals intimately, acting as a surrogate family to a man who has none. If you want the “noise” of the night life and the erotica venues of go-go bars, it is there but if you also need the peace of the gulf waters and a fishing pole on a quiet stretch of sand, that can be found as well.

Even after all these years and its hyper growth over the past decade, it is still ridiculously cheap. Even as I type these notes, I am doing so from a decent hotel room costing me only 3,100 baht a month or about $75 USD.

You might think that this has to be a real hole in the wall, but it isn’t as this particular “apartment” has cable TV, hot water, sink, balcony, fan, frig and is large and decently furnished. Combine that with the pool and driving range and its closeness to the air-con bus station on Sukumvit (Main/High Street) and Pattaya Nua (North Road) to Bangkok, it makes life quite pleasant for either living or visiting the area.

Although things seem to change and construction is everywhere, nothing really does. Buildings come down and buildings go up. Relationships end and relationships begin but in all this, it seems to be the same perpetual cast of characters.

If you walk into the infamous TQ (Tahitiquian Queen) on Beach Road for an afternoon happy hour which goes from 5-6 PM, you will see someone you know from before, either socially or in business. Pictures of locals smile down from you on the wall while some dancer, who you happened to have a bought a drink for from 2 years before will immediately come over to you and snuggle next to you, knowing just like a cat, if she purrs the right noise, she will get her fur stroked and hopefully that ever important drink ticket that she will quickly stick into the top of her ever present go-go boot. The game never changes, only the faces.

You could go and visit another bar you once hung out at and will most probably find the Thai girlfriend or wife and her ex-pat lover have broken apart, with him either headed back to his homeland, licking his wounds, far lighter in his wallet (if there still is one) or maybe having had the ability to somehow break away and start his own bar with another Thai “business partner”. She most probably will still have the bar he paid for and is now set for life, as was the plan from the beginning. Cynical? Yes. Reality? Very real.

There are so many men who come to Thailand for the first time and Pattaya in particular, who thing they have found their nirvana on earth. In some ways they are right as many if not most are misfits from their own cultures and societies, which is not a bad thing for in Thailand even though you won’t fit in, you don’t stick out.

You can be armless, legless, fat, bald, short, ugly, old or young, it makes no difference. It does however makes all the difference in the world if you are poor. It also makes a difference in the color of your skin as Thai’s view dark as bad. That is the reason they always make efforts to protect themselves from the sun, go fully clothed swimming and skin whitening products are everywhere. I won’t say they are racist but they are definitely more predisposed to individuals with fair skin and hair. That is just a fact.

Kratie, Cambodia: The Mekong, Dolphins and Temples

The Mysterious Mekong Dolphins, Amazing Ancient Temples and the Mighty Mekong

Part 2

It was looking like the thunderstorm was moving in on us from the north so after a few more photos, we piled into the Toyota just as it started to gently rain and headed south, backtracking our way back to Kratie Town along the banks of the Mekong.
As we made our way south, we made a quick stop at another beautiful, wooden temple where I once again took a few photos. It was all closed up however with the entrance gate closed and locked so I had to settle from some shots from the street.
The road (actually a lane) was once again congested with people, vehicles, animals and pets even in spite of the fact that it was starting to rain harder and harder as light turned into dusk. I was in the front seat during this leg with Phanna in the back, straddling the opening between the two front passengers as we discussed in great detail the Cambodian education system.
Although I have experienced it first hand having been a teacher in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap as well as having taught courses at both language schools and universities, I did not agree with some institutions policies of allowing students to attend class as late as they wanted with students not even reporting to class until at least 15-45 minutes after it had started. It seems here in Cambodia, all too often, once a degree has been paid for, that somehow precludes the actual necessity to go to class and learn what is being taught. In my opinion, not the best way to assist in a country's development or show a student what is expected after graduation.
After a few more stops along the way to chat with friends, we eventually enter town and get out of the car across the street from the Red Sun Falling Restaurant which turns out to be the only Barang (foreign) owned bar in town.
Al from Sharkys in Phnom Penh had told me to make sure I visited the place so after saying thanks and goodbye, I crossed the street with Phanna and we set ourselves down on 2 of the 4 bar stools that were in front of the bar.
The proprietor of the establishment is a young guy named "Joe" from Chicago in the good ole U.S. of A. As I was writing this article, I wanted to try his "special" posted to the entrance ways' chalk board as well as have a couple of cold beers.
Joe was friendly enough and filled us in on his personal history and the hows and whys of him coming to Kratie. Also told us about some of the local expats which seemed to number a dozen or so and were all involved with one NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) or another.
The special arrived and it was a pretty decent pasta dish, with salad and some garlic bread, all for 7,000 Riel (less than $2). Not bad I thought. Not bad at all.
Over the next couple of hours we talked about numerous things including the growing number of travelers through Kratie on their way north and south on the Mekong from Laos. Joe stated that at the height of the tourist season that 60-70 folks passed through the ferry terminal here and many chose to stay for at least a night or two before continuing on their journey. With very nice accommodations with large rooms being available for $3 a night, not exactly over taxing on a backpacker's budget. (Kratie however is NOT the place to use the Internet as prices are between $4-7 an hour compared to Phnom Penh's .50 an hour!)
It got to be around 9PM and I felt it best we head home back to Phannas and join his family for a bit. Grabbing a motorcycle taxi we arrived back at Phanna's home where everyone is preparing to go to sleep. A bed has been made up for me in the front living room area which is quite comfortable and after a bit more conversation, we all called it a day and went to our separate beds. It was only moments later I was fast asleep.
DAY 2 - Down the Mekong
The day woke with the noise of the traffic outside and the crowing of the ever present roosters. Even in the "wilds" of Phnom Penh, awakening to sounds of occasional rooster crows and the occasional automatic weapons fire seems to be quite normal. Today however, all I hear here in Kratie, are chickens and cars.
It is early and I don't even realize just how early until I am out of bed getting dressed and putting on my watch. I guess 5:30 AM isn't too early to start the day's adventures and with that thought in mind, I am soon outside, pacing around the area in front of the house and along the graveled street.
After Phanna's mother fixes the family some breakfast and me some tea, there is several long exchanges again with Phanna's father about the development of the province. Phanna's father speaks very little English as being a well educated and an older Khmer, he learned French. Phanna however does an excellent job of relaying our conversation and I learn many more interesting things.
Time is pushing on however and there is a lot to see before we catch the 10:30 high-speed ferry towards Phnom Penh. With this in mind, we set off by foot as Phanna's sister is out and about with their motorbike. She soon catches up with us however and even though she is some distance from their house, turns the bike over to us and we leave her standing on the street next to the Mekong. Seemed a bit odd that we didn't offer to take her back to the house....
Phanna and I are than taken up with the area along the Mekong and its many old French Colonial buildings, wats and wooden pagodas. There is also an area just south of town on the dirt lane closest to the river that has more Vietnamese than Khmer but although it is a bit seedy, the view along the shore is quite beautiful and only a couple of minutes through this area leads us to another beautiful wooden pagoda.
Wat Roka Kandal is a well preserved pagoda dating from the 18th or early 19th century located right next to the banks of the Mekong. It has traditional decorations and is of wooden construction and the information inside state that it is the only one of its type in Cambodia.
A German NGO has helped with the Pagoda's reconstruction and maintenance and inside now there is a local arts and crafts shop.
I was really taken with the beauty of the columns and the views through the surrounding grounds through the beautifully framed windows. After a bit of shopping picking out things for friends back in Phnom Penh, Phanna and I got back on the motorbike and headed once again south along the wide, picturesque streets with their numerous traditional, wooden framed homes.

It has now gotten to the time where we need to start thinking of catching the ferry home to Phnom Penh so we head back north to the central part of town and the ferry docks.
After spending a bit of time in the local market and after grabbing a bite to eat in a restaurant across the street from the docks, we head back to Phanna's house where we return the family's Honda and say our goodbyes.



Phanna's family with wonderful smiles and waves say goodbye to us as we catch a motorcycle taxi to the docks.
A couple of minutes later we pulled up to what was obviously a developing throng of people waiting to catch the various ferries that seemed to be heading out in the next few minutes. As it was only 10 AM and the expected departure time was 10:30, I took a quick hike around the block, snapping some more photos of both buildings and people.
I returned a few moments later, and it seemed the dock had swelled to it was in fact now occupying the riverfront street, with packages, bundles, construction material and food stuffs appearing from everywhere.
As I had been told the boat would be appearing from the north on its way down from the Laos border with Cambodia, I kept an eye in that direction to make sure I caught it as it neared the dock. I wasn't however prepared for the site that was to come into view and as it turned from the main channel and headed towards the shore, as it seemed that it would capsize at any moment.
As I stared in disbelief at the "express" ferry I could only imagine what the slow boat might look like. Was this really going to be the vessel that was to take me and Phanna down the Mekong?
As I had already purchase my $6 ticket (negotiated down from $7) and Phanna his (Khmer price of 15,000 Riel or $3.75), we obviously had no choice as we needed to get back to Phnom Penh and unless we waited for a weekday, the boat probably wouldn't be any less crowded.

 To Chan Thel and Phanna at the Kratie Municipal Dock
After saying our farewells to Phanna's friend who is also an English teacher and part-time tour guide in Kratie, we boarded the boat, crawling our way along the port side cat-walk only inches from the water. As few people had left the heavily laden craft, we had to go back as far as where the engine's exhaust stacks rose from out of the engine room where we climbed up onto the roof which for the remainder of our journey served as our outpost on the Mekong.




