It's very, very small world!

After two nights back in Phnom Penh which included a sunset cruise on the Mekong, it was back on the road north yesterday heading for Koh Kong. We’d enjoyed being back in the capitol as we knew our way around a bit by this time. We also booked in at a different hotel, the Channsoda, only just across the way from the Bright Lotus but a much nicer room for our $20. We spent our time just ambling along the water front and people watching, our favourite past-time. The sunset cruise was really good, there were only four couples on board, two other Brits, two French and two Americans with whom we got into conversation almost immediately. Matt and his wife, who were on a RWT, were from Portland, Oregon which was where I first hit the Pacific coast on my recent North American road trip. The skipper, Kim, handed out cold beers and peanuts along with lots of information about the scenes we were passing along the bank of the river and about Phnom Penh in general. Altogether a few dollars well spent; we had booked at our hotel and just taken pot luck, but I would certainly recommend Crocodile Cruises to anyone else heading this way.

The early morning run out of Phnom Penh was as mad heading south as it had been a couple of weeks ago when we went north to Kampong Cham. Bikes, cars, busses, trucks and tuc tucs all vying for space on National Road 4. It was a bit like the North Circular into London during the rush hour but at less than half the speed and without all the aggression and impatience! In fact I was having a ball; having finally sorted out Allie’s seat properly with a cushion purloined from our hotel, I could at last relax knowing that she was comfortable on the back and concentrate on riding.

Having done a bit of research on the web and in our guide books it appeared that there was accommodation to be had up in the hills in the Kirirom National Park, so that was where we were heading. Turning off of the main road it was a joy to be able to relax both mind and pace. Whilst the frenetisism of the heavy traffic was fun there was certainly not a lot of time for sightseeing. Now, with the pace down to local speeds and very little traffic we could enjoy the ride up into the hills. At the entrance to the park we were charged $5 each with no receipt offered… but having come that far we thought we might as well pay up and push on. We started seeing loads of signs for a leisure park which never seemed to appear but we did find an incredibly beautiful temple complex where we took a brief stop, then it was onwards and upwards. Still more signs for the mysterious park. Right at the top of the road was a four way junction with more signs indicating that we should turn left. About 10km further on along the now dirt road we eventually found it. A most bizarre place, stuck just about as far from anywhere as you could get, with rooms and cabins starting at $75 per night and going right up to $236 per night… No wonder there appeared to be not a single sole in occupation. In fact I'm still not sure if the place was half built or half falling down, but needless to say we did a swift u-turn and headed out the way we had come in. Of all the odd places I have come across on my travels that must rate as one of the weirdest.

We hadn’t actually done that many miles so it was no great hardship to run back down to the main road and push on further; we were only about 60 miles from the coast so could easily do that over the rest of the day and still find a hotel way before dark. The traffic had quietened a bit as we had got further west so the riding was good, with ever more interesting scenery. As we hit the coast I turned north for Sre Amble a small coastal town on a bit in an inlet, guessing that there would be a few guest houses there. We passed two likely looking places on the way in but thinking it would be more convenient to actually be in the town we headed on. It was a funny little place with lots of bars and cafes but not a sign of another guest house or hotel, so we back tracked about a mile to the Happy Family Guest House and booked ourselves in for the night. It had been quite a long and very hot day so it was a rush for the nice cold shower as soon as got into our room.

Whilst they didn't serve food they offered a take away service (or should that be bring-it-in service) with a short but tasty looking menu at reception. So meals ordered we sat in the shade of the hotels canopy and watched the sun go down whilst enjoying our beef fried rice and chicken noodles all washed down with a couple of ice cold Cambodian beers. A perfect end to a perfect day!

Next morning we used the same system to order in our breakfasts, once more enjoyed in the open air with our packed and ready to roll bike alongside us. The days goal was Koh Kong as far north (give or take a couple of Kms) as you can go along the coast without entering Thailand. A leisurely days ride of about 80 miles running through the very edge of the Cardamom Mountains. We had the road almost to ourselves and once more the scenery excelled! With frequent photo stops and drink stops, it wasn’t the fastest of rides, but then that was never our aim anyway. It was wonderful to be back in the hills with lakes to pass and rivers to cross, I would certainly rate it as one of the best days riding we have had in Cambodia.

Even with all the stops, we still arrived in Koh Kong around lunch time and after a few more photo stops and a bit of a circumnavigation of the town we came to rest at Fat Sam’s café bar. We guessed the rather large gentleman just leaving on a Scoot as we arrived was the aptly named Fat Sam and we were right. We ordered a couple of drinks and a cheese and onion omelette baguette to share and sat and relaxed. As we sat chatting and a chilling, a European guy from a far table came across and said “Hi Alison, that was Sam just popping out, he won’t be long” as though we were supposed to know what he was talking about; we both looked at him blankly. It transpired that we had met him at a café in Kampong Cham and he had mentioned someone that he knew that was from Wales…We hadn’t taken in the name of town that he had mentioned so had no expectations of meeting up with him again.

 

Sam's wife Lin

Fat Sam

When Fat Sam returned he came over to talk, not only was his original home town Tregaron in Wales, he used to work at the same pub where Alison had worked many years before. Even more bizarrely, he was the brother-in-law a former boyfriend of Alison who had also been my next door neighbour when I ran the Black Lion Hotel in Pontrhydfendigaid…. Now that really is a small world! We returned later in the day for dinner and a few more beers and spent the evening reminiscing with Sam (aka Malcolm)  about all the people and places back home that we had in common. Whilst it isn't unusual to find odd coincidences cropping up whilst on the road, this one must rate way out on top!