ANDY AND ANA, KAMPONG CHAM, BANLUNG AND STUNG TRENG, CAMBODIA. MARCH APRIL 2014

Arrived in Kampong Cham after an easy, but long, bus journey from Siem Reap and checked into the Mekong hotel. The most distinguishing feature of this hotel is the ridiculous size of the corridors that the rooms lead onto. Each floor could easily house a large swimming pool or tennis court and maybe a sprinting track too. Its just huge and a massive waste of space. Still the rooms are a good size too and clean enough with a river view balcony.

Ana illustrating the scale of the corridors in the Mekong hotel - they are like this on every floor! Anyone for tennis?

Balcony view over the Mekong

Wat's this?

Random horse and cart train through town, friendly drivers gave us a wave...

Floating huts to protect the fishermen from the worst of the days sun

The bamboo bridge - rebuilt every dry season

An impressive structure - it can take motor bikes too - not sure about cars and trucks though...

Bamboo bridge and me on my manly bike.

That evening we headed out for a stroll along the river to see some of the local highlights including some wats and the bamboo bridge.

We stumbled across a few locals, all of whom were very friendly and said hello and a small group of kids who were playing with bike tyre like the Victorian children with iron hoops, rolling them down the street and chasing after them.

Most visitors to Kampong Cham cross over the famous Bamboo bridge.  The bamboo bridge is quite an impressive structure, it spans a good portion of the width of the Mekong between the west bank and the large island of Ko Penh in the middle of the river. Every year this structure is destroyed during the monsoons in the wet season and at the end of the rains is rebuilt. To cross there is a modest toll of whatever they would like to charge on the day (but its not very much).

After our stroll we grabbed lunch , headed back to the hotel and luxuriated in the aircon. That evening we headed out for dinner and grabbed some local food at a street stall, rice and noodles dishes with plenty of spice and really, really cheap with lashings of free tea.

Next day we arranged our onward buses and hired a couple of bikes to explore the other side of the bamboo bridge. We tried a local social enterprise place for breakfast (Smile Cafe) and I tucked into the new found bor bor. This time opting for the more local version of the rice porridge with sun dried fish, pickles (unsure what was pickled) and egg. I didn't feel too clever that morning and some of you have commented on my facebook picture so here is me smiling and eating the dish - not too bad but a little difficult to stomach if your not feeling 100%!

Bor Bor (rice porridge) with dried fish, pickles and egg and this time I look like I am enjoying it ;)

After brekkie, on the bikes and out to the bamboo bridge. Its quite an experience and took us several minutes to get across the whole span. It was quite hard work cycling over a slightly uneven quite soft surface of bamboo matting but offered great views along the river. 

Ana and the bamboo bridge, its longer than it looks...

A taste of the journey across. I like the bit where Ana just stops in front of me whilst I am cycling one handed!

On the other side, the island of Koh Penh was a real find. It was beautiful and whilst it is no longer unspoilt by traffic (there are now a fair few motorbikes on the island) the long road flanked by local wooden houses on stilts and palm trees and the friendly locals drying bananas in the sun or huge frames of tobacco leaves was quite a sight to see. We passed a lady selling this jackfruit. Its the biggest I have seen so far but believe it or not these bad boys can weigh in at up to 50Kg before they drop from the tree! I managed to lift this one up but only just!

Koh Penh, a cool island, very quite and a lot to see - just not in this picture!

Someone has quite a habit - tobacco leaves drying in the sun

Sweetcorn being de-husked and sun dried on a large scale!

Not quite a 50Kg fruit but pretty big anyway I would say 10-15 maybe.

A little further on and we stopped outside a Buddhist temple and went in to take a look around. We were greeted by some very friendly young monks who were eager to invite us into their home and practice their English. The lads were on a break form their monk-schooling and were between 12 and 17, they showed us their accommodations and where they had classes and studied and asked as many questions as they could in English. We in turn tried to find out about them but given our limited Khmer vocab we didn't get too far :) Still was great to meet them and have a look around at how they live. So basic and they are so young to be living the life they are. 

Wat and Buddhist school - the young monks who live here were very friendly

Some interesting statues outside, not sure what they all mean...

...but I think this one is an example of what happens if your are not well behaved?

We left the monks to head back to school and hopped back onto the bikes to continue when I spotted that I had a puncture - bummer. I bet it was from the bamboo bridge!

So we walked the bikes back over the bridge and back to the hotel to exchange for another. A long hot walk and it was a shame to have cut our island exploration short but I enjoyed seeing life on their little island.

View from the bridge on the hot plod back to the hotel with my punctured bike.

We headed out for slap up lunch at lazy Mekong days, burger for me and mushroom noodles for Ana and refueled we headed out again on the bikes to temples on the twin hills of  Phnom Proh and Phnom Sray or man hill and woman hill on which there was a temple for women on one hill and a temple for men on the other.