It is hard to see the boat under the sea of humanity boarding the ferry.
As we departed Kratie port and set out down the Mekong, it wasn't long before we were moving along at a pretty good clip, far faster than anything else we came across.
Although everything along the journey was interesting, including the numerous stops along the shore to load and unload passengers and cargo, what was particularly interesting early on in the trip was the mid-channel docking at noon with another express boat coming up the Mekong. Done smoothly and quickly, if you hadn't been watching the bow (front) of the boat you probably wouldn't have noticed it happening.

Mekong Express boats docking in mid-channel.
What was also interesting to watch was the young girl walking along the very narrow "catwalk" of the boat selling oranges as it was hurling full-speed down the Mekong. What made me wonder of the longevity of her career was the fact that she chose to neither tie herself off to anything or hold onto what rail there was. Her faith in the boat's buoyancy or the captain's capability or maybe just Buddha was pretty amazing....
At 1PM we had gone as far south as Steang Trong where you notice steep cliffs on the western bank of the river. It was only a half hour later we arrived Kompong Cham, crossing under the huge Japanese bridge spanning the waters of this mighty river.
After a bit of negotiating ($10 for the rear seat), we found ourselves a taxi and were soon winding our way out of the port taxi area and onto the road south to Phnom Penh. At 3:30 PM we passed the Chroy Chang Var Taxi Station just to the east of another Japanese bridge that spans the Mekong in Phnom Penh and were soon once again where we started, the Crystal Net Internet Cafe on Sisowath Quay.

Kratie, Cambodia: Where Civilization Ends and the Adventure Begins!

The Mysterious Mekong Dolphins, Amazing Ancient Temples and the Mighty Mekong!
Part 1

My friend Phanna and I decided to head back to his hometown of Kratie (pronounced Kratchey) to visit his family and find and photograph the rare and mysterious freshwater Mekong Dolphins.

Leaving from the riverfront in Phnom Penh at 8AM, we soon wound our way through the weekend traffic exiting the city and headed north along the Tonle Sap River. Crammed into the proverbial Cambodian Toyota Camry taxi with seven others ($35-40 per taxi for the trip from Phnom Penh to Kratie), I was allocated the space in the front seat jammed against the door, setting on my feet as there wasn't enough room for both Phanna and myself to set on the seat and also allow space for the driver to shift gears during the more treacherous and traffic laden parts of the journey.
For the next 5 hours, with my upper torso more outside the cab than inside we dodged in and out of traffic, honking the horn constantly at the never ending streaming obstacles of humanity, animals and vehicles. To put it mildly, a rented taxi jammed with seven other brave souls is probably not for the faint of heart as the first hour of the trip is a constant game of playing chicken and is probably better travelled with your eyes closed and fast asleep!
As I chose to keep mine open (since I was hanging out the window anyway), the 1st of the inevitable southeast Asian traffic accident appeared only a half an hour later with a motorbike lying on its side and a young woman laying in the arms of another woman next to it, crying and sobbing.
Passing this scene we continued north and at 09:30 AM made the first of several stops, this one at a very crowded restaurant. After a 15 minute break during which I had some soup and tea, we turned east on Highway 7, headed towards Kompong Cham. At 10:20, nearly two and a half hours after leaving Phnom Penh, we started over the new Japanese built bridge and were crossing the Mighty Mekong.
As many times as I have seen and travelled on this river, it has never failed to leave me in awe and this time it is no different, for as we climb quickly into the sky on the bridge, the river beneath you seems to dominate everything for as far as you can see, spreading itself to what I estimated to be over a kilometre and a half wide and running north and south for as far as the eye can see.
It is now September, the height of the rainy season and the river is full and straining its banks. The current is wicket; rushing towards Vietnam at speeds that require most barges, ferries and other vessels to hug the shore lines in their efforts to stay out of the fastest parts of the river and make some progress against the torrid current.
Most people don't really understand the size and power of this river. Here in Cambodia however they do as it is the only place in the world where another large and powerful river, the Tonle Sap, has its own southerly flow reversed at the confluence of the two rivers in Phnom Penh due to the shear power and strength of the Mekong River's waters rushing to Vietnam, the Mekong Delta and the South China Sea.
During this period as the levels of the Mekong rise, the Tonle Sap is backed up and the river reverses direction and starts flowing northwest with the lake enlarging from 2,500 square kilometers to over 13,000 square kilometers with the depth increasing from 2.2 meters to over 10 meters.
It now isn't long before we exit Kompong Cham and the road improves dramatically as the next leg of the journey has been rebuilt with the assistance of an Asian Development Bank loan and quite frankly, they have done a damn good job as the road is smooth and more importantly, very wide and straight.
Along this section, I start to notice new tree farms around almost every bend, laid out in perfectly straight lines that go on for hectares and hectares. As this region in past years has been a target of massive logging operations and pulp and paper mills, it is refreshing to see an effort to replenish what nature once gave us.
I do notice however numerous trucks still filled with logs either setting along the highway or travelling in various directions. It is obvious to anyone but a blind person that logging is still an economic reality and seems to be still occurring on a rather large scale although supposedly outlawed some years ago. Maybe someone has a special permit?
I also take note that the soil here is obviously very fertile and the vegetation very lush and thick. This is quite a contrast to the land in and around the temples of Angkor and the town of Siem Reap which is difficult to impossible to grow anything on and during the dry season becomes incredibly hard and baked, seeming to turn almost into stone.
After a couple more stops along the way to let the obviously pregnant woman passenger in the rear seat to throw up and to fuel up (and throw up again), we pull into Kratie town at 1:20 PM, which quite frankly does not leave one with a terribly wonderful great impression as the buildings are drab and the road turns to dust and rock again. This however is the wrong impression as the town turns out to be a wonderful, quaint backwater that reminds me in many ways of Nong Khai in Thailand (that sets across the Mekong from the capital of Laos, Vientiane).With only a couple minutes more, we are pulling up in front of Phanna's parent's home and they quickly greet us with smiles and hugs.
Panna's father turns out to be a very fascinating and extremely well educated man who has served in various capacities in the region including being directors of the World Food Program and the Kratie Province Rural Development Agency. It isn't long before maps are flying out of drawers and I am getting a briefing on plans for the development and potential for the province.
It seems the local officials think that the economic salvation for the province after the "legal" demise of the logging industry is agriculture, specifically dairy farming. A map that I now have shows me 6 massive tracks of land to the east of the Mekong and to the east and north of Kratie. The area encompasses over 34,000 hectares of land and lies approximately 20 kilometres east and north of Krati bordering areas along the Prek Te, Kampi and Prek Kakol Rivers. Land prices are discussed and quite honestly, I find the prices mentioned to be amazingly reasonable given their location, fertility, proximity to Vietnam as well as river transport via the Mekong.
After a spot of late lunch, Phanna and I head off with his brother in law in (you guessed it) another Toyota Camry. It seems that this model from Toyota is everywhere in Cambodia and in reality it is, from the beaches of Sihoukville to the trashy border town of Poi Pet, to the temples of Angkor, they are in fact everywhere! Just why or how has to be a story in itself and it is hard to imagine where Toyota could have this model somewhere else on earth as they had to have all been shipped to Cambodia!
This time however, with 5 fewer people, the trip north out of Kratie is quite pleasant and with the air-conditioning on, free of dust and the usually inevitable grime that accumulates on your skin and face from a Cambodian road trip.
Our destination for this late afternoon trip is the extremely rare and very famous Mekong River Dolphins. Although no one knows where this species came from or how they managed to come so far up the Mekong (and adapt themselves from salt water to fresh water), they are in fact here and living in several different pods (groups) in the waters of the Mekong.
The one pod we are headed for is called the "Kampi Pod" and seems to frequent where the Kampi and Mekong Rivers come together. It seems this past season (2004), with the Mekong being the lowest it has been in over three decades, that the population has declined from the estimated 100 or so earlier in the year to less than 60 (according to some locals) due to having to move from their normal feeding grounds into unfamiliar and dangerous waters where they were caught up in nets or injured/killed by river vessels.
This species of dolphin is more formally named the "Irrawaddy" and has a rounded head with no beak, and a flexible neck. They can vary in color from dark and light blue- grey, to pale blue. It is grouped as an oceanic dolphin, although some dolphins may live in the freshwater of rivers all their life (such as the Ganges in India). This species of dolphin has a small triangular shaped dorsal fin with a rounded tip, below the centre of the back , and is a slow swimmer - usually moving in small groups. Irrawaddy dolphins are very similar to the shape of the Beluga (toothed whale), and to the shape of the Finless Porpoise with its blunt round head, so they are sometimes difficult to tell apart. They can have up to 40 teeth on their upper jaw, and 36 teeth on the lower jaw.
Adult Irrawaddy dolphins can grow to between 2.1 and 2.6 metres long, with new-borns about 1m in length and a fully grown Irrawaddy dolphin weighing between 90 and 150 kg. At birth they are as much as 12kg.
Although some travel guides indicate that the best time to see them is between the months of December to April, Phanna and I have no problem finding them immediately as Phanna had for many years been a tour guide while growing up and was intimately familiar with this area of the Mekong, the dolphins and their feeding grounds. After renting a boat and driver for $6 at the dock just south of the Kampi River, within minutes at least 2 if not more, broke the surface next to our small boat and with regularity over the next half hour we observed them as our young boat handler managed to keep us on "station" with the engine off, just meters from the entrance to the Kampi River. (See the bottom of this article for more information concerning this wonderful creatures.)
As we wait for them to surface and as I make an effort to catch them with my Nokia digital camera, we discuss the area, its past, development and growth. It is than that I learn that a proposal is on the table and is being seriously considered to build a dam in the very spot where we are watching these creatures feed and play.
Although I am usually very much a realist and know here in Asia feeding people and providing them food, water and power will always override other environmental concerns (as well as the destruction of rare animal species), I secretly hope that this is one dam that isn't built.
As I watch a massive thunderstorm build to the north, we can hear the rolling thunder from its anger and I am wondering if it and its rains will head our way. After watching it and the winds for a few more minutes, I determine that it most probably will not, at least for the next hour or so and after getting some more photos of fishermen and the their nets along the river banks, we turn the boat south and head for the parking area and dock where Phanna's brother in law is awaiting us.
After piling into the car again, I am surprised to find we turn left (north away from town) out of the lot onto the narrow, heavily potted lane that serves as the main road north and south along the Mekong. After another 30 minutes or so and after passing through another village where the road makes a Y and forks off to the northeast, we stay on the section that parallels the banks of the Mekong and soon enter an area that has a very large, modern Wat (temple/pagoda) within easy view of the road and the Mekong. It is only after pulling into this area that I understand just how large it is and find out it is the largest such Wat in Cambodia, having exactly 100 large columns supporting its roof.
The Wat of a Hundred Columns

