Cambodia Southern Exit

Thu, 5 Jun 2003 23:29:45 -0000 (Asia/Kuching)

The minibus to Kampot was typical Cambodia: bumpy and very cramped inside. After unfolding and takeing care of food and place to sleep, I spent the afternoon figuring out how to do Bokor. Independently with an overnight stay is best, but unfortunately expensive. Further, it meant yet another long motorbike ride on a bumpy road. The 4x4 day tour was cheaper and much more comfortable.

But which one? At least two places seemed to be running the same tour at the same price. One operator was an unknown who kept changing this story lightly on each telling. The other was run by a firm known, in other towns, for deceptive practices. The newcomer's last arrangement called for using a taxi as transport on the rough road up to the park. . Ultimately, I chose the devil I know a little better. The guesthouse I was staying in recommended them. 'Not the strongest endorsement but the Rough Guide though the guest house honor trustworthy.

The $8 tour was a straightforward affair with transport by 4x4 pickup. We visited the hill station built by the French in the 30's and then abandoned twice. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see as much as we would have liked. It began to rain heavily shortly after noon. We saw a lot of the old casino because that is where we holed up but most of the other buildings remained unvisited.

These modern era ruins do have a spooky sort o charm. However, they are far from unique. San Francisco has its own ruins in the form of the enormous 19th century batch houses at Ocean Beach.

That evening, the operator of t he tour I didn't take stopped to ask me why I didn't take his tour. The topic soon turned to how I was going to move on from Bokor. He had a taxi, you see, with 3 people already signed up. I told him I would probably take a minibus. His next words were "no minibus tomorrow"

SNAP! Your preferred guesthouse/transport is closed/not available is one of the standard lies told by touts and taxi drivers. I no longer felt any guilt for having bailed on the guy's tour.

The next day, I traveled to Sihanavilled via cramped share taxi. I couldn't find a minibus, at least now one that was likely to leave soon. It is possible that the tour operator was right but I doubt it. 'Far more likely case of bad timing. On some routes, minibuses only run once or twice a day.

The stop in Sihankville was mostly to see Ream National Park. It took all afternoon to determine that the trip just wasn't viable. The fabled boat trip required several people to go. There was no way to learn of other bookings in advance and, with the rain, it was likely no one else wanted to go. Actually, it wasn't until late in the evening that I found someone who knew enough to clear up the situation. Everyone knew how to hire a moto to take me to the park. No one knew what I was supposed to do after I got there.

Next day was a transit to Bangkok via tourist minibus crossing a multitude of ferries (but only one river). The journey was long but mostly uneventful. Certainly easier than the trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap. I arrived in early evening.