Close call

Thursday 31^st December 2015

I wasn’t too worried about having a resident frog in the bathroom until the day I found a snake there too. It was pointed out to me that snakes come indoors to seek out frogs!

This was the first live snake we’d seen in Cambodia and it was big – about 3-4 foot long - probably venomous and perched on a ledge on the inside of the bathroom door. My hand must have been about 3 inches from its nose as I shut the door but it wasn’t until I sat on the toilet that I spotted it.

Not feeling confident in our snake-handling skills, we left the bungalow quietly and called for assistance. Michael and the gardener arrived armed with badminton racquets! Then everyone else crowded round, scattering in all directions with much squealing when the snake tried to escape. Sadly, the gardener took the poor thing away and dispatched it before I could get a photo.

Michael reassures us that a snake in a bungalow is a rare occurrence – but then he would say that wouldn’t he!?

In other news, Roy and Viasna came down for a visit, the highlight of which has to be the girls’ great victory in the afternoon pool tournament! Yeay!

  

The bathroom's resident frog. He has to be discouraged from hiding behind the toilet seat lid.

Everyone arrived to see the snake. Note Michael's weapon of choice - his badminton racquet!

Trevann, meanwhile, was protecting his assets.

We walked with Roy and Viasna along the seashore, stopping for a refreshing sugarcane drink.

A serious moment in the sunset bar

The day before, Trevann and I went with Dara  to the local town, Kampot, to buy New Year fireworks, stopping for a beer in the Lazy Cat.

Kampot

Hobie Cat and fisherman

The Crab Market at Kep, our regular sunset watering hole

These clematis-like flowers are actually on trees. Another pod-producing species.

A bubbly Christmas

Monday 26 December 2015
Christmas Day was peaceful this year with almost no tinsel in sight. We hadn’t made great plans other than to walk round the Kep National Park trail, an 8 km path through the rainforest at the back of the bungalows. It’s been marked out with signage, maps, informative way markers about the trees and wildlife by a French guy who runs Led Zep cafe just inside the Park.

Set on a platform high above the town with wonderful views, the cafe is a great place to have breakfast before tackling the trail. The walls are decorated with photos of famous names from the 1970s rock pantheon – Jeff Beck, Steve Stills, Robert Plant et al. There’s also a display of fascinating photos of Kep from the past, showing it in its 1960s glory.

Fortified with pancakes and baguettes, we set off round the trail. It’s an easy walk on a good path, shaded most of the way and with occasional spectacular views over the surrounding countryside, all the way to Sihanoukville to the north and Vietnam to the east. There’s a single old male hornbill who lives in the park, apparently, but we didn’t see him. I couldn’t help feeling it would be a kindness for someone to import a female for him.

Half way round we left the trail and scrambled down, risking life and limb, to the valley below, where there’s a secluded butterfly farm. It’s a lovely low-key tourist attraction with beautiful flowers and friendly staff. My photos weren’t a patch on those I took first time we visited, but hey ho.

Returning hot and sweaty after 3 hours’ walking, we intended to settle in to a peaceful afternoon, sending Christmas greetings and reading, but we were met by our new friend Ed with a bottle of champagne on ice and gifts for us both – a flat hat for Trevann and a krama for me. One thing led to another and we didn’t get back to the bungalow until 1 a.m., having managed a couple of pool tournaments, Christmas dinner of noodles eaten with chopsticks, a somewhat unfestive film - “Dope”, washed down with copious beer and another bottle of bubbly.
I’ve drunk more Champagne this holiday than I have in years! Hic.

And in no particular order, cos I can't be arsed, here are the photos:

At the butterfly farm

A drongo in sihouette

Crab market sunset - again!

Family crab tending.

Lemongrass in the garden at Bacoma

And green chilis

This guy visits our balcony most days

Fishermen at sunset

Christmas breakfast at Led Zep cafe

where the decor is 1970s rock themed

But the view of the town is wonderful

Looking up the coast towards Sihanoukville

The path through the jungle is shady and quiet but well trodden

A cute tiny 2-inch long lizard

And a less cute tokai - who would have your fingers given half a chance!

Kep sunset

Monday 21 December 2015

A couple of days ago we went for a early evening beer at our favourite Crab Market bar (they sell Beer Lao in big bottles at a good price! Mind you, it's still 3 times the Luang Prabang price!).

As we sat there, overlooking the sea, a reasonably pretty sunset developed near the horizon. There are various islands dotted along the coast here and the sun dips down behind them, making for a lovely view. Then as we sat there, all of a sudden the scene went wild! Vivid oranges, yellows, reds and turquoise blues spread over the whole sky. Amazing! It was like that scene in "Local Hero" when Mac sees the Northern lights for the first time! And out of this a single fishing boat chugged towards us to deliver its catch, looking just like a pirate ship in silhouette.

Wow, there is plenty of beauty in Kep.

