Borey Bokor Kampot

... where the farmers came in to (illegally) harvest expensive hardwood. We had a park ranger tag-along, who was all smiles which was comforting because he was also carrying a loaded, Chinese-variant AK-47... to enforce park law on any tree poachers. We heard chainsaws in the distance at one point, but no shots were fired.<br><br>We made it to the "road" finally, where the group was loaded into the steel bed of a pickup truck. The bed was ...

... br><br>And with that, we were presented with a 150 cc superbike, capable of transporting a family of five while carrying six milk crates full of live chickens plus a case of Angkor beer (really, we've seen it) while harnessing speeds as fast as 80 km/hr (we think--the needle on our speedometer was missing). <br><br>Now Mom and Dad, I know what you're thinking:<br><br>"Oh my god! They're being wreckless! They're going to get themselves killed in Cambodia ...

... wood from the nearby forests, and surprising attention to detail everywhere. The only thing missing is monkeys.<br><br>We spent the afternoon and evening taking it easy, reading "You and Your Dog" (the only English book we found -- now Sheena can whelp a litter), watching a local beach volleyball game (popular here), having a nice light dinner and some drinks... but not before donning our "jungle cologne/perfume" to repel the evening ...

... small it couldet even be destribed as a town<br><br>on the last day i went on a tour to boker natioal park it was realy nice to get out and do some hicking as i have not been doing as much exersise as usual on the top of the mountian the french built a littel town it is now in runes but they still have the cassino the post office and more its a very strange place to put a cassino lol<br><br>anyways im going to a place called sihanokville next which is on the coast<br><br>peter xxx

... of the hill. We then headed back to Kampot for refreshments but only after we&#8217;d had a quick stop-off at the salt fields. <br><br>After a quick stop in town, we went on the hunt for fruit fields; durian in particular. (Durian is something that I remember from when I was a kid living in Singapore&#8230; It stinks to high heaven and my family had always wanted to try it which we did once and I couldn&#8217;t bring myself to try it. I finally tried it in China ...

... the Bokor mountains, which are stunning.<br><br>Sadly, I don't have much in the way of photos, as my beloved little camera is on the blink. I've since discovered that it's still taking pictures, but the screen is blank, so I don't know for sure what I'm getting in the picture. Not good considering I'm off to Angor Wat in a couple of days - it would be a terrible shame to only get in half a ...

... a part of the ceremony, it is believed that there are spirits of the dead (evil "ghosts" as my sister translates) at the wat that have no one to bring them food so the rice is thrown to satisfy them. I opted for the second invitation from my sister Sopea to go to the wat at 10 am this morning. <br><br>The family told me last night at dinner that they would show me how to make nom onsom in the morning at 6 AM. I was actually up a bit before that because of a mouse in my ...

... giant spiders, geckos, and mice all of which can be found in my room at some point in the night. Then I wrap myself in my sarong like a giant towel and cautiously head downstairs (it is rare to see a woman's shoulders and knees here so I try not to let the neighbors see). The bathroom is split into two rooms, one with the squat toilet and a bucket of water and one with a large trough of water. Both rooms can have their share of creepy crawlies (giant spiders ...

... season is in full force and it's getting harder to ignore / avoid. Oh well, after a nice lunch and more reading it was back in the boat and home. It was even rougher on the way back. But all was fine the boat stayed upright. Tonight I walked down to the BBQ seafood shacks for beer and dinner. It was good and cheap. Though the walk home in the dark was less fun. I leave for Vietnam of the 12th towards Rach Ga.

... a few scraps in the way of coins and in the way of food from a 'People's Kitchen,' but that is all. <br>This is supposed to be a travelogue so I'd better move on.<br>We checked out of the hotel and hung around the streets after we left our bags at the store where we were due to get the minibus that would take us to the greater bus station to get our seats on the bigger bus that would take us to Kampot. I'd bought a cheap black and orange rucksack from a ...