The cycle was hard work in the intense heat and whilst the wats were quite cool. We were not! gratefully cycled back to the hotel for another cool off, back past the reclining Buddha, does what it says on the tin, see below and to the hotel for a good sleep. 

Temple at the top of 'Man Hill'

Reclining Buddah, even he takes a rest from time to time.

The steps up to woman hill, there are over 300 and its pretty steep and hard work in the sun.

Worth it for the views though

Sweaty Selfie at the top.

Kampong Cham birdseye view

Smiling on the way back down the Naga (Buddhist Snake Spirit) stairway

Early start the next day to catch our bus on to Banlung in North Eastern Cambodia, this is a little off the beaten track tourist wise and Ana had spied out a tree top Eco lodge for us to stay in. That's right, a little more money and no hot water or aircon :)

The bus to Banlung was not too bad - about 7 hours so as comfortable as you would expect. Arrived in the evening and checked into the lodge. We were shown to our self contained tree-house and were pleasantly surprised. Large room with large bed and a mosquito net pre-fitted. A nice large separate bathroom and a balcony overlooking the forested valley with a hammock thrown in!

The hammock was in need of some TLC so I got out my trusty string and made a hasty repair to ensure that the image of lazing on  the balcony with a beer as the sun went down wasn't ruined! We ate in the onsite open air restaurant, red curry and rice and chatted with a few other travellers, David and Nina (from Slovenia) and Alexandra from Poland. Good company and exchanged travelling stories and plans for the next few days.

Enjoying the balcony of the 'Eco lodge' (read wooden hut)

Romeo, Romeo, where... - oh, there you are down there. Ana taking in the view 

Emergency hammock repairs required - glad we bought the string with us.

Testing the fix - it works!

Great views over the valley

Just outside our room were bushes and trees packed with insects, lizards, spiders and chickens. A great place to poke around and see whats hiding.

After a nice evening we retreated to the tree-house for our first night in the wilderness. Ana saw a rat and tried to plug the hole with a towel successfully as it happens. Then we tried to get into the mosquito net without letting any of the millions of bugs in with us. Not the most graceful but we made it in. Just as I lay down Ana pointed out the large-ish spider directly above my head. On the outside of the net but I wasn't going to leave it there. I got back out and tried to shoe it away, at which point it started leaping around. I have never seen a spider jump so, satisfied that it had moved from my head area, I went back to bed and had a fitful nights sleep dreaming of jumping deadly spiders.

Our luxury tree-house complete with 4 poster.
Also featuring the all important and 100% necessary mosquito, general purpose bug, spider and rat net.

Not the best nights rest for either of us but woke the next day ready to hire some bikes and cycle to crater lake. As the name suggests this is a large 700 year old lake is a beautiful clear blue and about 50M deep in the middle. It sits in the inactive crater of a volcano and is also a special religious place for the Buddhists and is frequented by monks and locals who will bathe in the lake fully clothed.

Ana and I chose to forgo local tradition and took a dip in our cossies. Amazing water refreshing but not too cold and deep enough to dive in at the edge (even deep enough to take a running bomb into and not touch the bottom).  And this is what Andy did for the next 2 hours, jumping in and out of the lake testing his agility and ability to jump 'off the top step'.  See proof below!

Crater lake and an isolated pier all to ourselves, very peaceful :)

Ana enjoying a swim in the refreshing and crystal clear water.

GER....

...ONI...

...MO!

Once we'd had enough of the water we got out to dry off and just in time for a gang of monks to come for their daily dip.  One was insistent that Andy went swimming with him but he politely declined after seeing that the monk who claimed to not be able to swim transformed into Ian Thorpe as soon as he touched the water.  Once we'd said our goodbyes to the monks and their entourage we strolled back through the woodland to our bikes to  cycle back.  

Once back at the lodge we had lunch and rested for most of the afternoon.  Early evening we took the bikes down to the local river to catch some sunset and didn't stay too long as it was hot and a bit of a run down place.  We stopped at a cafe for iced coffee, a beer and some nuts before cycling back to the lodge.  We reunited with gang from the night before and chatted to them about their hike into the countryside the next day.

Sun setting over a nearby lake during the after dinner walk

A better nights sleep this evening but we were still on bug and rat alert.

Next morning it was time to jump back on another motorcycle with my driver The Rotton.  We headed out to explore the waterfalls around Banlung all of which you could turn up to, pay a small entrance fee and go for a dip.  The drive out to the waterfalls took us on some very dark red clay roads which completely covered us in dust from head-to-toe.  So once we'd arrived at the first waterfall we were pleased to be able to change into our swimming cossies and jump into the cool fresh water.  We stayed at the first waterfall for an hour or so and jumped back on the bike to the next stop.  

This look still doesn't suit me.

The long dusty road to the first waterfall 

An inviting pool below the waterfall

We both took a refreshing dip here.

The next one was not as good as the first so we didn't swim but loads of locals were there so it was good to see them enjoying themselves. 2 down, 1 to go...  Before we drove out to waterfall number 3 we headed back into town for lunch and ate at the geko restaurant.  Hungry from the mornings exploring we both had a cheese and ham toastie with chips, proper plastic square cheese and wafer thin ham but a salty treat for the sweaty duo.

