Into The Rarely Visited Northeast Region of Cambodia

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The Cambodian portion of this trip to relatively unvisited northeast Cambodia was organized by Bayon Tours and our excellent and varied itinerary included: daily tours in a private 4×4; English speaking guide; driver; accommodation in small hotels and guesthouses; all meals; and entrance fees. This 9 day/8 night tour would begin and end in Phnom Penh.

Guide Heng and driver Key were waiting in Riverside Suites lobby promptly at 8:00a and we were off and running (or driving) on today’s long journey; 520 kilometers/323 miles and eight hours from Phnom Penh. The main road out of Phnom Penh was being completely rebuilt by the Chinese, and a disaster. Completely torn up, this heavily trafficked road was filled with buses, trucks, minibuses, and motorcycles, slowly jolting their way through construction for the first two-three hours before much traffic turned off towards Siem Reap (Angkor Wat – the tourist magnet in Cambodia) at Kampong Cham.

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Smile Hollywood in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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picking up children after school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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selling lotus seeds along the road in Cambodia

We now knew why smart Cambodians, whether walking or navigating roads in vehicles, wore surgical masks. Dust. Not a slight amount of dust, but close eyes and visualize scenes from an epic ‘30s Dust Bowl documentary. Fortunately, our car was air conditioned.

TIPS:

– Bring a box of surgical masks if planning to ride a bicycle or rent a motorbike; and

– An inflatable seat cushion or neck support slightly eases the discomfort on long rides over terrible roads.

There were very few jaw-dropping road sights until Skun but some did cause a little head turning:

– Locals sat along the highway, cutting up and drying Cassava;

– Incredible amounts of furniture and other objects hung off minivans;

– Small and lively pigs sat in a basket on a motorcycle; and

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moving furniture in Cambodia

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drying Cassava along the road in Cambodia

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pig on a motorcycle in Cambodia

– Racks of dried fish for sale.

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racks of dried fish for sale in Cambodia

Tourists, buses, truck drivers, monks, et al, stop in Skun before continuing on to stretch legs, use toilets, eat and gawk at Deep-Fried Tarantulas along with other culinary exotics… This is Cambodia where people eat almost anything that moves.

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