Northeast of Cambodia

Hola !,

After a 4 days stay in Phnom Penh, my on-my-own trip started!. I took a bus to get to the northeast part of the country, waterfalls, jungle and elephant trekking attract many visitors to this area. However it is still quite easy to find out off-the-beaten-track sites (hors des sentiers battus) and the atmosphere in this province is really different from the rest of Cambodia, it is so remote...and so dusty!.

First stop, Kratie, 6hrs away from Phonm Penh in a air-conditioning and comfortable bus...you can see the Mekong dolphins and enjoy one of the most spectacular sunset views in Asie



Then from Kratie, things gets tougher, the capital of Ratanakiri is only 7hrs away by bus..but this one is far less comfortable...jam-packed, with families and their small babies peeing just beside you...Anyway I can make u sure than we had a great time, the trip was more than exhilarating...7 hours and 3 breakdowns later (one flat tire and 2 engine breakdowns), we finally managed to get to Ban Lung, our base camp for the following days.


The following days where just GREAT!, best time in Cambodia, three days of motorbike runs to
get to beautiful waterfalls, minority villages, lakes, this is really something !.
Susanne, Gerhard, it was great to share such an experience with you guys!, I miss you a lot!!.

Some waterfalls...
















A rubber tree plantation.....
















...a gem mine in activity, miners working there have to support really high temperatures, they dig around 3meters depth holes in the ground and from the main hole they carve out galleries to extract gem...one of the toughest jobs I have ever seen...


Everyday was a completely new adventure, several hours of motorbike driving, in sometimes very complicated dusty tracks...i have become nearly an expert ! ;-)

It was as well a brilliant opportunity to know how people lives like it these villages, how they live...and the way they die!
In some minority villages, young people gets married at 15 years old. In case one of them dies, the tradition says that the other has to kill him/herself in a week time...Here you are some pics about their cemetery, the older is the man/woman who dies, the bigger is the 'sanctuary'. Relatives go often to the cemetery to offer food and water to feed the spirit...


...and what about Cambodian children?, they are just lovely, never seen in my life people so
smiley, children are so happy with so few..


After Ratanakiri, my dear friends left to Siem Reap whereas I planned to go back to Phnom Penh and then go further south up to the coast. Bye bye Susanne and Gerhard and farewell!!.

Next post completely different atmosphere, switching from dust to tropical beaches with immaculate white sand...

More post are coming soon, keep you posted!

Jona