Click here for a map so you can see where we are stopping on our road trip.
Our first stop: the beach
We left Phnom Penh at 9:30 and wanted to get a 1:30 pm boat to Koh Russey Resort on Bamboo Island. Our
driver, Supanath, could speak some English. The Lexus SUV was comfortable (US$274.88). The drive took only 3 hours: one slow hour
to the toll road, which started at the airport, and then 2 fast hours on the excellent new Chinese-built road that had just opened a month or so previously. Along the way out to the
airport, we saw lots and lots of “for rent” signs. Probably a consequence of
COVID. Once on the newly opened E4 Expressway (paid for through the “Chinese Belt and Road Initiative”), it took almost 2 hours to
Sihanoukville and the Koh Russey Ream Lounge. The toll for the road was expensive
costing US$12.50 one way so it was almost empty. It was a beautiful road with clean rest
stops. We were driving through agricultural areas where some of the houses were
brightly colored wood, some on stilts. The cows were white, like
in India. Much of the area we saw was just undeveloped. We saw palm trees so we
knew we were on our way to our beach vacation!
The Koh Russey Ream Lounge was comfortable enough for our 1-hour wait and the Internet was good. We ate the croissants, cheese, and fruit that we had taken with us. Other guests arrived and the boat left a little early. It took about 15 minutes to get to the island. We could see the big city of Sihanoukville to the north as we sped to the island in the fast boat.
Our first impression of the resort was excellent: modern, cubist buildings in a spectacular setting. The seafront was just gorgeous. The design of the pool area was really lovely. Evidently owned by a French company.
Ath was our designated greeter and he could speak pretty good English. Our Pavilion Beach Front #119 (US $300 a night, including breakfast) was a small cube and basically a bedroom with a small sofa in front of the TV as well as a table. We had a patio at the sand level (there was grass between the patio and the sand) with a sofa, a table, and 2 chairs (one of which we brought in to use at our indoor table). The bathroom had no door or screening for the toilet (which we really hate). There were two sinks, a shower room, and an outdoor bathtub. That was it and we were not happy. We asked for a complimentary upgrade to a one-bedroom villa and were told it would cost $300 extra per night. That was a non-starter so we made do. Audre sat on the sofa with her laptop on the table. Dimitri sat across from her on the chair from outside with his laptop on the same table. The Internet was very good.
On our first afternoon, we walked the beach end-to-end and explored the gym and pool areas. It was hot and sunny. Dimitri used his thermometer and the sea water was 87° F. Boy, was he happy. We checked out the kayaks and the snorkeling equipment, as well as the beautifully designed pool area. We sat outside for dinner and it was lovely. Dimitri proclaimed that it was balmy and balmy makes him happy. For dinner, we sat outside in the pool area. It was beautifully lit and the music was calm and not loud (not yet Christmas music). Dinner was good but expensive--about double the amount we have been paying in Phnom Penh. We had asked for crab for dinner so we wanted to check out the size; they were the small ones that are very difficult to get the meat out of so we passed on them. We had a ceviche to start followed by a seafood stir fry. The seafood was frozen calamari and shrimp from somewhere. Our subsequent dinners were barracuda (a local specialty) and pasta. The Chef tried to accommodate our requests for seafood and Khmer food. Soda was an attentive, personable, and professional server. After dinner, we were able to "Cast" on our TV our entertainment from the Laptop. Pretty good!! That TV had a ginormous number of European radio stations--the most we have ever seen.
Breakfast was à la carte which was a good change from a month of breakfast buffets. It was good. The workers were smiling and helpful and our servers at the restaurant were delightful.
Our days were hot and sunny. We sat on the chaise lounges on the sand, kayaked and swam in the pool (which was also 87° F). It was a delightful beach vacation but the resort would benefit from more activities--sailing, windsurfing, boating and so on.
The Cardamom Mountains
From Sihanoukville, the car sent from Canvas & Orchids Retreat, drove us north first through the Elephant Mountains and then into the Cardamom Mountains. The driver, Lyla, was at the Ream
Lounge pier when our boat arrived. We left promptly at 10:15 am and arrived at
the Canvas & Orchids boat pier at 2:15-ish (with a stop for lunch). It cost US $105, was
a 240 km drive, and was slow. It was not as mountainous as we expected. We saw evidence
of new roads being built but it looked like it would take decades. Indeed, when
we got off the E4 Expressway (built by the Chinese) Lyla told us that the new
road works we saw were being built by the Koreans. Our exit was Srae Ambel and
the road from there had many, many sections that had deteriorated to gravel; it
was a slow and often bumpy ride. Lyla’s old Lexus SUV was up to the job and
comfortable. The vistas were pretty and very green. It seemed we were gaining
altitude but not by much. We went through a big sign saying “Welcome to Koh Kung”
Province. Then we saw tall, gray rectangular buildings with no or few windows.
