Blogs from Kaôh Kong, West, Cambodia, Asia - page 3

Another town, another Guesthouse. This current one was a little distant from Koh Kong town center and very near the start of the dirt track we would be taking to Battembang across the Cardomom mountain range. Having arrived from Sihanookville by motorbike, I was burned from the sun on my lower arms and legs because I forgot to reapply sunblock and was suffering from a fitful night of rest in a fairly smart hotel (woken by a 3am call from my son in USA who had accidently selected my phone number instead of his Father's). By 7:30am we were on the road north from Snookie to the Koh Kong turn off, stopping for a top up of petrol from a litre size Pepsi bottle and for a breakfast of gui dtieu (noodles in broth). These days ... read more

Hello all. Just wanted to say thanks for reading this and that I appreciate your comments and time, although some of you decide not to comment on anything, for which you will be severely punished! We have left Sihanoukville and have arrived in Krong Koh Kong, a seaside town that is 6km away from Thailand’s Hat-Lek border. We have done quite a bit of traveling over the past 13 days, and tomorrow will not be an exception, with a six hour bus ride to Bangkok plus time spent waiting for a bus and border patrol stuff. Let me tell you what we’ve been up to for the past couple days. 1st Day in Sihanoukville On 1.15 we arrived in Sihanoukville after a bus that left me feeling rather sick. It was nothing compared to our bus ... read more

It is a tough task to understand how dodgy a third-world border town can become until stuck there overnight. The frontier between Thailand and Cambodia is open during sunlight hours, and for good reason. For as dodgy as it is during the day, even the border guards and customs officers leave when the sun goes down. Ban Hat Lek meets Cham Yeam where Thailand’s eastern shore can no longer penetrate into Cambodian territory. Cham Yeam is a one-purpose town with a handful of buildings to support the entry process. Curiously, none of the buildings house a currency exchange to buy Cambodian riels. I soon enough learn that between baht, U.S. dollars, and riels, the Cambodian money is the least desired; prices are more often quoted in the two former. I finally shook an aggravating tout after ... read more

With a grip of Texans I crossed the southern border of Cambodia from Thailand- the idea being to do some dives and get certified by a friend who recently received his 'master diver/instructor' certification. Koh Kong itself leaves a lot to be desired, but the diving proved an adventure. Taking off aboard our instructor James' "new" boat, we sailed off into the gulf. Things were going great until we hit open water and the boat's lack of balast left my stomach reeling. I would eventually pass out and wake to find the small amount of rations brought were consumed, which was okay by me, and that we had arrived at shark island... Now James had dived here only once before, without a predecessor as far as we were aware. The ride was long. very long. Actually ... read more

27th Feb After a few days relaxing on the beach it was time to start travelling properly. Early start to get to the port, boat, taxi then Minibus. Met a couple of Sweedish girls, one was a massive United fan. (little Mo) Asked her to marry me, she said yes ! Got to Koh Kong late afternoon, not much there, bit of a contrast. You only stay there one night to get the early boat to Sihanoukville. Arrived in Sihanoukville and checked into a guest house near the beach, had some food and met Paul from Brum as you do ! Then watched the replay of the Reading cup game... Lovely place, however you can't relax on the beach for 2 mins without kids trying to sell you just about anything, or old guys who were ... read more