Wat Trasor Muoy Roi as it is formally called, is famed for its excellent wall paintings as well as the stupa dedicated to the Princess Nucheat Khatr Vorpheak who legend says was killed by a crocodile. Although very beautiful, I became much more mesmerized by a much smaller and far older wooden Pagoda setting on the grounds several hundred meters further inland and to the east.
As we pulled under a beautiful tree that dominates the area where the older Wat still stands, we noticed that no one was around except for one lone monk picking up palm branches. It had been raining earlier and the ground around the temple was wet and muddy so we had to step carefully as we made our way inside.
After taking my shoes off, I was immediately drawn to a large setting Buddha which dominated the pagoda but was additionally surprised and fascinated to find a panoramic collection of hand-painted murals that rested on the walls above the height of the doors and windows. They were spectacular!
As I snapped at least one photo of each, I listened to the translation from Phanna of the monk's description and history of the murals and the pagoda itself. I was told that the temple's name was "Preak Heak Kok" which means "high ground" as the ground on which it set was higher than the surrounding area and was never flooded by the Mekong when it overflowed its banks. Articles from others however refer to it as "Wat Preah Vihear Kuk" so I am not exactly sure what its proper name is.
I also listened to several stories about its history and was told it dates back to 1142 AD when the original stone temple was built on the same spot. The resident monk told us that the wooden temple that existed now was 346 years old but once again this seems to be in conflict with other writers who have indicated it to be over 700 years old. I am more inclined to believe the younger age myself.
Stories were also relayed about its role in the recent fighting in 1983 when a major battle took place on the surrounding grounds. Supposedly three monks were killed and several buildings were destroyed, one of which still has the concrete steps leading up to an obviously empty space, pot marked with the battle's scares.
There was also another story concerning this very old and beautiful pagoda that was equally sad in that as recent as 1998 it was looted of many of its precious artifacts by a high ranking government official who was supposedly taking the items to Phnom Penh for safe keeping with the intent of putting them on display in the National Museum. According to the monk however, the items might be "safe keeping" but they are nowhere to be found in the National Museum. Go figure.... Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Babes, Booze and Bullshit - On the road around Cambodia

Babes, Booze and Bullshit

Siem Reap to Phnom Penh - Day 1, Thursday
Up this morning to take a shower and than head south to the coast for another overland journey through the monsoon soaked landscape of Cambodia but the morning starts off with a bit of an unusual "twist" as I watch two peering eyes and a mop of hair stare at me in the mirror from over the wall of the adjoining shower stall. At 6AM in the morning, even by SE Asian standards, this is a bit much and I tell the fucker to bugger off. Management informs me a bit later after relating the event that it was most probably the "ladyboy" who had just moved in two days before. I just shake my head, grab my rucksack and call out to a moto driver and head for the bus to Phnom Penh.

My chosen mode of transportation, the Mekong Express Bus is a bit more expensive ($6 instead of $4) but experience has taught me that the extra $2 is more than worth it as the bus is a real coach with a toilet and wide, comfortable seats with the trip to Phnom Penh taking about an hour less due to only a single stop. This can be especially nice if the previous evening was spent in the bars and bumping along Cambodian roads is not your ideal method of transportation or some of the last tasty dishes you had have started to disagree with you. Combined with a bottle of water, a decent box meal consisting of a sandwich and some pastries, it seems a no brainer to me.

Siem Reap in late July and early August is experiencing extensive days of overcast skies and afternoon monsoon rains. The temperatures are however quite pleasant and for me, even a fan isn't necessary at night.

It is so funny as I verbally fence with the touts hanging around the "bus station" (actually more a stop) as everyone always wants to know "where you go?". This line will always be a prelude to somehow figuring out how they can make a commission from you on your destination's end. They do however choke when you reply, "I'm going to hell!". That usually leaves them confused and unsure what to say as the conversation has left the pre-learnt script.

Just last evening I was talking with Rose, a teacher from New Zealand in from Dubai about her experiences around the temples in the past three days as well as her impression of the Khmer guide she had.

As an English teacher, she became more interested in his scripted descriptions and inability to answer any of her "off script" questions. Having talked with many tourists to the temples before, it is obvious that these guys are educated on what to say but have no real deep knowledge of their own culture or history. Sad but true...

As the actual Mekong Express Bus Station is at the Central Market (next to the SBC Bank and DHL office), a moto driver arrives from the bus company and a minute later he drops me off at the waiting buses. As I wait to board, I buy a large loaf of fresh French bread for a 1,000 riel and stare up the street to the next corner where the massive Sokha Angkor Resort is being built.

Having just been to the opening of their new 5-star resort in Sihanoukville in April and knowing of their ownership of the concession for the temples of Angkor ($20 a day for 1,000,000 tourists-you do the math!), these people have some big plans for the future. Combine that with their activities with the Ariston Group's new airport and golf and beach resort in Sihanoukville, all these big boys are betting on Cambodian tourism in a big way. I just hope political events underway in Cambodia (King's abdication likely to happen) keep things on track for everyone...
Anyway. As I stare down at the $6 ticket in my hand, it reminds of the consistent transportation pricing that seems to be in place across the country which equals about $1 an hour. It seems to make no difference whether you hire a tuk-tuk, a cyclo or a bus for a 6 hour bus ride, it works out to about a $1 an hour. Funny how that works.

We board the bus and I am hoping for an on-time departure but 07:30 comes and goes. Two French girls board the bus and they finally realize they are on the wrong bus (I knew they were even before they got on) and we have to wait while they find their backpacks in the cargo compartment and unload their gear. After this huge production that only the French could undertake, we finally make our way out of Siem Reap and at 07:45 head south out of town.

The road is pretty much paved all the way to Phnom Penh now. Other than some ongoing bridge work and some short gaps through a village or two, we have finally achieved the unachievable, a continuously paved road from Siem Reap in the north of Cambodia to Sihanoukville on the southern coast!

As we leave the city and breach into the countryside, I can't help but be in awe of the beauty of it all. Everything is so incredibly green but not just your normal, everyday "green". No, it can only be described as "luminous" it is so brilliant. Ponds that were only caked holes of dry mud are now filled with water and alive with life. Ducks swimming, children playing and floating water Lillis with amazing flowers with colors of pink and red. Actually, this part of Cambodia reminds me in many way of the topology of southern Florida in the United States, both in vegetation and landscape.

At just around 9AM after crossing the very ancient bridge of Nagas at 08:45, I hear a dull "thud" and at once people in the front of the bus are rising from their seats and turning around to look behind the bus. The driver starts to slow down a bit and as he does so, 4 other buses in our "convoy" wiz past us.

I am trying to ascertain what has happened but whatever it is, it becomes obvious the driver isn't stopping and we begin to accelerate again. It was only later at the restaurant that the Irish lady behind me asked the bus attendant what happened and we learned we had hit a motorcycle with two people on it and they had swerved off the road into a ditch. Driving Rule #1 in Asia is if involved in an accident and you can still drive, keep on driving and don't look back, especially here in Cambodia as you don't know if the person in the car you just hit (or who hit you) has a weapon and what the likely hood of it being used on you is (actually quite probable in Phnom Penh ...).

As we cross the large river and bridge into the town which marks Stong District, we are constantly having to slow for wandering cattle and numerous pony carts on the road. This now slows our progress southward more than the previously missing bridges and numerous potholes.

With the start of August, rice harvest is underway and with that, the spreading of seeds for another crop. Water levels are high everywhere which is a welcomed blessing from the harshness of May's heat and drought and low/non-existent water levels.

As we approach a segment of the Tonle Sap, the bus start to slow down and with a few "chugs" lurches to a stop. As I stare out the window however and think to myself it there's a place I have to be broken down, this isn't so bad as the waters are only a few meters away and their is plenty of shade.

The driver however leaps out of the bus and with a few wrenches crawls under my side of the bus only to reappear a few minutes later. Whatever had to be fixed is apparently fixed and we are once again winging our way southward to Phnom Penh.
At 10AM after crossing yet another large river and bridge we make the mandatory Mekong Express Bus stop at the "Arunas Restaurant". Having done this many times before I know this isn't the cheapest nor fastest way to get fed and immediately head back towards the market we have just passed and find the food vendor I always eat with. For 2,000 riel my large plate of rice is filled with some delicious selections from the pots on the table. A moment later a glass with ice arrives and I pour some Khmer tea into the glass. Not bad for .50.

We continue south a half hour later and with no further incidents make our way down the narrow road that enters into Phnom Penh. Traffic congestion is intense and the buses' horn is forever sounding as we pass around every form of transportation known to man.