Lyla told us that the buildings were housing swiftlets that build “bird’s
nests” for bird’s nest soup. One kg of the nests would yield a farmer US$1000.
If the same one kg were sold to China the
price would be US$3000. He told us they play music for the birds. The birds can
come and go from the buildings through the few windows and the insides of the buildings
are made of a material that the birds like for building nests—not cement. Humm.
Canvas & Orchids Retreat was a delightful surprise. We arrived at the Canvas & Orchids pier (formerly 4
Rivers) and our transfer boat was there. The traditional boat was noisy and
piloted by a child. He did pretty well and the short journey was pleasant and
pretty. As we approached Koh Andet, our island, we saw the 8 floating tents of Canvas & Orchids, it
was a lovely sight in the midst of a tropical forest. We were greeted by Paulo
from the Philippines, a manager, given a delicious Thai iced tea and we were
shown around. It was a beautifully-designed area (owned by a Romanian and
Cambodian venture). The tents were graceful. This was our first glamping
experience and we enjoyed it. Our floating tent had water palms around it and
that was a beautiful, feathery sight—a first for us. We had a large deck with 2
chaise lounges, a low table, and 2 barrel chairs with a table. Inside our tent, there was a large circular room with a king-sized bed, 2 barrel chairs made of
Hyacinth fiber, a small table, and a long daybed (where we laid out our 4
suitcases). There was a piece of furniture for clothes, a long narrow table
(where we put our 2 laptops) and another narrow table with the TV, the safe, and
underneath, a mini-fridge. In the adjoining bathroom, there was a big
(Japanese-style) walk-in barrel with a shower, 2 sinks, and a toilet. There
were also pieces of furniture for stuff. We thought it was very well done. The
river views and morning sun to warm us up were gorgeous. It did get chilly at
dinner but our tent never got below 71°
F. So with the comforter, it was okay for Dimitri and hot for Audre. In the
morning, it was indeed chilly, in the 60°’s F!
Sometimes there was Internet and that was nice.
The staff was
from Koh Andet, Tatai Kraum, and other communities along the Tatai River. There
were 3 or 4 floating tents occupied when we visited. The staff, who knew
English-more or less—was delightful and as helpful as they could be. The
kitchen staff did a great job. We had prepaid for dinners (US$27 x 2) and they
were a delight. We could either choose from the à la carte menu or from the set
menu. We chose the Khmer offerings from the set menu. The food was good, made by a former full-time mother who became a cook for the resort and was schooled by YouTube!
We arranged an excursion to Tatai Waterfall with Naren our guide and our boatman (US$ 80 for the 2 of us, including lunch). Naren
was an excellent guide. He learned English from Darong, another staff member,
but was largely self-taught. We were the only ones on the tour and it was
tailored to us. It left at 10 am from our dock (a time that worked for us) and
the boat ride in the traditional (noisy) boat was about 1 hour. When we arrived
at the falls, there were 3 other tourist boats there. They were nice falls. The
traditional way to see the falls is to disembark your boat and walk on a
slippery path to the falls and climb around the falls. We of course did not
want to risk falling so we told Naren we wanted to kayak around the area
and view the falls from our kayak. Naren brought a double kayak for us and a
single for him. He floated around snapping pictures of us! By the time we
started kayaking, the tourist boats were gone and the area was lovely and quiet and we had it all to ourselves. Kayaking
was really fun, the temperature was warm but not too hot and the water was a
nice temperature too. We went to the falls and then around the river. When we
returned to the boat after kayaking, our boatman and Naren prepared lunch. We
had asked for a spring roll which we thought would be uncooked. Naren explained
that they were afraid that the spring roll would go bad. So they took out a gas
burner, put some oil in, and fried our spring roll on the spot! They were hot,
crunchy, and delicious. They cut fruit for us and served everything to us on the
bow of the boat. We were in the shade of the riverbank and it was perfect.
Actually, the entire excursion was perfect—just the way we like it. When we
were ready to return to the retreat, we didn’t have to wait for other guests,
we just put the kayaks back on our boat, and off we went.
We had massages in our tent and they were great: a one-half-hour back, neck, and shoulder massage for Audre (US$ 8) and a one-hour full body massage for Dimitri (US$15). Wow.
Battambang
We departed
December 21 at 8:00 AM by boat for Maisons Wat Kor in Battambang. Our driver
was at the Canvas & Orchids pier and off we went at 8:40 am. It was 268 km from Tatai, Koh Kong; we went
through Osoam, then Pursat, then Battambang. We could use this route because, in
December, it was the dry season and the road was passable. We were in tropical
forests for much of the ride and the views were nice. The road was a dirt one,
mostly, and really, really bumpy. (If we called our last road bumpy, this one should be called super bumpy.) Our highest elevation was 1600’ and there was
a lot of up and down. We saw 4 Western long-distance bikers on the road but not much
traffic. There was some evidence of road work but it looked like decades away
before there would be a good road. For many miles, we were near high-tension
electrical wires and we got to a dam that was evidently Chinese-built, then a
power plant that also looked Chinese. In Osoam (we think), we saw a circus or
amusement park being set up and we saw foreigners there. Our driver did not
speak English but that wasn’t too much of a problem. In Osoam, we found sugar
cane juice and jackfruit. We ate the sandwiches that Canvas & Orchids had
prepared. After 5 hours, the road got better but it only lasted ½ hour. Then we
were back to bumpy dirt. Eventually, we got to a wide valley with agriculture
and some homes. The 7 hours passed and we arrived at 3:30 pm.
