Oiling the wheels

"Christmas dinner"

28 December

Well that was interesting. We went to Vietnam yesterday - for 5 minutes. Normally at this time of year we renew our 30-day visas at the agent in Kep. This time they said it would take 3 weeks and that our passports would (probably) be back on the 11th. Seeing as we’re leaving Kep on the 12th there was no way we could risk this schedule so we decided to try a “visa run” to the Vietnam border instead. It’s a 60 minute tuk-tuk ride from here to the border at Prek Chak, along some bone-rattling dirt tracks, but we were told it would be OK to get visas - “probably” - so we gave it a go!

Our driver assured us he would wait at the border while we crossed over by foot. On the Cambodian side there’s a smart new building with “Arrivals” and “Departures” desks. Getting stamped out was straightforward once someone had woken the border guard at the departures desk. Then we wandered over no-main’s land to the Vietnamese side. As Brits, in theory we have a 15-day free visa to enter Vietnam. Fortunately, an English-speaking help helper was on hand to ease communication between border officials and tourists. We explained to her that we wanted to go straight back to Cambodia. “Ah - check in check out!” she said, “In that case you need to stay one hour … or perhaps one day …. Or you could pay $10 each”. She grinned. Needless to say we coughed up our $20 to a now smiling official at the desk - the happiest Asian policeman I’ve ever met.

Passports stamped, we headed back over no-man’s land to the posh Cambodian post, filled out visa forms, paid the regular $35 each for 30-day visas, got passports stamped again. Nearly there! Then into the “Quarantine” office. New regulations mean you have to have proof of vaccination to enter Cambodia from Vietnam. Have we got this? No, of course not. “No worries,” says the official, “for a dollar I can issue a card”. . .

We were through - and legal - and our tuk-tuk driver was waiting for us.

The countryside on the way to the border is unimpressive - flat with occasional wooded hills. This is the salt field area.

Typical village.

This village appeared to have been razed to the ground by fire.

A pretty lily pond - where our driver stopped to have a pee!

Young mangroves.

On Christmas Day we went for our now traditional walk round the Kep National Park. It's an 8 km trek through the jungle but an easy path in the shade most of the way. The French guy who devoted many years to maintaining the path and keeping the signage up to date sadly died last year. Thanks Christian.

Bits of the valley are very jungly.

Not sure what this flower is. Mark?

The path comes out on one of Kep's ridiculous highways. The best roads in Cambodia!

The pagoda

The Khmer House at Bacoma

Rabbit Island - must go again!