 

Captain Sparrow I presume?

This may look fairly unimpressive - a couple of shops - but they are emblematic of slow but steady development in Kep. When we were here 2 years ago there were no shops selling local handicrafts, clothes, artworks etc. for the tourists. I felt it was a shame. And now these two have opened. People still tend to say there's nothng to *do* in Kep, but I think there are glimmers of an emerging sustainable, ethical tourist industry based on more than just the Crab Market.

Trevann, looking lovely amid the bourgainvilleas. 

Our bungalow is surrounded by shrubs and trees, so the birds (mainly sunbirds and whiskered bulbuls) come really close to the balcony to feed on the overhanging fruit and flowers.

A sunbird - I think.

The beach at Kep (with sand imported from Otres!)

Many of Kep's iconic 1950s ruins are still there among the undergrowth.

Although more and more are getting the restoration treatment. I'm not sure whether this one is in fact a mammoth new build.

  

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

Wednesday 16 December 2015

What a difference a day makes. I was perhaps starting to despair of Cambodia as we drove the 100km down the coast from Sihanoukville in a “VIP” mini-bus, its broken seats filled to bursting with sweating, tattered, slightly morose backpackers of all nations along with their bags, guitars, etc.

Outside the bus as well as inside is scruffy, dirty and uninspired. The road to Kep is not too bad but it passes through some fairly dull countryside - miles of flat recently harvested rice fields, with innumerable tin shack houses. And always the litter! Every road is lined with piles of rotting garbage and plastic. Why? Do they not see it? I was searching for the beauty everywhere.

I can't help feeling that beauty – both natural and made-made - makes all the difference to quality of life. Surely there's more to Khmer culture than Angkor Wat? The only place I found any sense of aesthetics in Sihanoukville was at the wat near Otres. Yes, it was a building site of course, but at least someone had planted  flowers and they were painting the temple buildings. Maybe it will take another generation or so to recover from the civil war. Sadly, in the mean time other dominant cultures continue to flood in – from the western backpackers to the Chinese tourists. And now the Russians are in there too. The delicate flowering of Khmer culture doesn’t really stand a chance.

But then the bus journey was over and we got to Bacoma in Kep and suddenly there is beauty possible in Cambodia! It's fab! We stayed at Bacoma for two months back in 2013/14 and loved it. It is quite possibly the best-run bungalow resort in SE Asia with clean, well-maintained bungalows (with hot showers – hooray!) set in a lush green tropical garden filled with flowers, birds and butterflies. The air is much drier here and a gentle sea breeze keeps the temperature below 30. The village is much more integrated, with westerners and Khmers together. And best of all we don’t have the constant anxiety of the petty crime to put up with. Our home for 3 weeks. And relax ...

Just waiting for the "bus" in Otres 1.

Typical Cambodian scene

Here's one for the pedants

Welcome to Bacoma

Our bungalow

Lovely fragrant frangipani

One of the little "Hobbit house" round bungalows. Perfect for short stays.

More from Otres

Saturday 12 December 2015

I can’t believe we’ve been here in Otres Village for 10 days – time does such strange things when you’re away from home, especially when your watch is broken.

It doesn’t take long to get used to a place like this. I can quite see how westerners float in here and get stuck, like flotsam among the mangroves. It’s a peaceful place in general although massive construction going on to build more and more bungalows in Otres Village. And the beach is lovely – miles and miles of white sand.

On Thursday Roy and Viasna took us on a tour on their motorbikes of the big city – Sihanoukville – where they now live. It’s an odd mix of beach, greenery and scruffy Asian city with little nooks and crannies of great charm, such as Cloud 9 bar on the sea shore.

Roy and Viasna live in a lovely apartment in a particularly green area of town called Victory Hill, a small village of bars and restaurants a few yards from the beach. It gives a great lifestyle if it weren’t for the endemic petty crime.

We had a lovely day – until I threw up in the pub. Most embarrassing! And no, it was not a result of overindulgence, just your usual SE Asia bug. A day of green tea and rest yesterday soon sorted it and today I’m back to normal.

Yesterday was my birthday, with pancake treat breakfast, late afternoon swim followed by lovely meal (Asian dory) at restaurant the Secret Garden, Otres 2.

Homemade boat Cambodian stylee.

So, as I say, I can’t believe we’ve been here two weeks and leaving tomorrow, off to Kep.

Otres Market is *the* place to be on a Saturday night. Music, food and good vibes.

Generally peaceful in Otres Village

Lovely beach.

Not many flowers of interest round here Mark, just the normal.

A visit to the local Wat. Not sure what the peeing cherubs signify.

Roadside egrets and water buffalo

Roy showing Trevann the sights of Victory Hill

Sunset at Victory Hill, Sihanoukville.

Guess where we're on?

Central Sihanoukville

Christmas comes to M&Ms. Paul and Marcus setting up the tree.

Evening on Otres beach.