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Pissed off
It's 5am, it's raining and we've got to go on a mountain trek sitting in the back of a pick up for about 7 hours Arrived in a small town east of Sihanoukville called Kampot. This place until recent years was a stronghold for the Khmer Rouge; they lived up in the hills surrounding the town. In fact as recently as 1994, three backpackers were kidnapped en route from Sihanoukville by the Khmer Rouge and later executed. Nowadays it is just another quiet Cambodian town. It almost has a bit of a creepy feel to it considering its recent history. There are no ATMs, no way of getting money, no real supermarket and everything shuts up shop at about 10pm so there is zero nightlife.
Walking around the place you see very few Western faces. The locals are all very friendly. When you first make eye contact they look at you as if to say ‘what the hell are you doing here, can’t you see? It’s raining!!’ but after the initial shock has subsided they are a very welcoming bunch.
Checked into a hotel called the Mealy Chenda, which had the potential to be a very nice place. It was in the center of town, the rooms were quite spacious, we walked out of our door onto a huge communal balcony that overlooked the
main street, all very nice. The only problem we had was that it pissed it down the whole time we were there and our room was constantly flooded.
Oh, and guess who I bumped into staying on the floor below me? None other than Daryl Hailes! Thousands of miles from home and we bump into each other in one of several hotels in a tiny village in southern Cambodia. It really is a small world! Great to see you Daz, I hope you’re enjoying the rest of Cambodia!
The main reason that we came to Kampot was to visit the Bokor Hill Station. This is a mountain with the ruins of an old town built by the French in the 20’s at its summit. When the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia the French evacuated and the town was occupied by Vietnamese forces. Later on, after the Vietnamese had left the Khmer Rouge occupied the town. Although it was pissing with rain, we once again donned or ponchos and climbed onto the back of a pick up to begin our 2 hour journey 1090m into the sky along a very remote and bumpy track, surrounded by dense jungle. As we got
higher and entered the clouds the mist became more and more dense and the climate reminded me more of the time I climbed Mount Snowdon than of South East Asia! Cold, wet and misty. First stop was the Black Palace and the Kings residence. Engulfed in jungle the buildings were interesting, but by far the least impressive stop.
The next stop was the Catholic Church. This was amazing, as at first you could see nothing, then suddenly as the cloud blew out of the way the very spooky silhouette of a church emerged from the mist. The wind was whistling through the windows and around the spire all added to the atmosphere. The whole thing had a feel of American Werewolf in London - you know at the beginning when the guys first get attacked on the moors? We then walked up to a cliff edge that was just a sheer drop for hundreds of metres below. During the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge occupation, the Hotel and Casino (our next stop) was used as a prison. When people were executed they were taken up to this edge and pushed over. It was quite a scary experience putting yourself in
the shoes of one of the prisoners being led to their death.
The third stop was the Hotel and Casino itself, which was by far the highlight. It’s straight out of the shining, or Silent Hill. As the cloud whips through the open window and door frames, you almost get a shiver down your spine when you are walking up the front steps, you expect to see a zombie, or an axe murderer as you turn the corner. You hear a slight murmur coming from inside, you go to investigate, palms sweaty. You go through a doorway to find the worst thing that you could possible imagine in a place like this………..a Cambodian kid selling pot noodles and Pringles!! Jesus is there anywhere in this country you can go without hassled by street vendors!
Our 4th and final stop was the waterfall. After around a 20 minute walk through countryside that really did remind me of Wales we arrived at the river at the top of the falls. We were supposed to cross and join a path on the other side that would take us down to the bottom, however due to the rain, the river was too
high so unfortunately we had to stop there. James did attempt to cross, but couldn’t make it and after hearing a story about a 12 year old Cambodian girl slipping trying to cross the previous week and being washed to her death, I wasn’t too keen on trying!
After a 2 ½ hour journey back down to our guesthouse we were all cold and knackered, therefore decided that we deserved a drink. Ended up getting drunk and watching England get knocked out of the World Cup by Portugal. What a crap end to an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable day.
Due to the constant rain, and that fact that we would be knee deep in water in a couple of days, we decided to go back up to Phnom Penh and catch a boat down the Mekong into Vietnam.
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Charlie
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WOW
Well if I wasn't feeling sorry for myself enough that it is Monday morning, raining and I'm at work, I have just spent near on the past hour ready your last few blogs....It all looks totally amazing! Glad your well, getting drunk and causing trouble still Pete. Take Care babe, Charlie xx