Advertisement
Published: November 16th 2010
And off the road for that matter. The tiny village of Chi Phat. nestled in the southern Cardamom mountains, is accessible only by river boat or dirt "road" (on the back of a dodgy motorbike) so we opted for the Boat. The village is part of a project to end poaching and deforestation by giving remote villagers jobs in eco-tourism rather than destroying their locale for much needed income. An NGO initiated and oversees the program but locals operate the facilities and tours. They offer 1-5 day treks using a combination of kayak, bicycle and hiking in whatever arrangement you want. The people who make their way here are an "üp for it" crowd as there is nothing else in the area tourists frequent. For us the village was very reminiscent of Laos; a self-organized community with little nearby, livestock are everywhere but it is generally clean, karaoke and pool at every small restaurant-bar.
We didn't have the option to do a multi-day trek as all the guides were booked so our first day we rented a kayak and took to the rivers that criss-cross the valleys all around. The nice part about this operation versus others that are similar is you aren't tied into anything by going. You can just rent equipment and go around at your leisure with no pressure. We paddled around for 4 hours, venturing down small rivers, some so still that there was a thick coating of scum completely undisturbed and then got to rapids which we could not surmount. We had been paddling for 2 hours and decided to rest and go for a swim in the cool mountain waters. We forgot how long it had been since dunking in fresh water.... it's so nice not to have to take a shower to get the ocean scum/smell off you. While drying off we saw large fish and a eel through the crystal clear waters. Rested and hydrated we set of to make our way back to Chi phat. The plan was to go upstream so we would have an easy paddle back but somehow the current shifted and we had to go upstream twice with a headwind! The tides are quite strong here for the average river with a shift of over 1 meter between high and low. These may be mountains but the peaks are only around 500m and the valleys with rivers are mostly flat. Really the rivers are more like elongated lakes with many curly fingers. River or lake aside, the area is astonishingly beautiful.
For the next day we booked a 14Km day trek that visits river rapids, 2 waterfalls and a place they call the Bat Cave! Setting off early we reached the rapids and stopped for a swim in the clear waters. As we continued to the first waterfall we ran into a group of local kids mowing down on tree berries that were just ripe. I forget the name of them but the flavour was halfway between raisin and tamarind. Further on we stopped at a villager's hut to get a break from the sun before reaching the first waterfall and adjacent, the Bat Cave! The falls were audible before visible, tucked away in the jungle surrounded by vines, trees, and the most ferocious looking spiky bamboo imaginable. The neighbouring bat cave contained no bats and was a small cave tucked in the crevice of a large rocky outcropping that led down to the falls. There was more than enough guano to prove that bats do indeed live here so i suppose we caught them out on an errand. After a few snapshots we headed uphill to sit and break for lunch.
The last place on the day's agenda was the large waterfall whose source is the river we swam in hours earlier. To reach our destination we had to tromp through a mucky field full of grasses so tall they obscured everything in sight and as the field abruptly ends you are right on the edge of the falls (safely of course). The falls took the shape of a crescent with a 30m curve pounding to 10m below. We were assured that although you cannot see the bottom of the pool the falls spill into that cannon-balling was not an option. The breeze off the water and the swirling butterflies made for a pleasant setting and we rested there for 30 minutes or so. The day was waning and there were 8km in between us and rest so we set off before lingering too long. On the hike back we retraced the days steps and within 2 hours were back at Chi Phat base camp where we enjoyed the local drink specialty, iced black coffee. This is the kind of place that hang on the walls of your memory for a long time whereas most villages tend to blend in with the scenery. Not once were we asked to buy something or look at anything. In most places we spend 1/4 of our time in public answering no to the constant demand to buy things we neither want nor need. Everywhere tends to try and sell crappy "handy crafts" that are anything but traditional to scheme money off tourists but here all they sold was the baskets that they weave and use every day for myriad tasks. This is truly a functional and healthy community especially given the standards in Cambodia being quite low even for a poor country.
Leaving Chi Phat is more difficult than getting there because at the bridge where you meet the Chi Phat boat, buses only pass to a few destinations at infrequent times. We hitched a ride on the cargo boat that serves the town and enjoyed a leisurely trip to the bridge. We missed the bus going to Phnom Pehn by 1 minute and could see it depart but there was no way to catch it from the river and supplies were blocking any valiant jumping that might have been attempted. The following bus arrived 4 hours later and the ride was expedient until reaching the wretched rush hour at the capital. We could have walked faster even loaded with our packs but we chose to stay bus bound along our snail-paced journey to the waterfront bus stop. Had we realized that it was Cambodian Independence day we may have stayed another day in Chi Phat but the sight of thousands of people celebrating in parks by doing calisthenics to bad korean pop music was priceless! The funny part about coming back to the capital even on a busy night is that it seems less hectic than before. We had some errands to run like sending a pile of post back home and stocking up on coffee grounds so we spent 2 nights.
The guest house we stayed at previously was still open even though the whole area is slated for redevelopment. In total 4800 families are being removed from their home and businesses because the government signed a 99year lease to a Korean development company that supports the ruling class with kickbacks. The number 9 guest house has been a budget traveler hangout for nearly a decade and is negotiating to get more time before demolition but the neighbouring properties have closed shop and are dismantling their buildings. The sounds of hammers and crashing metal fill the day light hours and it seems in Cambodia that money rules all. (even more unsettling considering the main currency here is american dollars)
Our next leg in the journey is northward to where the roads turn to dust. The transport is as sketchy as the electricity and water facilities which we feel makes for a much more exciting time. Hopefully more forests and kayaks are in store.
Adios Amigos
Love to you all
Brian and Jenna
Advertisement
Tot: 0.092s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0582s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dean
non-member comment
Kayak and hike
Sounded like a great memory making village. Amazing that the handicraft industry seems to not be there yet. I don't think we visited any place like that in Africa. There seemed to always be someone wanting us to buy from them or give them a tip for something. Hope the next part of your journey has some similar places. Summer workers are almost all gone from the farm. The weather is cooling but still we have some days of temperatures well above the seasonal normal. I managed to run another half-marathon last week and even ran it a few seconds faster than the one I ran in the spring. The next run is the Santa Claus run. Just me and a thousand or so others dressed in Santa suits as we run 5 k. Meanwhile the X-mas crap music has started in stores and I am having difficulty getting in and out without throwing tantrums. The "Buy, buy, buy" mentality is not just in foreign villages.