We do make the mandatory stop at the "taxi station" just north of town where you will see a sign for the "Cambodian Naval Headquarters". It wasn't that long ago this was the place where you had to leave the bus and grab a taxi into town as the police were demanding a fee from the bus companies to enter the city and this being Cambodia, the bus companies refused to pay it and just dumped their passengers outside the city. Fortunately, at least for now, the police are still there but the bus (with paying passengers) continue on into the city across the Tonle Sap River and large "Japanese Bridge".

Another thing that makes Mekong Express Bus better for me as it terminates on the waterfront within walking distance of one of my (and many others) water holes called "Mikeys".

Mikey's rooms are full this particular day (it is also a hotel with 7 really nice rooms upstairs) so I decide to keep it on the cheap and head back towards the bus station and turn up Street 110 to my favorite Indian Restaurant, "Chi Cha", which is also a guest house with some amazingly cheap rooms ($4 with a bathroom and fan) given its proximity to Sisoway Quay (riverfront) and the bars where I hang out.
I receive a warm greeting from the owner, a smile from the woman who serves the meals and after checking into my normal room, drop my bags and head back for the boys (and girls) at Mikeys. Like in the movie Casablanca where Captain Louis "Louie" Renault (Claude Rains) orders his police to "round up the usual suspects", Mikeys has once again "rounded them up" as well.

Day One of the adventure had started off a bit weird with the peeping tom incident, running motorcycles off the road and now, just after ordering my first beer, I started seeing elephants! Jesus, I thought, what next?

It seemed the 5 o'clock elephant from Wat Phnom was a bit early today due to the light drizzle. I really don't mind seeing elephants as I drink, I really only start to get worried when they're pink and start flying by. Believe you me however, these days do exist in Cambodia!

Peter was there (the new Partner with Doug at Mikeys) and after a bit of conversation, we agreed we would hook up again at the Rose Bar around 7:30PM. Y was also there as well.

It wasn't long before Y and I were talking flying again as Y is a 737/727 "driver", or if you prefer to give him a lot of credit, some might say "pilot". Having once cruised the skies of a couple of continents myself, it is always great to hook up with another kindred soul and tell tons of lies.

I only took a few minutes and once again, I was trying to help setup an airline and recover a stolen aircraft now located in a "secret" hangar in a "secret" area deep in the wilds of Africa. I was also trying to maintain a conversation about Uncle Jack's Texas chili cookout the next day. Damn, I hadn't even had two beers yet and already I was trying to recover stolen aircraft, set up an airline, watch elephants stroll by and plan the next day's events around some Texas Chili....yawn....just another boring day in Phnom Penh.

Well, to liven things up a bit, I finally managed to get off my bar stool and headed back to my $2 a night "villa", grab the mandatory shower to wash the grime of the day's journey off and make a madd dash over to the "Rose Bar" on Street 104, just down from Wat Phnom.

As I entered the establishment a bit late from the agreed upon time of 7:30 PM, it appeared Peter had started without me as a slightly "pissed" (drunk) Peter was awaiting my presence with a lovely "Rose girl" snuggled up to him.
After profusely apologizing for being later, the conversation quickly took on a more intellectual tone than the previous conversations about airlines, aircraft and chili and we started to discuss the finer points of why the local girls are so hairy and they never shave. Actually, this is something that had escaped my attention and I could only guess as to the true reasons. Looking at Peter, I could only ask, "Is it because they can't afford razors?"

As Peter stroked the young lady's shapely and bare thigh (it was getting barer as his hand moved her skirt farther north), he indicated he was actually becoming quite fond of hairy knees. I thereupon told him if he touched mine I would punch him...

I also noticed Ms. Rose this evening (hard not to as I always have my eyes glued to her when she is in the bar) as she was wearing the most amazing thong panties one can envision (and I can envision a lot of things). She was wearing a pair of jeans that she had obviously got into a tub of water with as that is the only way they could be that tight and there was no doubt about the color, design or lack of material to the thong she was wearing for today's was a very skimpy, design with nothing but a silky, white leaf connecting the back of the thong to the strings heading in various directions around here derriere. Oh my Buddha!!! I start to sweat when I see this woman!

As I had more intellectual pursuits to follow and it was getting really hot inside the Rose Bar (had someone turned on the heat?), I parted company with Peter and indicated we would hook up the next day in the afternoon at Uncle Jack's chili cookout at Mikeys. From the looks of things, Peter had other plans for the evening and they looked pretty damn good!

I went outside and as I waited for a motorcycle, I saw a that the new bar across the street from Rose was lively and made a mental note to come back a bit later and give it a whirl.

The motorcycle driver I got was either drunk or couldn't drive, or both. I almost hopped off but as we only had to go along the waterfront to the Riverside, I closed my eyes and prayed to Buddha. Buddha took care of me once again and after forking over 1,000 riel to the young entrepreneur, I strolled into another favorite place, DV8 (Get it...DEVIATE.)

Aaahhhh....young Barry was there in regal fashion; stuffing some form of meat into his mouth as he greeted me, wearing a slightly too small DV8 t-shirt (or is that because his Buddha belly is getting bigger?) and wearing some form of canvas trousers with holes in the crouch. Aaahhhh...yessssss....your typical up and coming, entrepreneurial proprietor of one of the finer "gentlemen's club" in Phnom Penh.

I've known Barry and his lovely bride pretty much since they started to make their mark on the Phnom Penh bar scene. Great kids actually and they have done an amazing job of turning nothing into something. Each time I return there is something new or something added to. Today he showed me his new selection of spirits and a few new additions to the furniture...but Barry, what about the girls? What's new there?

Actually Barry's ladies are always pretty and charming (obvious Barry isn't training them) and are always willing to please your every desire ("for a fee, Ugarte, for a fee..."). Personally, I have found Barry's ladies to be some of the nicer ladies in town with the hassle factor at "zero" . Hard to say that about other establishments like Sharky or Martini.

We talked about what has been happening since my last jaunt down from Siem Reap two months ago. It seems he is trying to expand his operation and take the building next door as well as start a guesthouse. Seemed like a great idea to me...
Also found out the Expat Star at Wat Phnom Circle had renamed itself to "Coyote Ugly", and had an ownership re-shuffle. From my past experiences there, neither surprised me and the name actually seemed more appropriate...

Gossiped about the other bars, owners and businesses a bit and than decided to hop on his motorbike to take a mini-tour of some of the new or relocated clubs.
First place we pulled up in front of was a new bar called "Memphis". Rather stark exterior and the interior wasn't much different. It was obvious someone had been to some dark and dingy music club in Soho or Memphis, TN and was trying to mirror the feel. With a few musical instruments propped up on the wall and a handful of customers plopped on bar stools, I listened to the woman singing along with the band.
As I nursed the $1.50 Angkor beer, the music I was listening to sounded pretty good and her voice even better. I even thought it was good enough to clap after each rendition.

I hadn't been there long when another acquaintance walked in with a friend of his. Mr. Andrew is another reason ex-pats come and stay here in Cambodia; teaching.
Andrew came up from Aussie land to take the helm of a monster English school known commonly as "ACE" or more technically correct, the "Australia Centre for Education". A legend in their own time. With the title of "Director of Studies", I guess he had a lot on his plate there.

Competition amongst the English schools and many of the teachers is legendary and territorial rights being the rule of the day. ACE is pretty much at the top of the "heap" with wages that are actually quite reasonable. They even pay on time! (What a concept!)

But hell, let's leave the school and teaching crap for another day....and what about the girls??!! Oh yeah...almost forgot as this article is about "Babes, Booze and Billiards"...oooppps , I meant "Bullshit"!

After finishing the beer and listening to a handful of rather decent sounds, we plopped onto the bike again and tore off for the "New Martini", located 100 meters from the Chinese Embassy off of Mao Tse Toung Blvd. (I wonder which China is in that Embassy?)

The "new one", like the "old one", takes a bit of effort to get to from the waterfront. Personally, other than some fresh paint, a few stalls that looked like they might last the season and a dance floor much smaller than before, it looked like someone had lifted the old bar up and placed it down in a new location. I'm not really a Martini guy, but many like it.

The main "bar" is more a courtyard than a bar. In Thailand, I would refer to the actual place as a "beer garden" which is surrounded by food stalls and smaller bars.
The courtyard itself has the mandatory tables and chairs and in Martini's case, a large, 120 inch screen TV located behind the stage. There use to be a live band at the old Martini's but since this is Thursday night, only music videos are playing. It seems the live bands are reserved for Friday and Saturday nights only.

In Martini's advertising they always use the expression, "Lonely, bored, hungry? We have everything you need!" . Well for me this evening I wasn't all that lonely nor hungry but I was damn thirsty! Funny they don't mention that?

If you are lonely however, the reason for Martini's existence is girls!!! They are everywhere! There are short ones, fat ones, skinny ones, tall ones, pretty ones, ugly ones, sweet ones and down right mean ones! They are just everywhere...including dancing by themselves in the "disco" trying to look as sultry, or mean, or pretty, or sweet...depending on what they think you want after you start eyeing them. If you approach them for a "dance", you will hopefully have a wad of freshly minted US $20 dollar bills in your wallet. Now that would be heaven on earth!

After watching the evening's festivities unfold, Barry begins chatting with numerous individuals which the owner and proprietor of a gentlemen's club in Phnom Penh would be expected to know. One individual was quite generous buying several rounds of drinks for both us and others that joined the conversation. It was getting late however and as I had had a very long day to say the least, so with fond farewell to the cute looking female security guard protecting our motorcycle, we motored our way back home....but wait!!! Another bar we have never seen before!

As we turn around in the street and head back for the sign indicating the "New Whisky" bar (their spelling, not mine), we pull up in front and there are obviously some nice looking ladies standing behind the bar, all dressed in what I would refer to as "Candy Cane" tops. Sort of reminded me of something we once called in the States, "Candy Stripers", which were young girls that volunteered in hospitals. Damn, am I really that old??!!

