by Nick | Dec 3, 2014 | Blog
The Floating Village of Prek Toal & The Core Bird Reserve.
Vans, big motorboats, little motorboats, kayaks, bicycles, trains and taxis all had a part to play in our adventure from Siem Reap to Battambang. Overnight in the floating village of Prek Toal and the flooded forests of the core bird reserve. Across the floodplains of the Tonle Sap Great Lake and up the Sangke River through the lush rural countryside of Battambang Province to the centre of the farming town in twenty four hours and a bit.
The expedition started at the boat station near Maichrey floating village, where Mr Heang and his boat were waiting. The water was still high enough for us to cross the flooded scrub where we moored to a submerged tree. Lena and Seb were apt pupils as I explained the hydrological phenomena of the Mekong River system until I was rudely interrupted by a virulent green pit viper wrapped around a branch overhanging the deck.
Pit Viper in tree beside boat
The afternoons adventure was to explore Prek Toal floating village and the surrounding flooded countryside by kayak. The police chief took photos as we paddles past his station, children came out to stare as we floated by their houses, while those actually working ignored us.
Seb and Lena setting off from their homestay
Our improvised route went between the blackened trunks of flooded trees under their dense green canopy and emerged beside the floating Catholic Church. We crossed the channel to where a muscled boy was ladling fish into piles in front of squatting ladies who chopped them up with meat cleavers, making a pulp that would ferment into Prahoc or Khmer cheese. So named because Cambodians think cheese stinks.
The Catholic Church
We watched the sun – a blood red orange, set over the core bird reserve from the watch tower on top of the environmental research station, then motored over to the Saray Platform for supper.
Reflections twisted by the wake of motorboats. A cool breeze playing over the boat’s spume.
Hosing the prahok tables ready for tomorrow.
Alien clumps of hyacinth drifting on the water.
Single pin pot lights overly bright in the blackness.
Sunset over the Prek Toal Core Bird reserve
Cotton wool fluff of half seen cloud and the glare of a television set as we came close to people’s houses.
The women weavers on the water hyacinth workshop had gone home but their piers were cooking us supper, fish, vegetables and fruit with rice and a good bottle of chardonnay to wash it down.
Swinging in a hammock in Veasna’s house our home for the night Manus hid a lime in Baby Buntha’s nappy. His sister heaved the heavy little lump across the floor. Some hatchet faced big woman busied herself in our space. The Grandmother on all fours played with the baby. Little sister went skipping to her mummy then wrapped the baby in plastic. All the while pool hall play by the lads in the village. Hide and seek by the water jar, doubled up Grandmother.
Day 2 The Core Bird Reserve
Streaky orange lighting the village as the first long tails cacaphonic clatter echoed across the water. The old lady hawked, the batteries ran out on the night lanterns. We awkwardly crossed the tilting boats to the pool hall barge to meet Heang, who took us for breakfast back at the Saray Platform.
Dawn over Prek Toal
Bunhoeurn was waiting in the community boat for the ride into the magical landscape of the post dawn flooded forest. The light of the warming sun was reflected by the delicate yellow flowers of floating saray plant. Squadrons of cormorants flew in slip stream formation. A profusion of black and white; Oriental darters mixed with egrets, pelicans riding the thermals like galleons in the sky and the bird colonies. Avian cities built in the tallest trees.
The core bird reserve & view from observation platform
Indochine Exploration organises overnight and longer expeditions to Battambang by boat when the river is high and by road when its not.
by Nick | Oct 18, 2014 | Blog
Puok River (that wasn’t) Recce
‘To boldly go where most sane Khmer’s don’t.’
We knew the launch point beside the Angkor Crau Bridge, Sokun (tuktuk driver and Indochineex adventure guide) found it immensely funny that we hadn’t a clue where we were going.
Nick blowing & Sokun pumping
We inflated the kayaks on the banks of a channel that’s just been dug by Apsara to manage the flow of the Siem Reap River as per the Angkorians a thousand years ago, with the aim of stopping the town from flooding and to restore the ancient water systems preventing the foundations of the temples crumbling.
An old man and a couple of children, a smaller than usual crowd attended the assembly of our spaceship and watched as we lifted off or rather splashed down, plonking our bottoms into the kayak, paddling down stream with Puok vaguely in mind.
The river was covered with a patchwork of lotus leaves and intense lilac flowers, the lush green banks were looked over by a few tall trees.
Our first obstacle was a fishing fence right across the channel, which we unhitched. The next low hanging branches, which we pushed our way through to find a straight stretch of water leading to a dam surrounded by quicksand. By the time I’d sunk past my knees I suggested to Buntha we find a different launch point.
Lilac studded waterway
Back on the road or river, easy sailing or paddling to where we reached the plughole, a narrow gap in the banks that funneled the river flow, directing it to spill in a big mess across the countryside.
Curious locals
Valiantly we hauled ourselves through the rope like vegetation past flesh ripping rattan thorns and ended up in a leech infested swamp.