The first impression of Maisons Wat Kor was very good. It is on a large plot of land and beautifully designed with a large lotus pond, lots of greenery, and a large swimming pool. It is all artistically done with a rustic charm. Kim and Sophia were engaging hosts. Our room at Maisons Wat Kor was the Grand Lotus Double (US$188 per night) and it looked like the photos. It was very large and had a long table that was good for our 2 laptops. There was a long divan on which we put our suitcases and an easy chair. There was a balcony with chairs as well. The sink area had 2 sinks and the shower room was large too. Then we tried to take a shower and the water was kind of cold. Dimitri didn't shower. Audre did and well, hmm. The faucets were difficult to use at the sinks and the area around the toilet leaked and so it was wet when we used the toilet the first night. We did find the leak and made sure there were many towels around it the second night. We asked Kim to make the water hotter and on the second day, it was.
Our first night in Battambang we went to Jaan Bai, a restaurant that Kim had recommended. We had a lovely meal with good service. We found some
comfortable chairs. We started with the eggplant and mushroom dumplings
(KHR15,400៛)
and the corn fritters (KHR13,400៛).
Both were very good. We had the Battambang Orange Pineapple juice (KHR11,330៛) and it was also
very good. For our main, we had green Kampot pepper prawns with chile jam
(KHR40,100៛).
The sauce was really delicious but it was too much food so we didn’t finish it.
We also had the roti (KHR4,100៛)
which was totally uninteresting. For dessert, we had coconut sorbet
(KHR15,400៛)
and mango sticky rice (KHR15,400៛).
We were happy and spent KHR102,500៛.
Kim had recommended Soksabike for a countryside bike tour and the next day at noon (after the annoying chanting from the monks at the pagoda next door had stopped), a remorque ( large tuk-tuk) took us from our hotel and to the Soksabike shop in the center of Battambang.
Audre had a Trek XS bike and Dimitri had a Giant Medium bike. They were the
right size and in good shape, and so were the helmets. Our tour was really fun
with Phalla, a 32-year-old local. We started at noon, a time we liked, and
finished 5 hours later. It was called the Local Livelihood Tour but it should
be called the Culinary Tour because of all the food we ate! We rode 22 km total
which was perfect. We went north in the direction of Somrongknong Pagoda
and did a circular route. We started at a family that makes rice paper and he grilled
some for us: surprisingly tasty. Next, we went to a street stall and had lunch
of rice paper rolls—some raw some fried. Then we went to the family that makes
banana “leather” or jerky and watched the wife thinly slice the bananas for
it—an art. We tasted 3 different kinds of dried bananas and all were addictively
good. Next, we went to the family that makes rice wine and learned about the
yeast and how the wine is made. Since staying in the Cardamom Mountains, we
wanted to see some Cambodian cardamom. We saw cardamon pods there because the
family uses them to make yeast; they are bigger than the ones we have in the
States. All day Phalla was a delightful guide—knowledgeable and personable. We went
to the market where fish paste is made and watched how that is made. We had
actually eaten prohok at a restaurant in Phnom Penh and it had been delicious.
Our next to last stop was a farm and they served us Audre’s favorite fruit: sapodilla
(LaMoot in Cambodia), jackfruit, green mango, guava, and coconut. Really good. The last stop was a roadside shop where the woman made bamboo sticky rice. Phalla showed us how it was made in the fire and it was wonderful, the bamboo having been peeled to make it easy to eat. The bike tour was great. We spent US $72.50/KHR 297,250៛ and we were very glad we did it.
Our second night Kim gave Dimitri a comforter (instead of the large towels they use for blankets) and Dimitri was happy. The next morning, after the cooked-to-order breakfast (that was good), we left for Siem Reap. Neang was our driver and his English was great. We passed
lots of rice farms and other farms. For about 1 hour we were on a divided
road—4 lanes. Neang said that it was built by the Japanese. The 3 hours went
quickly and it wasn't bumpy.
A map of the spots we visited
Unfortunately, the Chrome browser has a glitch and this link will only work in browsers other than Chrome.
(You might need to open a Google account to see our photos. Click on a photo to enlarge it and then "i" in the top ribbon and look at the description at the bottom of the list.)
Click on "Older Post" (yes, it is counterintuitive) or the arrow on the right under the comment box, to read our next post wherever that may be in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment