13/14/15-11-08

Hi all,

I am sitting with a torch in my mouth in a sticky Cambodian city with extremely slow working Internet connection, welcome to Cambodia!

13-11-08
With the ferry we left Khong Island for a transfer day. First stop at Khon Phaphang (water) Falls, Laos' widest in the Mekong river.
We continued to the Laotian-Cambodian border. We already had our visa and with a $ 1 bribery each, the formalities went quickly.
Good lunch stop at a wood-smugglers hangout on the way : our local guide told us that the locals illegally cut wood and in order to escape the police they are ready to kill people standing in their way if they drive with their speeded-up car. Such a car was parked next to the restaurant ....
The road conditions are getting less: the infrastructure in Cambodia - one of the poorest countries in the world - is bad. Sometimes we crossed bridges with big holes in it; if the driver is not paying attention to it ... anyway, our driver is very careful, so not a single moment we were afraid.
We stayed for 2 nights in an eco-lodge 6 kilometres from the small village Banlung: electricity only from 6 pm to 9 pm; plus limited solar energy; unfortunately not working anymore the 2nd night. No hot water and not so clean bedsheets.. Banlung is in North-East Cambodia, not so touristy. Excellent dinner in the village.

14-11-08
Beautiful weather again, not humid. With 8 of us and a local guide we went out for the day to visit some ethnic minorities: Kreung, Tompuon and a Chinese settlement. We drove with 2 land cruisers, compulsory for this time even more terrible road conditions; roads with big holes, mud, etc. Unimaginable how to drive here during the rain season.
With a small boat - happy that we did not fell in the water - we crossed the Sesan-river to go to Vengsai. Interesting to visit the cemetery of the Tompuon animists (they believe in spirits); so no Buddhists; they bury their deaths. After fix periods they organise a memorial service with music, mourning and food. We were invited to assist to one of these (very informal) services. They also decorate the tombs with wooden sculptures often representing human beings.
Simple lunch on an island in the river with chop sticks made on the spot from bamboo shoots.
Surprising to see that the Chinese settlement was much tidier than the Laos villages: like in lot of other places in the world, the Chinese people are in charge of the business.
With 4 of us we managed to organise a taxi at the eco-lodge, i.e. the manager authorised his staff to use his car to drive us to the village to enjoy our best dinner ever (of these holidays) for $ 17 for the 2 of us. In Cambodia we pay everything in $ and if any change in $ is available one gets his change in $; if not you get your chance in riel = the local currency : 4.000 riel = 1 $.

15-11-08
We were supposed to stay another night in the eco-lodge and to walk around today. However, since it rained yesterday evening, walking would be very tough, so we all decided to shorten our stay with one day and to leave 1 day earlier for Kratie. To get there we partly had to take the same road of 2 days ago. Lunch stop in another unknown place, but fried rice or noodles with vegetables is always acceptable.
Arjan & I started eating pork, chicken, beef and fish; but such stays an adventure in these countries. We visited this morning the local market of Banlung and we decided definitely not to eat any snail: they were laying down in the full sun.. No further details about the conservation and treatment of fish and meat; let me resume it by saying that it is colourful...... So far, so good, everybody in the group is doing fine.
Our Dutch guide however was invited yesterday morning by the boss & his family of our Banlung guides and enjoyed a local breakfast. Well he did not enjoy it at all: though he is used to the local food, he said that it was uneatable: the leftovers of the good parts of any animal; stuff like that. I saw our local guides eating beef stomach for lunch, interesting, but not for us!
We arrived in Kratie around 4.15 pm, so some time left to explore the city by foot (sunset at 5.30 pm). There is supposed to be a rich legacy of French-era architecture in the (Mekong) riverside town counting 79.000 inhabitants, but we qualified it as being very sad: run out houses, bad streets, muddy, poor looking.....
Our hotel seems to be OK and this time we really appreciate such after 2 days in the 'jungle' without electricity.. It is humid here, we are now sitting in a bar with our Dutch guide and 2 fellow travellers. I hope they made a restaurant choice: I am ready for some nice food!

A&I - 15-11-08 - Kratie, sticky & humid

(Trijnie: geen eten of drank; maar wel een andere lokale verrassing. Het ziet er goed uit; advies opgevolgd!)