Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Sihanoukville and the south
Cambodia's southern provinces offer ravishing contrasts - a near-iridescent
green quilt of rice paddies, the looming crags of the Cardamom and Elephant
mountain ranges and a palm-fringed coastline stretching for more than
440km. The relative inaccessibility of much of the southwest, thanks to heavy
forest cover, the presence of the mountains and the lack of roads, only adds
to its charm, although encroaching development - even within the region's
pristine national parks - is a constant threat. Numerous islands dot the azure
Andaman Sea, and although many are also earmarked for resort development
(with some already under way), a castaway ambience still prevails.
Southeastern Cambodia
- roughly comprising
Kampot
and
Takeo provinces
- is dotted
with craggy karst formations that project starkly from the plains. This is one of the
country's most productive agricultural regions: parts of Kampot province are like one
vast market garden, producing durian, watermelon and coconuts, while in Takeo
province rice paddies dominate. Salt, and more importantly,
pepper
, are also key
products. The former is extracted from the saltpans of the coast and plays an important
part in the manufacture of the country's
prohok
(salted fermented fish paste); the latter
is cultivated almost like hops, with regimented vines clinging to cords, and was once
the
condiment of the colonial occupiers - at the time, no Parisian table worth its salt
was without Kampot pepper.
Most visitors come to the south to hit the beach at
Sihanoukville
or use the town as
a jumping-off point to the
islands
, their white sands washed by warm, shallow waters.
Sihanoukville sits on a peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Thailand, its coastline
scalloped with gently shelving, tree-fringed white-sand beaches, and hazy islands
looming enticingly out at sea. But don't expect atoll-like isolation: the town is
attracting increasing numbers of party-animals keen to live it up in the clubs by night
and in the
Ochheuteal Beach
bars by day. That said, a short moto-ride along the coast
in either direction uncovers stretches of less developed, peaceful beach, particularly
during the week.
Sihanoukville is also the base for another area of outstanding natural beauty,
Ream
National Park
, with mangrove forest and fine sandy beaches. East of town,
Bokor
National Park
remains worth visiting for an eerie walk around the abandoned hill
station amid its jungle-clad slopes, although private development is starting to
diminish some, if not all, of its unearthly appeal. It's most easily reached from the
charming riverside town of
Kampot
, as is
Kep
, a sleepy seaside destination famed for
its fresh crab.
East of Kep, you'll find the down-at-heel remains of the Funan-era city of
Angkor
Borei
, home to a fascinating museum of early statuary and interesting records of the
archeological digs of the ancient city scattered around the town; close by, the hilltop
Cambodia's conservation muddle
p.246
Yeah Mao: the Black Grandmother
p.247
Sihanoukville beach life
p.249
Crime and safety in Sihanoukville
p.250
On the road: survival tips
p.251
Sihanoukville diving
p.252
Trouble in paradise
p.259
Koh S'dach boat trips and diving
p.263
Cham Yeam: the border with Thailand
p.264
Koh Kong tours and activities
p.265
The Chinese in Cambodia
p.269
Bokor National Park
p.272
Kep orientation
p.275
