Day 49: Kampot

Lovely day today!
Awoke from a semi-restful sleep on the porch of Bodhi Villa, where we are renting mosquito net covered mattresses for $2.25/night. My kitty friend was still here when I awoke, so we bonded a bit more before Andy and I headed to the market to find breakfast.

We decided to rent a motorbike today, since we wanted to go to Bokor National Forest, and this seemed like the best and cheapest option. I was a bit hesitant as Andy had only driven twice before, but besides a few lurches we did wonderfully.

At the market we ate some very tasty noodles. Soup for me, which I added just a hint too much chili sauce to, but soy milk cooled it down quickly. VERY VERY cheap! Also got some lychee as a snack, and we got noodles to go (packed in 3 bags) for lunch as well. So many plastic bags currently in my possession. And since we were on a bike I had to carry all of them, plus Andy’s kilo of rambutan!

We curved our way up into the mountains, literally driving into the clouds, and came across a huge statue of some god that was receiving many bananas for luck. A nice Californian Cambodian man cheerfully explained it to us after his hearty English greeting.

We drove on up to the top where visibility was very very poor, so much so that we couldn’t find the old abandoned hotel we were looking for. Instead we did find an old French home, supposedly the king’s villa, which was creepy with the fog rolling in, on the side of a cliff and with moss and broken tiles everywhere. So glad it was at least bright out despite the fog.

After driving back and fourth down the same road, and finding an old abandoned church where we ate lunch, we eventually did find the hotel, which was being renovated into a museum! Very odd.
But what is odder is that the whole park is being developed, into…suburbs for international clients! We looked at the show room where a model displaying the sprawling culdisacs and cable car (!!) that is planned for the next 16 years. Home models from Balinese style to North American Ranch are available and a 600 square meter lot starts at $150,000. Interested?

Weirdest part is that this is a national park! Yet some private company has managed to secure a 99 year leasheld the land and is fully developing it. Although it did result in the beautifully paved road we drove up, I speak for the trees and would rather see them stand alone then next to a house! It was a very Lorax-y moment.
In other news I tried driving the motorbike! I did not fall and only drove until I had assured myself that with practice I could surely master it. But for now it is still extremely jerky (it's a manual). Maybe I can try again later.

Off to Sihanoukville tomorrow! After another breakfast run to the market of course.