Well shit, I am and they aren't, so what's a guy to do? Guess we need to belly up to the bar and find out.

Midnight has now come and gone (with me going home anytime soon becoming less and less) and it was very obvious as we started to drink our beers and chat up the young ladies that the Khmer fellow to our left talking with the Barang (foreigner) was over his limit for drinks for the evening. As Khmers have a difficult time handling anything more than one, it was anyone's guess how much this young lad had consumed or how long he had been there.

It was also obvious his English was great and he was gay as a trivet. The Barang seemed amused by the Khmer's rantings and ravings while Barry and I instead focused our attention on the young ladies behind the bar in the tight fitting, bumble-bee tops. It also became obvious that the older woman at the end of the bar with her head in her hand and elbow on the bar was the owner. She even made an effort to greet us.

Her business card indicated she was a "Mrs." (so I guess she belonged to someone) and was known as "Chetana", the manager of some type of travel company and "Business Services". From the looks around the bar and the girls, I wondered just what kind of "services" she was providing to "businesses"? In the States we would have called it "Monkey Business"...

Ok. That was enough so we pay our bill, hop back on the bike and with little traffic on Sisoway Quay roar up Street 104 (Rose Bar) but instead of heading to the left, we enter the establishment on the right, "Zanzibar".

Zanzibar is a tad difficult to explain but if you have been to the Rose Bar across the street, it is modeled after it on a much smaller scale but looses something in the downscaling. As is typical throughout Asia, copy what you can, do it next door to what you copied and charge less for the product that has been copied....all a business model obviously being employed here with the Zanzibar.

I will say this however about this Zanzibar, it is a hell of a lot classier than the bar with the same namesake in Siem Reap. Actually, in Siem Reap there is also a Martinis as well and for my money, Phnom Penh's establishments are far better.
As Barry and I made our way down to the end of the bar for a seat, his wife calls and is checking on his whereabouts. I must say I find this rather humorous as he lives and works in a "gentlemen's club" so what could he possibly do here that he couldn't do there?

Anyway, it is obvious he can't convince her he is at the Zanzibar so he hands the phone to one of the ladies to have her tell his wife where he is at. I'm thinking this is rather strange as well as there is nothing in the bar that can't be bought for $20 and I'm not talking about the paintings on the wall. Are some gentlemen's clubs OK and some not OK? hmmmm

During all this I have walked to the rear of the establishment and noticed a table of men, most of whom I know. One was a recent arrival from Phuket, Thailand where he had worked as a Food and Beverage manager in a 5-star resort. I had met him some months before in Siem Reap and and offered him my Phnom Penh apartment when I was giving it up.
He did take it and only two night later witnessed a wicked firefight between the police and a couple of young guys who were armed with AK-47s. As the pursuit made its way from the riverfront, it turned up the street behind the post office (where the apartment is) and with bullets ricocheting off the house, he watched the two kids who were making a stand be gunned down (dead) by the police. So much for me telling him my apartment was in a safe and decent neighborhood in Phnom Penh.
The other two at the table I knew were recent arrivals to Phnom Penh as well. One being with the US Embassy and the other making his way in Phnom Penh as an "IT and Web consultant". Thinking to myself this was a rather eclectic group with some pretty diverse backgrounds; I wondered what was the topic of conversation?
After a few greetings, Barry had by now convinced his wife that he was where he "should be" and we finally set down and as always, ordered another drink. As is always required at such moments for new "customers", a young lady joins me...but not Barry as they know he is "off limits".

The lady that joins me isn't really that pretty and it is getting rather late. She also has an expression on here face that tells the world she is tired and wants to go home. Trying to make the best of the situation and make it a bit more pleasant, I put my arm around her and she immediately places her head on my shoulder. I gently start stroking her right arm and a small smile returns to her face. I guess in life, sometimes simple is good.

As we set there talking about this and that, particularly this new bar and its clientele, Andrew (from the Memphis Bar earlier) and his friend stroll in. (I'm starting to wonder what his wife is thinking about all this....) We once again exchange greetings and agree that we will inform them of our next destination with a laugh.

The time has definitely come to head back for the "villa" so after paying our bill, Barry takes me back to Chi Cha. Obviously, as with all guest houses, they have locked their steel doors long ago, so after a bit of persistent pounding, a tired and sleepy Indian opens the gates and I finally manage to end Day 1 of my journey around Cambodia.

....more to come.........

Sihanoukville's Freedom Hotel Grand Opening Party

The Freedom Hotel and Dance Bar opened its doors officially on Sunday night the 1st of August with a rather well received Opening Party.

Although Sihanoukville in the last couple of weeks in July experiences rather wet days and nights, (with Saturday evening no exception), the moon above the clouds was full and hundreds were out to enjoy the free kegs of beer and tables of food.

Having arrived earlier in the day I was able to have some conversations with the new proprietors and staff and enjoyed talking with both the owners and the new Khymer controller "John" and one of the girl bartenders, Sophie.

The owners are both from Germany; Jonnie from Berlin and Stefen (Steve) from Munich. Combined with Stefen's lovely Thai wife Joy and an amazing staff whose fluency in English was astounding, the stage had been set for what turned out to be a pretty fun evening from the looks of the karaoke singing that was going on as well as the pool tables filled with couples intent on showing who was the better.
As the night progressed and the crowds increased to over 200, it started to become a "who's who" of Sihanoukville ex-pats, entrepreneurs, bar owners and guests. Now for those who have been to Sihaoukville and "made the rounds" this can be a very interesting group to say the least.

Tanya from the MASH Melting Pot was there with a couple of friends, one pretty young with floppy ears and the other a lovely lady working as a teacher in Korea.
The floppy eared friend was a new addition to the MASH Melting Pot's collection and was a rather handsome puppy named "Elvis" . As you can see from the picture, Elvis looks nothing like his namesake but from the looks of his paws, might be just as big. I had written an article earlier in the year called "I saw Elvis in Sihanoukville" which now means he seems to be popping up everywhere!

That reminds that Ted and his lovely wife also dropped in with Ted making a mad dash to the buffet table and Seyna smiling here lovely smile.

Ted and his new partner Roger have just opened a new restaurant and bar on main street across from the Oasis Hotel and G-Day Mate Bar. Although their place has been open for a month, it still has no sign or name on it so I'll just refer to it as Ted and Roger's "No Name Bar"!

Martin also showed up for the festivities and as he had been kind enough to lend me his camera for these photos (mine got snagged in Siem Reap), I had to thank him profusely as well as make his bar runs for another pint of Anchor! Tough price to pay but since I was headed there myself, not so terrible.
Martin is an old Asian hand having worked for 6 years in Malaysia before transferring up to Sihanoukville to take the helm of running the ship that will become the new O'chhue Teal (Ochheuteal) Golf and Beach Resort opening in late 2005.

Geoff was also there along with some rather lovely ladies. Geoff is the manager of the new Sihanoukville Regional Airport that had a "soft" opening" in April of this year (2004).

Geoff is one of those guys that seems to know everyone who is anyone and I guess as manager of a regional airport, something of a prerequisite for the position.

Bert from the Angkor Arms from around the corner was also attending and seemed to be really enjoying himself. Along with the mandatory pints of beer, he managed to sing a few karaoke songs as well on the large screen video CD music screen. I always like to see Bert and have always made the Angkor Arms my first stop after my arrival from Phnom Penh on the bus. I think now however it might be my second, after first heading to the Freedom Bar (it is closer to the bus station! ha!)

Besides selling beer, Sophie was busy selling her tickets to the "Lucky Wheel Jackpot" which happens each Friday night. After all guests get a chance to purchase three tickets for $1, the drums roll and the music stops and exactly at 11:00 PM, the drawing for that week's prize happens.

After a ticket is selected, a giant wheel gets spun in which the lucky winner has three turns to land on his number to collect his prize. Although the prize was $200 on opening night, it unfortunately wasn't claimed as the magic number wasn't landed on so the prize increased to $290 for the following Friday's draw.

Pierre and Alaine from the Peak Casino and Hotel managed to take a bit of time off from their ever increasing jobs here in Cambodia, with Pierre showing up with a very lovely lady. Both gentlemen are old hands in Asia (originally from Belgium) with Pierre having spent the last 13 years in Pattaya and Alaine 15 years in Phuket. I must also say they got good taste in cars as the Lincoln Continental parked at the front entrance looked pretty comfortable....

An Afternoon Swim at Angkor's Western Baray

After several days of exhausting tours of the temples of Angkor, I often suggest to people I meet that they take a leisurely bike ride to the Western Baray for a morning or afternoon of swimming, lounging and relaxing.

Only 45 minutes northwest of Siem Reap by bike, the Western Baray can be reached on the next road past the airport that turns north.

The tree-lined lane that leads to the Baray is easy to find as there is a sign that shows the Paradise Resort just before the road and a sign pointing to the "Western Baray" in English. After the 30 minute ride to this point, another 15 minutes will find you are the base of the 8km dike and small dam.

Modern facilities can be found here and if a toilet is required, locals can make use of them for 500 riel while foreigners once again have to pay the inflated price of 2,000 riel.

If you climb the small hill from this point you come upon the waters of the Baray stretching several kilometers each way to your right and left or east and west. In the center of the half filled reservoir is an island and small temple.

Aloing the southern flank of the water are numerous hammocks, mats, and umbrellas with Khmers willing and able to provide you a nice massage, a cool drink or an inner tube for floating in the very warm waters.

There is a very narrow, sandy beach leading into soft muddy waters that although not clear due to constant rains is unpolluted.

