Ratanakiri

29.01.2008 to 31.01.2008 The ride from Stung Treng to Ratanakiri took around three hours, our taxi literally flew us there. We had a first taste of the roads in Cambodia, which are in a miserable state, a compliment to Cambodia’s drivers. It is impossible here not to quote our guidebook when it comes to Road Rules : “If there are road rules in Cambodia it is doubtful that anyone is following them. Size matters and the biggest vehicle wins by default. The best advice if you drive a car or ride a motorcycle is to take nothing for granted and assume that your fellow motorists are visually challenged psychopaths”. So much truth in these few words. We found very good accommodation at Tribal Guesthouse, where we all settled in very nice rooms. We met our friends later on to have dinner. Yakof was delighted by our choice of restaurant, Ratanak Hotel. He shared with Chris and Bex what is known as phnom pleung, meaning Hill of Fire, which consists in a beef and vegetable DIY tabletop barbecue. After dinner we were given a tip by the restaurant as to where to have a nice drink….little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. As soon as we walked into this ‘bar’, Khmer live music started off and we were surrounded by ‘nice looking’ ladies who escorted us to our seats. These women were giving special attention to the needs of the three men around the table and Bex and Janet both realized we had ended up in one of the few brothels in town, which take up a facelift to look like a restaurant/bar. We have to say that it was quite a unique experience… a funny one on the whole. We spent the next days in Ratanakiri exploring the waterfalls by motorbike. The most impressive was the crater-lake at Boeng Yeak Lim. It is believed that this lake was formed 700,000 years ago; some people swear it must have been formed by a meteor strike as the circle seems perfect. In fact the locals there consider the place as sacred and their legends talk of mysterious creatures inhabiting the waters of the lake. The place was spectacular and the swimming nice and refreshing. The other two stops during the day where at, Ka Tieng and Kinchaan waterfalls. One of them was particularly nice… we swam right into the waterfall, it was great. Back at the guest house we had a shower and a nap and in the evening set of for dinner at a local place. There we met with Naan, a Cambodian tour guide with a broken heart, his girlfriend having left him around year prior to our meeting. He told us some funny stories and we ended up drinking with him and giving him some “good” advice. We spent our last morning at Chaa Ong waterfall, which was the nicest one out of the three we visited. We couldn’t swim in it but instead had an amazing power shower. Our first experience in this country was a very positive one. All of us decided to set off the day after to the Capital City of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.

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