The shores of Mekong. Episode 3: Kampong Cham.

Kampong Cham - Arrival - Home sweet home- Life near the river - Wat Hanchey and artificial life - The good vs evil - Angkor again - Petanque under the bridge - Best wishes and precautions

And we are once again speaking English.

Kompong Cham may not be the most charming of all Mekong cities, but it made me feel comfortable the very moment I arrived. Even though the bus stop was less convenient than the previous one, and even though it seemed at first that guesthouses were non-existent. And when I saw the first options of sleeping - 5$ only, but very steep and narrow staircases and rooms that mostly resemble hospital wards with big glass furniture in the corner which should be used as a wardrobe but looks more like a place to keep medicines... I don`t think I ever before had such a strong "get out of here" feeling. Maybe only at Battambang train station...

But hotel Mariya with very modest price of 8$ per day, nice big bed and a HUGE armchair satisfied me totally.

So I went out and...

Back home?! Volga river?! 

No, another perspective on Mekong

Happy new year! Almost forgot...

Rice and mushrooms - delicious!

This time I decided to investigate the place without LP book, just go to the place I see, talk to people and find out stuff... As a result I crossed the huge new Kizuna bridge and went to the tower. It was , as it appeared later, an old French lighthouse, after crossing the river I had to go under it. On the other side there was a huge villa with a small boat near the gate and a barbed wire over it, which obviously shows the distance between the rich and the poor in Cambodia.

She turned away right when I took a picture.

The boat - great place for games, however probably not safe at all...

The CITY of Kampong Cham!

But. Back to the tower! After climbing the stairs inside I could see another crazy beautiful sunset over Mekong...

The tower bricks can be seen on the last photo...

Next morning started quite late, but nonetheless was dedicated to relatively short journey to Wat Han Chey - the strange temple on the mountain to the north of Kompong Cham. The trip was quite simple compared to Kratie adventure, but beautiful landscapes were surrounding me nontheless. One of them was of very nice buddhist temple beyond the rice fields. I`ve met a Belgian guy who was crossing Cambodia on a bicycle and he made me realize there is life (and guesthouses) outside the provincial capitals. However for journey like this you have to be well-prepared - sometimes he had to make more than 100 km per day.
And the temple - cute fruit statues - if I`ve read the guidebook or googled it won`t be much of a surprise, but I didn`t and so all was unexpected...

In front Durian, called king of fruits. Shame on me - yet didn`t try it! Or are these rambutan?...

And in addition to the fruits, there were some living creatures.

It was said there are three of them, but I managed to find only this one.

Rather shy

An elefant and a cow

Now, come on, guys, let`s have some beer!

Eh... probably not all animals were alive...

 And so in addition to the fruits (and vegetables) there was a number of ceramic animals, from grasshoper to elefant. Nice place for kids, by the way!

Actually the good paved road ended at the bottom of the mountain, and on the other side there was a dirt trail continuing into the villages. The words of the cyclist came to my mind: not always the road is so good here...

And here the monks invited me to the school in the temple where they learned Pali  -ancient religious Buddist language (according to them, it seemed to me they just chatted ).

The view from the road is perhaps the best one

The powerful good shall prevail...

Over the lonely evil...

Self-made kites.

The next day was dedicated to Wat Nokor and a little cycling trip to man`s and woman`s hills. Wat Nokor has two main features: Angkor heritage (pretty familiar sight after Angkor) and new temple inside the old one. And old lady approached and put a band on my wrist. For good luck, she said, and good luck it brought. Hopefully!

What a familiar landscape!

Blessed both by the living and stone guardian.

This Buddha actually has very small apartment.

The Angkor Cat

The man and woman hill temples are further away from Wat Nokor on the same road and are reachable by bicycle, however the traffic is quite annoying with big cars and trucks.

I found it better to leave the bicycle under the hill, but the local guard told me that there were cases of robbery. I was lucky nontheless. maybe the amulet?)

My new partner!

Man`s hill in all its glory

The guys are playing petanque. Under the bridge.

Suppose the one in the blue T-shirt wins...

On the next day I finally decided that I will (indeed now!) go to homestay or bungalo hut and realize my chance to sleep in the hammock, which I dreamed about while looking at all tuk-tuk drivers. But before that during breakfast I met a guide in the cafe and he convinced me to participate in the tour to the other side of Mekong. The tour included rubber factory and old wooden temple. This is what I will tell you next time).

 P.s. Near Wat Nokor I wanted to take a picture of previously unseen lizard hiding under the stone. Surprisingly the lizard  hissed at me and creeped away. The "lizard" had no legs. Good I wasn`t too close!