Built without a doubt over the course of two reigns, the artificial reservoir called the "clear water Baray" by the Khmer, or the Western Baray by foreign visitors, is a testament to work achieved during the 2nd half of the 11th century under the reign of Udayadityavarman II.

Stretching 8m by 2.2 km, it is the largest Baray known to have been built during the Khmer Empire. At the middle of the Baray is found an island where the monument which once had a superb bronze statue of the Reclining Vishnu, which is today exhibited in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

In the middle of the island, the attentive viewer will recognize the shape of a hollow or reversed linga, that is to say, a linga which impregnates the water, making it fertile and thus causing all the rice fields and meadows over which it spreads to be fecund.

Like the Baphuon, a monument of the same style and from the same era, the sculpted scene on the Western entrance of the Mebon are preserved in a sequence of squares.

Thailand to Cambodia Border Crossings - April and June 2004

Koh Kong - Hat Lek - Aranyaprathet - Poi Pet - Prum - Pong Nam Ron
Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville by Bus -
4 Hours and $4.00
The G.S.T. Express Bus Station window near the central market in Phnom Penh.
Having a few days off, I once again decided to head back to Pattaya, Thailand via the overland and water route whose first leg takes me from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. Although it is possible to make it to the Thai border via this route in one day from Phnom Penh, I had opted to sleep in and instead caught the 12:30 GST Express bus from their station behind the Shell Gas Station near the central market in Phnom Penh.

The ticket costs the normal $4.00 and after fending off the newspaper and sunglass vendors, I boarded the bus. We left 10 minutes late at 12:40 (instead of 12:30) and twenty minutes later we were still fighting our way out of the city when the air conditioning went off. Hatches and windows got opened but fortunately for me I had selected a seat next to a window that opened.

We hit the first toll booth at 13:05 and from there on, the road was decent and the traffic reasonably light. The landscape through this first leg can only be described as bleak and colorless but cruising along at 70 mph or so, we were managing to put some kilometers on fairly quickly.

At 14:00 we hit a light rain shower which is highly unusual for this time of the year but I interpret this as a good omen for the rest of the trip. Shortly after this we had the mandatory lunch stop and being a bit hungry, opted to set down and have some rice and vegetables for 2,500 Riel. Not bad considering that is just a tad over 50 cents. At 14:30 we pull out of the Cambodian version of a rest stop/restaurant and are once again making our way south to Sihanoukville.
The trip remained uneventful, the road smooth and at 16:30, only 4 hours after leaving Phnom Penh, we pulled into the bus station in Sihanoukville. This event however now requires one to undergo the mandatory barrage of moto drivers soliciting the bus patrons business. As usual, I blow these guys off and head out on my own.
Although the bus drops you off in Sihanoukville in a 'bus station' type area, in reality the true bus station for this company is located a few blocks away across the street from the Angkor Arms, a great and long-time watering hole for ex-pats and weary travelers. I mention this as this is where you can rent a motorbike by the day instead of being hit every time with a $1 moto charge (which is highway robbery!). Although the $5 a day charge from GTS is more than one would pay in Thailand, I find it reasonable considering the alternative.

If you opt to head straight for your hotel or guesthouse, expect at least a $1 charge. Some of these guys will try to hot you hard so make sure the fee is worked out before you leave.

If you aren't quite sure where you want to stay and want to explore a bit first, I would recommend heading to the north end of Occheaceal Beach which is commonly known as Serendipity Beach. Here at the end of a dusty and rutted road you will find a couple of places to have a cold drink, a beach chair to set on and shade trees to hide you from the sun. It is a good place to start.....

You can also find a decent description of the hotels and guesthouses on this beach on the Sihanoukville home page. http://www.cambodianonline.net/homesihanoukville.htm

See a story with photos about Serendipity Beach at http://www.cambodianonline.net/sihrelvisstroy.htm

Sihanoukville to Koh Kong by Boat - 3 Hours 45 Minutes and $15.00
Please note: Reports in late May and early June 2004 indicated very rough seas using this method of travel. Although very pleasant normally, during the monsoon season these hydrofoils which are designed for inland waters can make this a very unpleasant journey.

My adopted moto driver, Mr. Pok meets me at Uncle Bob's 4 room guest house on the far end of Serendipity Beach at 11:00, an hour before the supposed departure time of the ferry.

It surprises me how far it actually is to the ferry dock but after a short sidetrip to the railway station, we pass into the newly constructed Hun Sen Port. A long wooden pier leads out to our first stop, an immigration shack where an official looks at my passport and writes my name into a ledger with the others traveling that day. Our next stop is of course the restaurant on the pier where I once again have a bit of rice and some vegetables along with a beer for myself and Mr. Pok. He has already bought my ticket for me ($15.00) and I go ahead and pay him for this here. He of course is getting a commission for buying the ticket for me so I say nothing and let him make the couple of bucks off me.

At noon I head down the dock and board what are obviously Russian made hydrofoils that I have ridden all over the world. At 12:15 we push back out of the dock and are shortly up to speed with the bow riding out of the water on its skies.

After arriving at the ferry port of Koh Kong at 16:00, throngs of moto drivers were waiting on the dock and immediately leaped onto the boat as we came along side. A couple of guys grabbed me and I told them to get their hands off me. After scanning the group closest to me, I selected a young moto driver with a bright green t-shirt after his offer to take me to the border for half the price of the others. This would have been a $1 instead of $2 but after the 10 kilometer ride to the border's immigration post across the channel and long, low bridge, he demanded $2 instead of the agreed upon $1. As I was tired and hot and had already been on the road for most of the day, I let him have the $2 after changing money with a female money changer who showed the moment he indicated he had no change. Of course, she gave me my change in Thai Baht and shortchanged me 20 baht but was gone in a flash before I could even say anything. Seems everyone was working some angle or another.

Photo of Thai immigration post at Hat Lek. Posts are now open until 8PM instead of the former 5PM.
 
Getting stamped out and stamped into Thailand went uneventful and actually was rather civilized on the Thai side for the first time in a long time. I wonder if a 30% drop in tourism due to the Muslim terrorism in the southern provinces have anything to do with this? hmmmmm.....

Anyway. Went right across the road and found some guys lounging around several mini-buses who seemed quite uninterested in me the lone traveler and a single, small rucksack. I did notice a sign indicating these were buses to Trat and they left quite frequently. Since I was the first there, I chose the front seat next to the driver and handed over the required 100 baht for the 1 hour trip to Trat. After boarding a few more backpackers from the ferry trip, we headed out at 16:45, actually a few minutes earlier than the time indicated on the sign of 16:55.
I caught a sign along the road that said it was 75 kilometers to Trat but this was after we had already come 10 kilometers or so. At a small town called Khlong Yai, we got off the main road and entered the town to pick up someone who was obviously a female friend of the driver. After that, we soon hit the first of what turned into three military and police checkpoints, all within 15 minutes of the border point. Why they were so close to each other and why they needed three is beyond me....
For the first time, they actually stopped the vehicle and opened the doors to look inside. At the checkpoint near the border at Poi Pet they are actually entering the larger buses now and asking to see IDs and passports, although I wasn't asked for mine at any time.

At 6PM we enter Trat and I immediately try to find transportation to the Pattaya area. The only thing that was even getting remotely close to Pattaya or Rayong at this time in the evening was a bus leaving a small bus station across the street from where the mini-bus had stopped. Although it departed at 7PM, it was heading direct to Bangkok (300 kilometers away) and the closest I could get to Pattaya would be their stop in Chonburi. As I had had enough for one day, I opted to share a taxi/pickup truck with a young Japanese traveler from Yokahami. There was no flexibility in the price so we agreed to split the 1,500 Baht fee.
The trip the rest of the way went pretty much uneventful except for the driver trying to take a shortcut to Pattaya and not dropping me off on the way in Ban Chang, about 30 minutes south of Pattaya. I had to finally tell him he was not getting paid unless he took me there and after a 20 minute detour, at 21:30 I finally arrived at my destination; nearly 3 hours after leaving Trat.

On the Road to Aranyaprathet/Poi Pet and Siem Reap

I got up early and checked out of the Diana Resort which is directly across the street (Pattaya Nua/North Road) from the express bus station to Mor Chit and Ekkami in Bangkok. Diana is a decent place to stay if you are traveling and using the buses as the rooms are clean and large with both air-conditioning and hot water for only 450 Baht. Additionally, they also have a very nice pool and a driving range but the food leaves a lot ot be desired but overall not a bad place to cool down from days on the road around southeast Asia.

Anyway, as I am heading east to Aranyaprathet (what a mouth full that word is), I am headed this time to Mor Chit (or as some ex-pats say, 'more shit') as that is where the 'express buses' leave for eastern Thailand. This trip however had no express in any meaning of the word!

After paying the 90 Baht for the ticket to Mor Chit, we leave Pattaya at 07:40 and arrive at the bus terminal at Mor Chit at 10:00 AM...pretty much on time.
After a bit of fumbling around trying to find the ticket window for the bus trip eastward (I seldom use this terminal), I finally found the right window which was labeled number 31. After paying the required 180 Baht, I was given both my ticket, a plastic cup of water and a small cake...how nice I thought!

The bus left at 10:35 for what was suppose to me a four and a half hour 'EXPRESS' bus trip to the border town of Aranyaprathet, but in reality turned into the bus trip from hell and was probably the second worse bus trip I had ever taken (except for the 24 hour trip I took on a bus from eastern Turkey to Istanbul while setting on the back row with a seat that would not lean back).

As I soon found out this was going to be a bus trip for students heading back to their towns and villages for the coming Thai Songkra holiday. It seemed we made endless stops along the way with the bus full way beyond capacity with the aisle literally so full that people were standing side by side in the aisle all the way from the front of the bus to the rear.

