We travelled over and through the stunning Cardamon Mountains for 3.5 hours… from Sihanoukville to Koh Kong. We played something like 20 hands of Uno as the bus lurched over the mountains, through blind corners in excess of 60 kph, horn honking every few seconds.
We stopped in a rural bus station, which was so clean and so yummy. The boy purchased a cup of freshly squeezed cane juice on ice for something ridiculous like Australian 25 cents. It was bright tasting, kind of like sunshine. We perused the tasty wares, but he settled on more pringlesque chips, we spotted them in a specialty store the other day and he gleefully pointed them out. Asia memories have quickly become associated with food for him.
We arrived in Koh Kong to a dusty, red soiled shed. Motorbike drivers and a lone tuk tuk were awaiting our arrival. I snagged the Tuk Tuk, quickly purchasing a few gifts at a stall (the only time there was a massive language barrier, but we got through). I’d sorted our accommodation previously and off we choofed!
To this little piece of paradise. That’s the boy setting the chess board up in the shadow of the cardamon mountains. Strangely, the mosquitoes weren’t as bad as I imagined they could be. We got in to Koh Kong at about 1pm and just lounged in the bungalow… watching TV, reading books, conversing with other travellers. It was down time at its best. There was one more fabulous thing…
We spent a lot of time here!
When we woke up in the morning, we swam, had a leisurely breakfast and then caught the Tuk Tuk to the border where we entered Thailand.
Koh Kong has certainly captured my imagination, though. I’d really like to do a hike through Chi Phat and possibly stay at 4 rivers next time we pass through. The boy just wants to go back to this place, impossibly perfect and the most wonderful place to reflect on an incredible week in Cambodia.
I didn’t take many photos in Cambodia, just because it felt like the country hadn’t made the beds before company arrived… I want to go back. The boy wants to go back and that was the aim of this trip, to get the boy excited about travelling. Mission accomplished!
this corner of the universe 