I went off to investigate and after 500 m found a small stream presumably heading towards the river, which we had rather carelessly lost at this stage in our expedition.
‘Tow na?’ Buntha asked a passing cowherd. ‘Arrrrgh,’ he was dumb. None the wiser we launched into the stream through a rice field then came to a halt as it too disappeared into impenetrable bush.
Down the plughole
‘Its all part of the adventure!’ Buntha looked nonplussed. We packed up the kayak and set off along a lovely sandy path in search of somewhere to paddle. A fringe of forest lay ahead, which in all fairness really should be the Baray, confirmed by a man in a ditch. Our way twisted between stilted wooden houses dishevelled with detail emerging on the road by the Baray.
In search of a river
‘Sokun where are you?’ ‘I can’t get my tuktuk round.’ ‘Nothing for it Buntha, lets pump up and paddle across.’ I said giving him an over cheerful grin, he responded with a theatrical groan.
The vast waters of the West Baray stretched into the distance. ‘You said 2km,’ Buntha accused me. ‘2 + 2 + 2,’ I smiled slurping my beer and pulling off a piece of chicken as we swung in our hammocks in the Khmer resort at the South West corner of the Baray just spying the far side where we’d come from.
The Khmer Resort on the Baray
Indochine Exploration has cycling and kayaking adventures around the West Baray and Tonle Sap Lake along recce’d routes but we’re happy to explore and get a little lost with guests on foot, by bike and kayak.
by Nick | Aug 11, 2014 | Blog
The current was flooding up the channel and a Southerly headwind was blowing as we set off from the boat station at Maichrey. Clouds grew dark then faded or pulled down by the weight of the moist air they released heavy drops of rain which exploded around our kayak and soaked us from the start. ‘Tow na Bong?’ They asked Buntha. ‘Prek Toal,’ ‘oey chngai!’ very far they shrieked.
With the wind and the current against us we seemed to be standing still but eventually made it to Maichrey Pagoda, where we rewarded ourselves with the scrogg of cashews and dried apricots I’d brought. The children watched as the aliens (well me) rested on their spacecraft before heading for brave new worlds. In our case Prek Toal.
Setting off from Maichrey
The easy but longer route was via the open lake, the shorter route turned out to be straight ahead over the flooded scrub but we didn’t know the way. The long tailed fibreglass narrow boats with their mind numbing engines have replaced the slow chug of the heavy wooden craft but now their deafening echo was a welcome reassurance that we were going the right way. The Prek Toal telephone mast and later the roof of the tall school (on stilts) confirmed it.
We emerged into the village beside the pagoda. ‘Mow pi na?’ they shouted. ‘Battambang,’ Buntha replied. We were so strange they weren’t sure whether to believe us or not.
Prek Toal in sight
Veasna Buntha’s wife’s family home was a flotilla of houses and shops combined with a pool hall, crocodile cages and the largest floating garden in the village, which reminded me of the dreamtime animal island in the Life of Pie.
Behind Buntha’s house
Floating pool hall with concrete table, pot bellied brother in law playing with 10 year old girl for 2000 Riel.
Buntha and Baby Buntha
Shopping by kayak
Colours come out as the sun goes down and the motorboats make a dance with each other across the channel. 3 families together generator so we had light and the children a TV. They watched the KTV show and made the motions in time with the plastic dancers on the television. The noisy long tails pulled up to drop off the pool players.
Delicately baked fish fresh from the lake, chilli, peanut and lemon sauce and fresh vegetables washed down with copious quantities of ice cold Angkor beer after a long kayak, we were at peace with the world.
My bed was in the line of the breeze next to the crocodile cage and around the corner the toilet ‘au natural’.
My room mates for the night
The generator ran out at 10 and the shuffling of the crocodiles and ringing of the insects took over from the noise of the pool players sending me to sleep.
Setting off for the return
The main Prek Toal channel
Breakfast
Lazy bones, I was the last to wake to a cool grey morning, great for kayaking. We loaded our boat, bade goodbye to Buntha’s family and paddled the short distance to a breakfast place for noodles and beef.
The day was calm and the wind with us so we decided to paddle the longer route via the open lake. Sustained by scrogg and innumerable bottles of water we tried a short cut through the trees at the edge of the lake.
Water hyacinth blocked us at each turn until we found a break in the weeds that lead to a floating camp of illegal fishermen.
Unpeturbed by the harmless barang they pointed the way to the lake and we slogged it back to the Maichrey boat station.
An illegal fishing camp
Indochineex Adventures in Cambodia is pleased to take guests to the floating village of Prek Toal and the flooded forests of the Core Bird Reserve. We kayak between the trees back to Prek Toal Village for lunch on a day trip or overnight sleeping in a home stay as per the description above. We’d be delighted if anyone wants to do the kayak across the lake to the village but given the state of our shoulders the next day we suggest a motorboat back.
by Nick | Jul 26, 2014 | Blog
This is the story of 2 familys adventures along an ancient Angkorian Highway in search of temples hidden in the forest.
