[CAMBODIA] BOKOR MOUNTAIN

BOKOR MOUNTAIN

Established by the French as a hill-station, Bokor had its heyday in the 1920s and since then has been abandoned twice, during World War II 1945 and the Khmer Rouge period 1975-1979. It was established as a national park in 1993 and spans four Cambodian provinces and despite substantial illegal logging, remains home to elephants and perhaps tigers. The entire Bokor region saw fierce fighting between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge -- at one stage one side was holed up in the Catholic Church and the other in the casino -- all the while trying to shoot each other to pieces. Walking through the crumbling casino/hotel and other buildings dotted across the Bokor ridge is a little spooky, particularly if one of the frequent mists roll in, but it's easy to imagine what it must have been like. When we visited we pulled up in front of the casino a mere 10 metres away, yet couldn't see it for the mist -- on clear days however the views are apparently spectacular At least one Vietnamese horror movie has been filmed on Bokor, along with the reasonably well-known Matt Dillon film City of Ghosts and we suspect more may be in the pipeline. If time allows it's worth spending a night on Bokor, as even though the accommodation is only very basic (dorms), the food very limited (instant noodles) and the drink selection rather poor (warm beer), it is nevertheless an interesting, and very beautiful place to visit. The two-tier Popokvil Waterfall is certainly worth a trip to, though at 4-5km from the casino, it's best to have your own transport To get there, you can hire a 4WD from Kampot for around US$30 per day, which isn't too bad if you squeeze in four or five people. Kampot guesthouses also run trips in Toyota Camrys for $6-8 per person, or more if you're staying overnight. The national park accommodation is $5 per person and park admission is an additional $5 per person. The road is not good and should not be attempted by novice motorcyclists, but if you're patient you can do it on a Honda Dream.