Bokor National Park, Cambodia

Bokor National Park, Cambodia
Thursday 11th – Friday 12th Feb

Clinging to the Southern tip of the Chuor Phom Damrei, Bokor National Park is a MUST SEE if you're ever in the South of Cambodia. The Park has many alluring animals such as tigers, elephants and leopards, but sadly due to illegal logging it will be a miracle if you're lucky/or unlucky enough to see anything!

Our journey began at 7.30am when we were picked up by a mini bus and taken to the foot of the Bokor Hill, down a dirt track on the outskirts of Kampot. Bokor Hill does actually have an unmade road, forged by the French in the 1920s but during the time of writing this blog it has been closed for redevelopment. So the only way for tourists to see the National Park is to climb the 1080m elevation.

It would be impossible to do this trek without a guide, as the foot of the hill is down a unsigned bumpy, dusty dirt track.

Overall there were 9 people climbing the hill, with just 4 of us staying over night at the Rangers Station. Actually 11 people altogether including Khoom and Nett, our guides for the trip.

The minute we stepped off the mini bus to start the trek, the heat hit us instantly, Nett gave us plenty of water and a staple Cambodian lunch of rice with veg and a fried egg on top, that was unfortunately packaged in a Styrofoam box...shame they have moved over to this un-environmentally friendly Western way of packaging their food! I prefer the good old banana leaf, plus it lasts longer in the heat!

With our bags fully loaded with food, water and over night supplies we began the steep climb through the jungle. After a short while we stopped off at the check point (usually based on the road) where our guide paid the entrance feeof $5 each to enter the park. From here we were under the cover of the trees in the jungle, and the 3 hour near verticle climb began. Having sat behind a desk six days a week to save up for this trip it was certainly a shock to the system. I think for Jonny too. Elliott seemed to be handling it well although he was looking a little pale after (again) suffering from food poisoning the night before. However, having been a fitness trainer back in London he was certainly in the best shape out of the three of us.

After several stops and plenty of water we had finally made it to the unmade road near the top of the hill. Here we ate our lunch and waited for a pick-up to drive us to Bokor Hill Station. Jonny and I nearly stood on a snake, but other than that we all made it in one piece!

The pick-up was running a little late as the road is so treacherous in some places it managed to get stuck! After about 30 minutes the pick-up arrived with an old mattress in the back, which actually acted as a trampoline on the journey up to the Hill Station! Although the bum breaking, bone shacking journey would have been impossible without it! Battered and bruised, we finally after 1 hour had made it to the abandoned and eerie Bokor Hill Station (1080m).

In the 1920s a small community was created and a grand colonial hotel, known as Bokor Palace, famous for its casino stood proudly at the top of the hill. The view from the location is stunning, a panoramic view of the jungle and River below.

The Hill Station was abandoned twice; once in the 1940s when the Vietnamese and Khmer Issarak forces overran it while fighting for independance against the French, and again in the 1970s when it was left to the invading Khmer Rouge. (Lonely Planet, 2008)

Today, all that is left of the Palace and community, including a further casino, church and post office are their skeleton structures. It really is very ghostly, particularly when thick mist creeps through these old abandon structures. Images of Pol Pots sick regime and blood shed of the Khmer Rouge have a heavy imprint on this this landscape.

After spending a few hours exploring, we walked a short distance to the Rangers Station for a well earned rest. Here we also said our good byes to the other 5 people that were only doing the one day trek.

Bokor (Continued)…

Myself, Nett, Jonny and Elliott and a Dutch guy Bauldvjn were left. After a shower and rest, Nett began to prepare our dinner. It is unbelievable how hard the Cambodian people work!

The food was good; rice, clear vegetable soup, stir fried vegetables and beef cooked separately for the meat eaters (which was everyone except me).

After dinner Elliott persuaded us to go back to Bokor Palace in the dark in search of Ghosts! Although we didn’t see any this is one creepy place to be in the day light let alone at nightfall. I have never seen so many stars, it was magical.

At 7am we woke for breakfast. As Nett was trying to cook, clean and make lunch for us all, I couldn’t bear to anymore, so I helped him clear up and wash the dishes. Judging by his huge smile it was certainly appreciated.

By 9am we were ready to go, the boys full of energy decided to storm off ahead leaving Nett and I to chat and leisurely walk behind. With 7 hours of trekking through the jungle ahead, I knew slow and steady and conserving water was the way forward. Nett and I chatted about cultural differences, with Cambodian women trying to bleach their skin white and western women trying to burn their skin brown! It was actually quite amusing…women…none of us are happy!
After trekking for about 4 hours we came to the ‘Great Hornbill Waterfall’, but as it was the dry season it was bone dry! So we just explored the huge boulders that are usually submerged in rainy season. After exploring the waterfall, we then passed through a grasses plain with flat boulders (possibly granite) with many pitcher plants growing at ground level. From here we then descended into the jungle, where we sheltered for lunch and the burning hot sun. After about 30 minutes we started our steep Indiana Jones trek down through the jungle, literally swinging from tree branches to stop ourselves falling!

After a further hour we passed old Vietnamese graves and a small cave near a waterfall. Here inhabiting this remote cave deep into the jungle lives a Vietnamese monk, unfortunately he wasn’t there when we arrived but evidence of his presence was still there, such as cooking pots with roots from a particularly plant that are believed to have healing qualities. Apparently many Vietnamese people embark on this pilgrimage to show their respect to those that lost their lives in the war and to visit the monk for pray and healing.

After a quick wash in the waterfall, we continued trekking for a further 3 hours down through the jungle. This unofficial path was made by poachers collecting illegal hard woods from the National Park. I have no idea how they get the trees through as we could barely fit ourselves through the path! In some places it was so steep and dry I spent most of my time sliding. At one point I stumbled down a vertical drop, tripped over a tree route and started gaining almighty speed, as I came hurtling down the hill luckily Nett was at the bottom ready to catch me. Jonny followed shortly after on his bum. Elliott, with his socks pulled up to almost his knees was a sight for soar eyes, but made it gracefully down taking one step at a time having seen mine and Jonny’s attempt of getting down! Mr perfect who’s name I could never pronounce (Bauldvjn), didn’t trip at all and managed to look cool the whole time…boring! :o)

Needless to say we didn’t see much wildlife having made so much noise, just a snake, lizard and hornbills which was certainly the highlight!

After stumbling down the jungle for 3 hours we finally reached civilization passing through a small village and fruit plantations. Throughout the jungle trek clear evidence of illegal loggers taking hard woods was still very apparent. Having walked to the road we stopped for a well earned rest and drink. While we waited for a van to drive us to the Kompong Bay River a short distance away. The Chinese have also made their mark on the landscape, with a huge hydro-electricity damn being built.

As soon as we reached the river we dived in for a refreshing swim before we boarded a small boat to cruise down the river to enjoy the sunset. We arrived back into Kampot by 6.30pm on the dot!