Travelogue
Bokor Mountain - The Eeriest Place on Earth - 18 August 2011
The ruins of the French hill station at Bokor Mountain have been called “the eeriest place on Earth” by one travel writer. Semi-deserted, shrouded in mist, open to the wind from all directions, chilly, and ravaged by time and the residue of warfare with the walls pockmarked by bullet holes, and the landscape contaminated by unexploded ordnance – eerie if not dangerous, is certainly an apt description. Originally, the town was built in the early 1900s as a resort by the French to offer an escape from the heat, humidity and the locals of Phnom Penh. To construct the road and buildings of the Bokor hilltop community, the French used forced prison labour, and costing over 900 Cambodians their lives in the nine months spent constructing the resort in this remote mountain location. A hotel opened in 1925, named the Bokor Palace Hotel and with a casino, church, school, post office, royal residence and houses were serviced by a 200-strong population. Here, the wealth French would hold lavish parties – something akin to the English in Kenya’s Rift Valley – and the Chinese would gamble. Those who lost it is rumoured, would jump off the casino garden terrace at the edge of the cliff after having lost their loot. Bokor Mountain is now part of Preah Monivong National Park, and the former buildings are ghostly ruins. In recent times the go ahead has been granted to a long-term project to re-establish Bokor as a major tourist destination. Progress on the work
Kampot - You Can Pay Later - 12 August 2011
The sleepy provincial capital of Kampot is located at the base of the Elephant Mountains and a few kilometres up the estuary on the banks of the Prek Kamping Bay River. With its smaller coastal neighbour, Kep, and the larger tourist town, Sihanoukville, this former haunt of the French colonial elite makes up what is sometimes referred to as the
Phnom Penh - A Trip To The Dentist - 31 July 2011
Please note that since this article was written the Chhuon Meng Thmey Dental Clinic, and the dentist referred to, Dr Sok Chenh Chhean, are no longer recommended by the writer. I don’t much like going to the dentist, let’s face it who does? They cause you grief and cost you money, and if you need major work doing, then they can cost you
Phnom Penh - The Empire Strikes Back - 19 July 2011
After several visits I can see Phnom Penh is changing; its buildings, attitudes, cars and infrastructure. Some things haven’t changed; transport, the people, politics, the disparities in wealth, and the poverty. Taxis from Phnom Penh International Airport charge out at a standard US$10 for the ride into the city. Cambodia still runs on
The Plain of Bagan - 12 July 2011
Entry to the ancient site at Bagan for foreigners costs US$10, also payable as €10 or 9000 Burmese kyats, regardless of the length of your stay. If you’re travelling by bus you get hauled off on the outskirts of town to pay at a small booth on a dusty road. Better value then than Angkor in Cambodia which charges out at US$20 per day and
The Road to Bagan - 5 July 2011
When the agent at Seven Diamonds travel booked my bus ticket I distinctly heard the English word “foreigner” mentioned. I paid 1000 kyat more than at my hotel for the ticket to Bagan but the hotel charged 2000 kyat to take you to the bus station whereas Seven Diamonds’ fee included the pick-up. The agent told me the bus took five hours, though
Mandalay - The City of Gems - 2 July 2011
Mandalay is home to one million people and is the second-largest city in Myanmar. The city is regarded as the commercial hub of the north of the country. It was Burma’s last royal capital, and has been immortalised in books, poetry and song. “The Road to Mandalay” coined by Rudyard Kipling, refers to the journey up the Ayeyarwaddy River
Yangon - The End of Strife - 28 June 2011
A visitor once described swooping down to Rangoon and central Burma’s “flat green, soggy plains overwhelmed by angry monsoon clouds in unbearable heat.” Yangon formerly known as Rangoon, is barely more than an hour by plane from Bangkok and six-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT but in some ways is light years away from the rest of the world, a
Burmese Days - 24 June 2011
Practical Information - Republic of the Union of Myanmar – Visitor GuideMany visitors I met using guidebooks complained that information on cost and travel, especially travel times, was incorrect, so here's an update.VisasVisitors to Myanmar require a visa. This can be either a tourist of business visa. Visas are available from the Embassy
