Visiting Cambodia

Kompong Chhnang

Kompong Chhnang is at the the southern end of the Tonle Sap lake. Boats from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap stop on demand at its port, while Route 5 to Battambang passes by the main part of town. The two parts are connected by a road along a long dike. The guesthouses in Kompong Chhnang are reputed to be unpleasant. The only real hotel is the Rithisen, facing the trash-strewn riverside. It has overpriced rooms at $10/$12 with AC (in Battambang you get satellite TV, a refrigerator, and hot water for that price). The Rithisen will face competition as soon as the Halfway House restaurant/bar (tel 026-988-621) adds guest rooms, now under construction. The owner of the Halfway House is Paul Greaves, formerly of the British Special Forces and later the project manager for the enormous, if stalled, Kompong Chhnang cargo airport project. His restaurant is about 1 km north of town on Route 5, and is amazingly well-supplied and equipped--you would not know you were in the Cambodian countryside. Whether that's a plus or a minus is up to you.

Ratanakiri

Cambodia's northeastern wilderness is beautiful and very remote. If you're willing to explore and don't need creature comforts, it has a lot to offer. Transportation is bad; the province boasts a total of less than 2 km of paved road. Local swidden farmers (non-Khmer "hill tribes") are under heavy pressure from officials and army types to stop their roving so cash crops can be planted (under de facto license by Hun Sen's regime, normally) and logging trucks daily carry their illegal gains across to Vietnam. This is one way the regime pays off its political and military allies--by giving them franchises to log, clear, smuggle, and exterminate rare animals for export. In this case, the governor of Ratanakkiri, Kep Chuk Tema, is a CPP man who runs the province. The Ministry of Environment seems to try its best to fulfill its mandate, but when it comes down to it, they are not an armed force, and have to back down despite the good intentions that I think the Minister of Environment, Mok Mareth (also CPP), clings to. The town of Banlung, does not have much to offer. There is one real restaurant, the Ratanakiri restaurant, at the north end of town. There are very few Westerners living up there--maybe five or ten max. There are no bars, bookstores, libraries, movie theaters, etc. There are some streetside pool tables with ripped-up felt, and several karaoke shops. In the dry season it's possible to take a truck taxi from Stung Treng to the grimy capital, Banlung. In the wet season, RAC with its five weekly flights to the capital's red dirt airstrip is the only option. There are a few acceptable guesthouses in Banlung, and one hotel which appears to be a failed venture by the governor and is barely open. You can take day trips by motorcycle (rental is available at the Ratanakiri restaurant) through the old rubber plantations to two high waterfalls. Just a few kilometers from Banlung there is a lovely little volcanic lake with good swimming, surrounded by a surprisingly well-maintained nature trail. Thankfully, the whorehouse operating in recent years on the edge of the lake in recent years has been dislodged. Now there is a nice little museum of local musical instruments and crafts instead.Other than those who want serious hinterlands and overnights drinking local liquor with the hill-tribes (not a bad option, I've heard, if you have a legitimate reason to be there), most travelers will find 3 or 4 days enough