Cambodia - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 497

Hire a long-tail boat in O'Svay or, closer to the Laos border, Anlong Morakot, to ex-
plore the area and view the dolphins. Boats cost a negotiable US$25 round-trip to the dol-
phin pool. Add US$10 if you want to continue upstream to a set of thundering Mekong
rapids.
Anlong Morakot is only 4km by moto (US$2) from the Lao border. If coming in from
Laos, you can arrange for Xplore-Asia ( Click here ) or Riverside Guesthouse ( Click here )
in Stung Treng to pick you up at the border and handle your boat transfer to Preah
Rumkel.
Through Xplore-Asia you can also kayak with the dolphins and then paddle downstream
to O'Svay - or all the way to Stung Treng via bird-infested flooded forests. A full-day
kayak excursion south of O'Svay costs US$65 per person; add US$20 per person to in-
clude the boat trip upstream to the dolphin pool and the Mekong rapids.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Ratanakiri Province
Popular Ratanakiri Province is a diverse region of outstanding natural beauty that
provides a remote home for a mosaic of minority peoples - Jarai, Tompuon, Brau and
Kreung - with their own languages, traditions and customs. Adrenalin activities abound.
Swim in clear volcanic lakes, shower under waterfalls, or trek in the vast Virachey Na-
tional Park - it's all here. Tourism is set to take off, but that is if the lowland politicians
and generals don't plunder the place first. Hopefully someone will wake up and smell the
coffee - there's plenty of that as well - before it's too late.
UXO ALERT!
The Ho Chi Minh Trail once passed through the hills of Ratanakiri where it was nicknamed the Sihan-
ouk Trail in reference to Cambodia's then head of state. This region was heavily bombed by the
Americans and there is still some unexploded ordnance (UXO) around. Never touch anything that
looks vaguely like UXO.
Ban Lung
075 / POP 25,000