As I had a lady and her son next to my seat (he was setting on her lap), they were crowding me to the left. The people in the aisle were crowding from the right and I literally had to set sideways for hours as a lady and her son were setting on the arm rest that was on the aisle. It was incredibly hot as well as the air conditioning couldn't keep up with the number of humans inside the enclosed bus,
To make matters even worse, a couple of Irish 'gentlemen' were setting in the two seats across the aisle from me and were getting pickeled on large bottles of Singha as the journey progressed. The older of the two was cutting large farts that to put it mildly was embarrassing as a foreigner.

To top this even further, after a short break at a bus station near our destination after most everyone had gotten off the bus to stretch their legs (we had lost many of the aisle passengers by now), we re-boarded the bus and once again I reached for my small black notebook (my journal and weeks worth of notes) that had been sticking out of a pocket in my rucksack to make a few notes.....only to notice it was missing.

hmmmmm...I thought. Where did it go? I didn't think to much about it at first as I was pretty tired and hot and felt it had maybe slid out under the seat or maybe I had absentmindly put it back in the rucksack. Either way it was on the bus and I would find it...or so I thought.

I did however begin to search a bit harder after a half hour or so and when it became obvious I did not have it and it wasn't under the seat, I started to ask the Thais in front and behind me. The girl setting in front of me pointed to the farting and drunken Irishmen and after asking him several times in the most polite way possible (he pretended to ignore me which indicated he knew where it was), he suddenly remembered he had 'found it' and placed it into his small bag from which he started to remove it.

hmmmmmmm......once again. I thanked him profusely for 'finding it' for me and than had to listen to his diatribe about living in Thailand and the Thais. As I just didn't want to engage this individual in any form of conversation or any overt act of friendship, I let him talk and I just listened. Rule number 1 for me however had once again been proven, "you don't have to worry about the locals, it is the foreigners you got to watch like a hawk!!!"

We finally reached the bus terminal at Aranyaprathet and I immediately grabbed a motorcycle to the border after declining an invitation to to share a Tuk Tuk with the Irish 'gentlemen' as I didn't feel like having anything else ripped off from me. The price of 40 Baht seemed pretty reasonable for what I knew was about an 8-10 kilometer ride to the border and the immigration station.

June 2004 Update: The road from Poipet to Siem Reap is still a rough and wild ride although the road between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh is now pavement for 4 of the approximately 6 hours. Unfortunately coming in from Poipet has, is and will most probably be for some time to come a very trying experience.....sorry!

The Thai/Cambodian Border and the Road to Siem Reap

The walk across the border back into Cambodia was the easiest it has ever been with Thai immigration (departure) not having a single person in line, with this time me not receiving the third degree as I had the previous time before. Arriving at 16:00 might have had something to do with it as well I guess, or maybe things are just mellowing out a bit with tourism being off so radically (presently down 30% according to the Bangkok Post in March 2004).

Anyway, as I had already obtained a one year, multiple-entry visa in Phnom Penh for Cambodia from Lucky's Motorcycle Shop on Monivong, I didn't need to get into the visa line for a Cambodian Visa and instead strolled on into the shack that had a single immigration officer stamping visitors into the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Although there was no-one in line except for two monks, the guy was busily stamping hundreds of Thai passports with Cambodian entry stamps. During this 20 minute wait (while he finished this Herculean task), I struck up a conversation with one of the monks who was just returning from a 3-year stay in Burma while studying for his degree in Buddhism and English.

His English was excellent and his story was fascinating as he went on to tell me about the school there, his multi-national classmates and about his return to his Wat in Phnom Penh. What was so interesting was he had a business card to give me showing his Wat and a phone number where he could be reached in Phnom Penh!
After parting ways as he was going to stay overnight in Poi Pet until he was able to catch the early morning (06:30 AM) bus to Phnom Penh, I got my 'indefinite' entry stamp and charged out into the masses of humanity, insanity and moto drivers of Poi Pet.

Although not as bad in some ways as it has been in past years (see this article from 2001), you are still confronted and most newcomers overwhelmed with the touts and humanity coming at you from all directions. As a tired and weary traveler, it can be daunting enough to make you want to run back across the Thai border and forget your plans to see Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor....but please don't!
On this particular passage across the border however, I had already determined there were no more buses heading in any direction so it was either an evening in the filth of Poi Pet, a taxi to Siem Reap or one to Phnom Penh....so what was it going to be?
I opted for a taxi solution and entered the fray of finding one and settling on the price. What is normally suppose to happen is the price will be settled on at $20 as this was the going rate for a taxi to these destinations in the past. I however kept getting confronted with the price of 1,500 Baht which I strongly indicated was not acceptable and said I would only pay 1,000 Baht.... tops! One driver eventually agreed to this price and after telling him to wait, I went back to the immigration line looking for individuals to share the taxi with me to Siem Reap.

I immediately came upon three Brits who were weary and overwhelmed with the situation. Both the girls and the guy looked terrified from what was happening around them but I quickly tried to explain what was happening and offered my taxi to them. They agreed somewhat hesitantly at first but as he kept asking others about a taxi, he soon found out that my 1,000 Baht was far better than the other offers of 1,500 Baht.

It was during this long, slow push through the crowd that a 'police officer' intercepted me and pointing to the patch on his shoulder that said 'tourist police' (...with me thinking "when the hell did Cambodia get tourist police?"), he asked me what I was paying for my taxi.

As incredulous as I could sound (which I actually was), I indicated to him I wasn't aware the 'tourist police' were in the taxi cab business and it was none of his business....and kept pushing myself and those following me through the mass of humanity to the taxi I had waiting.

We got to the car and I hurriedly tried to get their backpacks into the trunk and everyone into the car but this 'cop' was playing junk yard dog with me. He insisted one of the girls roll down her window in the back and tried to intimidate her. When I told her to roll her window back up, he went around to the driver's side and was obviously asking who the driver was and than wrote down his odometer mileage. It was only after this the 'police officer' gave up and we were able to head out of the filth of humanity and buildings that is known as Poi Pet....which is a horrible first impression for travelers going to the amazing beauty of Siem Reap and Angkor. Sad, so very sad.....

It seems the Thai mafia has most probably taken control of the border taxis in Poi Pet as it is exactly 1,500 Baht that Thais charge between cities. Examples include Bangkok Airport to Pattaya (2 hours) or my recent trip from Trat to Pattaya (3 hours). Rumors indicate that the situation with the moto drivers in Sihaounkville are getting as bad as well, demanding $1 instead of a more reasonable sum of 1,000-2,000 Riel (.24-.50 cents-Cambodian's only have to pay 500 Riel for the same trip-$1 is 8 times higher than the local rate).

Anyway, we were finally able to blow out of Poi Pet and with a couple of hours of light left, headed east to Sisophon, and further east to the sanity and beauty of Siem Reap and Angkor.

See a story with photos about crossing this border during Christmas 2003 for the journey to Siem Reap. http://www.cambodianonline.net/articles200301.htm

The Palin Border Crossing or more officially known as 'Pong Nam Ron' (Thai) and 'Prum' (Cmabodian).

A couple of British friends of mine in Phnom Penh told me about their recent (April 2004) trip across the border at Pong Nam Ron/Prum into Cambodia from Thailand.
It seems this is a new option but very rudimentary. Like the other border points, it is also now open to 8PM as well and is being used by some who are heading for casinos in Cambodia here and the precious stones found in the area. It also seems to be an alternative crossing point for visitors going between Koh Chang/Trat and Siem Reap.

You can get there from Chonburi for only 500 Baht and than journey takes a little over an hour. The Thai name of the border is 'Pong Nam Run' according to the stamp in the passports and on the Cambodian side it is called 'Prum'. Although the two points are walkable they are a bit of a distance apart and motos can take you from one to the other for only 5 Baht. They indicated to me you can get a Cambodian entry visa here but a Thai visa is not possible. This is unconfirmed at this point.
You can catch a taxi from the Cambodian side to Battambang for $20 but there are also lots of moto drivers waiting there as well. The road as of April 2004 is still in very bad condition but from Battambang to Sisophon is entirely paved and in good condition. There is an 8AM bus from Battambang to Sisophon as well and with water levels being so incredibly low at the moment (April 2004), proabably a better option than the boat if you are heading to Siem Reap and the temples at Angkor. The Smoking Pot in Battambang was also mentioned as a decent restaurant at a reasonable price as well as the Balcony Bar as a place to cool down with a beer or cocktail.
They also mentioned that Palin is still a "Khmer Rouge' stronghold and that brother 'number 3' still lives there. Caesar's Casino is also on the border and one little known fact is that a mini-bus runs between it and the 1,000 Baht a night PK Hotel in downtown Chonburi. Even if you are not headed to the casino, you can catch this bus for only a 100 Baht

Sihanoukville, Cambodia's New Airport Opening

Sihanoukville Airport - 2004

April 12, 2004 - Sihanoukville Airport's re-opening took place without a hitch just before the Khmer New Year's celebration. As the 48-passenger, Russian made AN-24 made a picture perfect landing and taxied to the new and very modern terminal building, the assembled guests and dignitaries made their way out to the tarmac to greet those flying down from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville for the historical event.

Prior to the landing, a ceremony was held in which the Monks blessed the airport and said prayers for the success and happiness of everyone involved. After this important event and arrival of the VIPs from Phnom Penh, another ceremony was held in the main terminal facility for guests numbering over 100.

His Excellency, Mr. Pok Sam Ell, Secretary of State for the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, spoke first. He was followed by Geoff Rider, the new General Manager of Sihanoukville Airport.

Mr. Rider stated that, "The new opening of the Sokha Beach Resort (a photo gallery) last Thursday which is the first International Beach Resort in Cambodia and the opening of the airport today will put Sihanoukville on the regional and international tourist map."