Whoa, its a long way down!

Locals enjoying the water. In the wet season this fall will be much wider and fuller, a bit tame this time round.

Ana exploring the bridge crossing

Back on the road to the final waterfall.  Again we drove for several kms on dark red clay roads and trying to use google maps to get us there.  We found ourselves at the waterfall and were the only people there.  Andy chose to head into the waterfall whilst I took some action shots.  There wasn't a pool to swim in but you could stand under the big cascade of water.  

Wow, Ana look at that amazing tree root - pretend to be tangled in it for a photo.

How would you score this for effort?

And this one? Alright I may not be Ian McKellen either but at least I am trying.

Ana's idea - don't judge me!

A refreshing and slightly painful shower! Just hoping nothing gets washed over the top and onto my head...

En route back to the lodge and we could hear something didn't sound right with the bike, we checked the wheel and a bolt from the exhaust mounting had come loose and was scraping against it as we drove, nothing we could do in the middle of nowhere as the bolt had bent so no roadside repairs possible so we continued the drive with our fingers crossed hoping we'd get back in one piece.  After a while the the bolt had been ground down on the metal of the wheel so we didn't feel it was necessary to tell the guys at the lodge who would have charged us for the repair - not a safety issue and they should have tightened it properly in the first place!

We ordered dinner just in time for a massive storm to start.  So once our food had arrived the lights all went out and we dined by torch light and headlamp.  What started off as a rumbly lightning storm turned into a massive electrical storm and one which we sat and watched for hours.  The dining space in the lodge was perfect for viewing and in between the power outages the kitchen was serving up food and drinks! We spent a few hours watching the storm and enjoying some of the cooler temperatures before the retreat back to  our tree house which I assumed would've filled up with families of rats and creatures to shelter from the storm.  Back in the tree house and after realising that all the creatures were hiding well enough for us not to see we went to bed in the dark hoping that we'd not be blown away in the night ;)

Up early to find that power was restored, storm was over and we could safely order breakfast...phew!  Crammed into a small minibus with a french family of 4, two other travellers and about 200 Cambodians, we made our way to our final destination in Cambodia - Stung Treng.  The town is pretty much a pass through for locals and travellers heading between Cambodia and Laos so not a huge amount to see but a nice enough place with a bustly market, guesthouses and a few places to eat.  We stayed in the Golden River hotel and booked in for our 1 night stay.

The river side in Stung Treng

We deciding to try and find a hotel when we arrived in Stung Treng instead of booking ahead as we were arriving midday-ish, we had already spotted a place recommended in guides, a social enterprise hotel where locals are learning the ropes of the hospitality industry. 

Unfortunately when we arrived they had had a power cut and unusually we needed to be online to search for our onward travel the next day, so we went hunting on foot and grabbed a room in the first reasonably priced place that had the facility to get online. 

The golden river hotel turned out to be a bit of a treat a proper hotel with very clean and large rooms and bathroom, a preferred place to stay for the army when holding conferences, they have awards and letters of thanks from the Vietnamese army from previous conferences in reception. There were quite a few officers staying there at the time too so we were in good company!

After an online search for best routes to Laos from Stung Treng we settled on the Sorya coach service (the 'big bus' service) and found their local office a little out of town. We headed out and secured our tickets for the next day, had a little explore round town and grabbed a meal. Nothing too special as this place really is just a travel and trade hub onto and out of Cambodia.

Next day was an admin day buying supplies sorting currency and really just mooching round town and relaxing in the sun taking in the central market. Headed to the statioj at our alloted time (4pm) only to be told there was a delay and the bus would be late so we stopped for a drink down the road and waited. Our last Cambodian iced coffees :)

Back to the station and as the bus was delayed we were going to be ferried out to the main road to meet it. Ana and I got on the back of 2 moto taxis along with our massive bags and had a 10 mins race to catch the bus as it passed, the journey was a but hairy Ana clung on the her taxi driver but I thought mine wouldn't appreciate this as he tried to wrestle and balance my small rucksack on his lap and the weight of me and my rucksack teetering on the back, he must have weighed about 60 Kg max! So I grabbed onto the pillion handle and tried to avoid tipping over the back. 

We made it with time to spare and the moto guys waited with us to catch the bus, sure enough it arrived a few mins later, just as the sun was starting to set over Stung Treng, a large air conditioned relatively empty 'luxury' coach. Awesome. Jumped on and got our head down. This bus would take us all the way to Pakse arriving late at night but only 4 or 5hrs away, hopefully a smooth border crossing, what could possibly go wrong? Laos, here we come :)

Waiting for the bus on a main road quite a way from Stung Treng - this is my, 'I hope the bus comes', nervous smile!

Off we go - next stop Laos, Thanks Cambodia, its been fun! Just the border crossing to go...