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Published: August 4th 2008
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Kampot
The trains stopped running on the Sihanoukville-Kampot line four months ago. The boat stopped running.
-- But I have a ticket for the boat. Here it is. I bought it last night.
The boat’s not running. I didn’t want to believe this. I’m so used to transport operators claiming that opposition services don’t exist. But it became increasingly apparent in the mini-chaos on the Cambodian border that the boat touts were not there. So my journey from Bangkok to Kampot turned out to be entirely by bus. I put up my hand to 100%!f(MISSING)ailure during the first four days of my trip.
In Thailand I had to choose between taking a train to Aranyaprathet, a railhead in Northeast Thailand, followed by a bus direct to Siem Reap, or a bus south to Trat, which is supposed to have a minivan/boat connection to Sihanoukville. I opted for the latter as I wanted a ride in the boat plus a view of Trat. The final leg into Trat was in asawngthaew with a local transexual and a local labourer, who refused to look at each other the entire journey.
Trat is a quiet provincial town where everything is picturesque and everything is cheap. It has old wooden houses
Koh Kong
This was my dream for reaching Sihanoukville; I even had a ticket. and modern cafes, a night market that sells all sorts of gastronomic treats, and skilled masseurs. It was a good place to rest for a day.
I was up at 4.15am for the journey into Cambodia. The border opens at 7.00am, but strangely the breakfast stalls on the Thai side start later than that. While I craved coffee and waited for the border to open I bonded with a group of Austrians, French and Americans; the Americans were happy to organize us all. The driver of the taxi we shared took us to the boat wharf to show me that the boat was really not there. It is the low season; there are few tourists; the sea is choppy; the road has just been surfaced. And so I stayed with the group all the way to Sihanoukville. They gave me a free five-hour ride on the bus. I was deeply impressed.
My American companions showed many signs of dominance. Once over the border and into the no-queue for visas and immigration, they started to organise everyone: Austrians, French, Australians, the Americans knew how to do it. They told people where to stand; they told me how to reorganise
Bangkok
This is the bus that carried me to the Ko Chang wharf ... my trip. In the end I had to go with them because the man with the car worked for both the boat and the bus companies. They even interrogated him about the mistake with my ticket.
How come she was sold a ticket for a boat that wasn’t running?
-- Don’t worry about it, I said,
it was a mistake.
I just thought I’d sort it out for you. They complained about everything and refused to ride the bus to PP, because they’d booked for VIP. So they came to Sihanoukville instead. They decided I’d chosen the best beach and the best guesthouse. When we got off the bus they got busy organising the group into a single tuk-tuk. I slipped off,
It will cost you more, they warned.
-- I’ll see you on the beach, I replied.
It was an overcast, blustery day and I decided Sihanoukville, with its empty beaches and casinos, was not for me; I commissioned my driver to show me the sights and deliver me to the Kampot taxi depot. The train from Sihanoukville to Kampot stopped running about four months ago.
At the depot I met
Ko Chang
... and then I transferred to this sawngthaew for the trip into Trat. Wendy and Warwick from New Zealand, who were waiting to share their taxi with others. Luckily for us it was late in the afternoon and we travelled as a comfortable threesome, although the driver was disappointed he couldn’t double the load. By 5:30pm I was in Kampot, safely delivered but smarting over the fact that back in January I could have had the boat and train trip I yearned for.
Travel Notes
I travelled from Bangkok by tourist bus from the Khao San road to the Ko Chang ferry wharf (cUS$10.30) and took a sawngthaew from there to The Pop Guesthouse in Trat, Thailand (cUS$3.00). It would have been cheaper, but involved three vehicles to take the public express bus from the Sukhamvit bus station. The Pop Guesthouse rooms vary from TB100.00 to TB400.00 (cUS$3.00-12). They also sell onward tickets and have a vegetarian-friendly restaurant. They sold me a composite ticket through to Sihanoukville, Cambodia for US$20.00. This was to involve a taxi pickup, a mini van to the boarder, a short walk across the border, a taxi transfer and then a boat ride.
The taxi-ride to [b Kampot was US$2.00, for one third of a Trat
The minibus on the Thai side of the border was modern and fast. taxi. In Kampot I took a room at the
Kampot Guest House for US$9.00 a night, good value as it is the old master bedroom, very large with a huge bed, hot water, CNN etc, and a writing desk.
How I’ve been
Pretty tired, but having a marvelous time. Bicycle riding seems to bring back the vertigo. Warwick and Wendy turned out to be good-value travelling companions.
I've managed to upload the Trat pictures, but the editing function isn't working tonight.
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Guenter Plum
non-member comment
Kampot
We want to know if the woman sitting so forlornly on the railway tracks at Kampot in the pix is you. Love your stories, keep them up. Guenter