Mr. Rider also indicated that he expected large numbers of travelers between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville and that "as the tourism industry in Sihanoukville expands the airport will grow with the industry". He also indicated that there was additional provisions for the passenger terminal and customs and immigration services.

He also went on to mention the importance of working closely with the Sihanoukville Tourism Forum as well as local industry such as Cambrew which is the Sihanoukville brewer and bottler of Angkor and Pepsi products.

After these comments, airport guests and staff were treated to a buffet provided by Ariston Holdings, which is the group responsible for the management, maintenance and development of the new Sihanoukville Airport as well as partners in the development of the new 9-hole golf course alongside Ochheuteal Beach, Sihanoukville's most popular beach.

Airport operations are the responsibility of Ariston Holdings with the airport itself under the control of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA). The airport's runway is 1,300 meters long and 34 meters wide and is capable of handling both general aviation and large, multi-engine, turbo-props such as the AN-24 and ATR-72. Plans are in place to expand the runway to accommodate even larger regional jet aircraft as well.

The 5 parking slots on the 275 x 90 meter tarmac in front of the very modern terminal building will hopefully soon be used to accommodate daily air operations from the capital of Phnom Penh and the resorts and temples of Siem Reap. Airport air traffic control is to be provided by Cambodia's C.A.T.S. - Cambodian Air Traffic Services both from their center in Phnom Penh as well as from the control tower located on top of the new terminal.

With the 'soft opening' of the airport in April 2004, it marks the first time since 1998 that regularly scheduled air operations and charter flights are expected to begin.

I saw Elvis in Sihanoukville!

One of the most popular destinations for both foreigners and locals in Sihanoukville is Occheaceal Beach and most will probably end up here after the 4 hour bus journey down from Phnom Penh. The roads along this route are actually quite good and depending on when you leave Phnom Penh (most commonly at either 7AM or 12:30 PM), may determine to some degree what kind of accommodations are available when you reach the beach as it has become a very popular destination for both foreigners and locals.

As a destination site for many Cambodians combined with the opening of the new Sihanoukville Airport before the Khmer New Year in April 2004 and the new international beach resort of Sokha Beach, the likelihood of the areas' growth is increasing everyday.

The beach itself is a very long, gently curving bay that sets between the new 9-hole golf course being built and the gulf waters. As of April 2004, 4 of the planned 9 holes have been completed with many new and very comfortable guest houses and villas lining the road leading down its southern flank with the Jasmine Hotel being near the beginning of the course. They are known for their friendly staff and and it is a great place to stay according to some of the locals.

I think most head down the dirt road that sets on the north side of the beach referred to as Serendipity Beach first looking for accommodations as there are some nice hangouts to drink, eat and relax around the numerous tables and shade trees.

As you head down this dirt road that many refer to as 'Serendipity', you first encounter several guest houses on the left, including Mohaohha (011-783-476 or 034-933-586) and Sea View Villa (034-935-555) which opened in February 2004. Wedged between these is the SKT Tour (Sokun Tour and Travel) company building (sothy2003mm@yahoo.com)A bit further down you will reach the beach and in this area you will find the 4-room beach bar called Uncle Bobs run by a young Swede named 'PJ' who has just got engaged to his Cambodian girlfriend. If you are in need of 'comfort food', Uncle Bobs has a pretty good pizza. Next to this place is a newly renovated and upgraded place called the Eden Bar and Guest House which is also located directly on the beach.

If you turn to your right and head further north along the beach, there are several more guest houses and lodges. Signs point you to the Ocean View and beside it, at the very end of where you can walk before the rocky point, Cloud 9.
If you turn left coming off the road, you will immediately see the Bungalow Bar and Restaurant as well as villa complex. Continuing on down the beach will lead you to the first of what literally had to be over a hundred small "beer bars" setting right along the beach.

In the evening this entire beach comes alive with the dancing glow of hundreds of candles placed on each bars many beach tables. Places like the Eden build small bonfires in large stone pits in front of their bars and have barbeques.
As you continue your long, curving stroll south along the beach, the shacks turn into longhouses and you start to notice signs indicating free beds. One such place as a PADI diving sign and is called the 'Dolphin Shack' whose previous owner has now established the new 8-room guest house called 'Ru's Place' just off Lion Circle.
Another place that is well known for its diving is Asia Divers run by Eric who is a really great guy. His number is 012-608-578. Roger is also working with Eric and his number is 012-439-301. This is also a PADI facility and they also run $15 all night party boats to the islands as well.

Where the shacks end you will find a wonderful little place called 'Teds' run by a Canadian/ American named (of course) TED and his very charming and lovely wife, Syna who is learning to sketch and color and from what I watched, quite talented.

Ted and one of the local neighbors who hangs out with him and his wife.
Ted is one heck of a nice guy who is originally from Montreal but grew up in Houston. In the evenings this place turns into quite the place for jams and laughter from the local expats. They will be opening a new Mexican restaurant soon and knowing the potency of Syna's margaritas, it should be a great time!
Trips to the local islands seem to round out the local day and evening's activities. Snake Island is known for its birds and monkeys while Koh Thas Island is famous for its fishing, birds and seaviews. Ta Kiev Island has snorkeling, coral and fishing and Russey Island has snorkeling and coconut trees. Ream Nah Para has a mountain view and a great beach.

Bokar Mountain is about 2 hours away and seems to be a stop for most staying more than a few days. It is about 10 kilometers out of Kampot and has a $5 entrance fee and for an additional $5, you can stay the night. Some of the local ex-pats take food and other items up to the Monks that live there which is greatly appreciated.
Other ex-pat haunts in town are 8-room guest house and bar owned by the former owner of the Dolphin Shack Ru's Place, Savana and the Marlin Bar owned by Richard. Ru's Place has a big screen TV and show movies as well.

Now, if you follow the above trail, you will find Elvis in Sihanoukville! Good luck and have a great time!!!

www.cambodianonline.net/articles200411.htm for photos!

Sunday on the Mekong

As I took the helm of the boat, I couldn't help but feel a bit like (Captain Willard) Martin Sheen in the Vietnam era war movie (1979) 'Apocalypse Now' as he made his way up the Mekong through Cambodia to assassinate the renegade American Green Beret, Colonel Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando). My boat however was no fast moving river patrol boat but instead a slightly listing, lumbering Mekong River ferry owned by Sophat Tours. The listing constantly to starboard was somewhat suspicious but with the bilge pumps working, I didn't give it that much thought as I was having some serious fun!

Today was the 3rd Sunday of the month so that meant a free river cruise was on Phnom Penh's social agenda, sponsored by Scott at the Jungle Bar and Grill on the riverfront Using the Jungle as our staging area and after a cold Angkor beer, at noon we headed across Sisoway Quay and walked down the now steep banks of the Tonle Sap where our vessel was awaiting us.

The Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers are now at their lowest due to it being the dry season, with some reports from upstream indicating the waters are the lowest they have been in 25 years. This however didn't keep us landlubbers and after shoving off and after a quick u-turn to pick up late arrivals, we make our way down the Tonle Sap and were soon chugging up the Mekong.

The Mekong is full of life on its banks. Some might call it enchanting. Everywhere you look you see children swimming in its waters, cattle being cooled from the heat of the tropical sun or ferries plying across the waters to the opposite bank. The pace seems slow and steady with constant waves and hellos from children as they see our boat and passengers.

On board the music gets cranked up a bit louder and ribs, burgers, hotdogs and potato salad is now being fed to the guests. I choose the ribs and without a doubt, they were the best piece of meat I have had since returning to Cambodia. The beer was cold and the tall bottles of Angkor started to fall by the wayside with conversations becoming ever more interesting as the passengers started to get to know each other.

It wasn't long before a couple on the boat were being told about the wonders of Angkor including some of the newer theories about the temple complex and its design as a celestial marker as well as a capital city of an empire from long ago. Most people just don't realize the size and complexity of what most simply call Angkor Wat . Angkor, before its collapse in the 13th century, was the largest city on earth with a population estimated at over a million inhabitants, while London at the same time had only 30,000 residents. The physical size of the city would be approximately the size of Los Angeles in the United States today.

This is a lot to take in and the conversations continued to explore some of these ideas as we started our turn back after rounding a large island setting in the middle of the channel. It was after this turn downstream that we made a stop to explore a temple and experience some more of Cambodia's charm. As you can see from the photos below, the life here was basic and simple. The path from the top of the hill that we climbed to get to the temple was long and straight, with a long segment shaded by tall trees lining each side of the path. Cattle drawn carts maneuvered around us while we walked upon some of the finest dirt I have ever seen with each footstep creating a willowy puff of dust as your shoe settled into the half inch of powder.

During this stop, children here as elsewhere in Cambodia are curious but yet shy. A smile is returned with a huge grin and often times a 'hello'. It wasn't long before a trio of pre-teens had befriended me with the oldest quickly able to say my name 'Charlie'. In these encounters, unlike what might happen next to larger tourist areas in Phnom Penh, no one ever asks for money nor is there ever any begging. It is simply wonderful children filled with curiosity and adventure.
After about a half hour stop, we re-boarded our home for the afternoon and once again were heading back towards Phnom Penh. A few times during this leg of the trip, a couple of ex-pats in a very old looking wooden 'sport boat' with a single outboard blew by us. They also looked like they were having some serious fun as well! For me, and possibly them, being on the water is an experience that I can never get enough of and if it was up to me, I would be living onboard a boat, sailing the world until the day I died.

The trip has to end however and after an uneventful rounding of the point of land where the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers converge, we are soon walking down the gangplank back once again on Sisoway Quay in Phnom Penh. Life in Cambodia is good!