Blogs from Banlung, East, Cambodia, Asia - page 2

I crossed into Cambodia and went to frontier town - Banlung. It's quite remote and surrounded by mountains. The town itself is not particularly interesting, but there are lakes and waterfalls around. I met a Russian girl, Alina, on the bus and we stuck together while there. We rented a mountain bikes and went to see a crater lake. It was raining and I wanted to rent a motor bike, but we couldn't find a place that rented them, so we ended up renting mountain bikes. The bikes had no fenders, so our backs were covered in mud by the time we got there. It was fun though. The lake is really nice and the water is very green. We swam there for a couple of hours. There was a very cool monkey living near one ... read more

The scooter is unstrapped from the back and the concrete shrines removed from the boot. The back of the minivan rises about a foot. We're in Ban Lung, the capital of Ratanakiri Province, northeast Cambodia. After a massive plate of roast beef with garlic, we explore the town. It's got a bit of a wild west / being on the edge of civilization feel to it. Overloaded scooters and pick-ups bumping along wide puddled dirt roads. Smoke billowing from food stalls on wheels. Gem shops, mobile phone sellers, families eating in roadside food places. Noise, flies, skinny dogs trotting along. All underneath an epic sky, with storm systems drifting along. We sit at the kerb and watch life go by and the sun go down having a few beers, then stumble back to the hotel and ... read more

Having left Don Det in Si Phan Don of Laos behind we moved by bus to the South and eventually we crossed the border of Cambodia. Despite the famous song by Dead Kennedys, a holiday in Cambodia is not (anymore) tough, but it's nearly as chill as in Laos. People seemed to be friendly at the first glance and we didn't find any trouble in heading to Ban Lung - the biggest town of Ratanakiri province. Literally it means Diamond Mountains since there are some profitable diamond mines in the area. This area is for trekkers mainly and because trekking in Nepal wasn't so devastating after all, we had enough courage to book a jungle trek to Virachey national park. The national park is uninhabited and only the minority tribes (and trekkers of course) wander there ... read more

UPDATE #1: There is an exciting new 7-day trek on offer in Virachey. This one goes to the remote and little-visited Mera Mountain-Yak Yeuk Grasslands area of the Park up near the Lao border in Voen Sai district. Best of all, you can check on our camera-traps if you go there and thus contribute directly to conservation in Virachey. url=https://calledawaybyamountainspirit.wordpress.com/2015/09/28/new-trek-in-virachey-mera-mountain-and-the-yak-yeuk-grasslands/Please check this new web page for info on the trek to Mera Mountain ...! Also, check out my latest blog post with tons and photos and new info about VNP. UPDATE: url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/camera-traps-reveal-rare-wildlife-living-viracheys-paper-parkHere is a link to an interview that I just did with the Phnom Penh Post about our came... read more

Soooooo. Been around a bit since my last blog. Had a little explore of the eastern chunk of Kampuchea, none of which I had ever seen but which was in fact lovely. Despite being the area of most Khmer Rouge and landmines (the infamous k5 belt, the largest minefield in the world, is along the border with Vietnam) it was safe as houses and all sleepy. Our first stop was in Kratie (pronounced Kracheh but spelled wrong for no reason) which is a dreamy little town along a river with no real western nightlife to speak of and actual old people! Genuine ones! We met some gnarly old dude who ran this restaurant who userd to be a history teacher before the Khmer Rouge turned up. I cant explain what a rarity this dude was. All ... read more