Brian, Beth, Uri, Julie and Eve (left to right)
A thousand years ago a canal was dug to ferry the giant blocks of stone that were used to build the temples of Angkor from Kulen Mountain where they were quarried. The canal has long since gone but the road that ran beside remains, now a sandy path for much of the way.
Typical Khmer countryside landscape of sugar palms and flooded paddy fields
Our mission was to cycle where our families had not gone before, along the buffalo track past bright green paddy fields, between picturesque sugar palm trees and through Khmer villages of wooden houses built on stilts to stand proud of the floods. Children rushed out to get a glimpse of the strange ‘barangs’ (foreigners), shrieking goodbye and hello at random. Boys loosely herded buffalo that gently moved apart to let us through.
The Bridge across The Kampong Phluk River
The bridge across the Kampong Phluk River was still strong but the piles had sunk to different depths leaving it twisted like a fairground ride. One by one we cycled across and onto our first stop. A hilltop temple with a pagoda in front constructed of stones looted from the ancient site. The 18 stages of Buddhist hell were graphically depicted on the outer walls, showing sinners filing up to receive judgment of far they would sink into the eternal flames, which included the novel twist of attaching leeches to the nipples of ‘loose’ women.
Inside a throusand year old hilltop Hindu Temple
Grey clouds swelled and darkened until too heavy for the sky they fell as torrential rain. We reached The Amansara Jeeps just in time and set off for the next stage in our adventure.
Walking single file along the dikes between fields and through forest alongside the old road now flooded from recent rains. We came upon a clearing in the jungle and there lay the ancient ruins of the Tamarind Temple.
Inside the Tamarind Temple
We were lead through the portals of the Eastern Gate into a courtyard where a gleaming white tablecloth was adorned with flowers and the promise of a delicious lunch courtesy of Amansara. Cold towels to wipe our sweaty brows and chilled coconut water to revive our flagging souls. To complete the cure Tern, in a smart black uniform popped the champagne cork and we toasted our adventure before the gazpacho was served.
The reward for our adventures
There are many ways to leave a temple, Uri and I walked. The oxcarts were readied for Beth, Julie, Eve and Brian, cushions laid and tarpaulins hung as we bade them farewell. The sound of whirring rotor blades drowned out the crescendo of cicadas as the helicopter appeared over the tree line and settled onto the field next to the temple. We waved as Danny and Eric took off. Cycling is an option during the dry season and we can always kayak if it gets really wet.
1 way to leave a temple, by oxcart
And another, by helicopter
Indochine Adventures in Cambodia in partnership with The Amansara (or independently) organizes bike, hike and simple picnics or champagne lunches in the Tamarind Temple with the different options described to return to Siem Reap.
by Nick | Apr 18, 2014 | Blog
Phnom Kulen National Park covers a line of hills North of Siem Reap. The birthplace of the Angkorian Empire, Kulen predates Angkor Wat by 200 years. The rocky terrain of forest and hilltop villages hides temples, animal statues, rare animals and birds. A conservation initiative involving local villagers has cleared trails into the forest for visitors to see wildlife. This provides an income dependent on keeping not cutting down the trees and leaving the wildlife alone.
The community protected area (CPA) surrounding Preah Ang Thom is 10 or so square kilometers of mainly intact evergreen and boulder forest with a remarkably high biodiversity, including rare Silver Langurs that until last year were though to be experdited from the park. The relatively small area of the CPA means that visitors have a greater than evens chance of seeing the langurs along with Pig-tailed Macaques.
Start of the Langur Trail
Any walk through the forest is accompanied by barking red (variable) squirrels, rising to a crescendo during the mating season when the Kulen fruit is ripening (a small tart lichee). The Giant Squirrel can also be seen during the day and signs of wild pig and muntjac deer are often found.
The liquid warbling of unseen birds rings through the forest and spectacular rarities such as the Greater Hornbill with it’s meter wide wings and flashy yellow stripes and the silent flying Wood Owl are known to be present though seldom seen.
Silver Langurs at Peung Ro’nit
The trail starts at the Ministry of Environment station with Mr Pum a ranger and Chomran from Porpel, a small village on the other side of the CPA. And heads off through Preah Ang Thom, the largest village on Kulen and the site of Cambodia’s biggest reclining Buddha. Once outside the village we head into what appears as pristine forest with the canopy high above providing shade even in Cambodia’s hottest months. Crashing branches might be the signal for a troupe of macaques searching for fruit.
Chomran’s disembodied head appeared out of a hole gouged over the centuries inside a large boulder. We moved onto a giant flat slab of rock, which gave us optimistic views of the forest. Recent runes or more exciting to believe pre-Angkorian petroglyphs had been carved into the surface. The site is a popular macaque and langur moot as evidenced by photos from a camera trap chained to a tree (see above).
Chomran
Boulder forest sprouted between weird sandstone formations that we squeezed through. Peung Ro’nit is a bat cave. The smell told us we were not alone. Our eyes blinded from the brilliant sun didn’t see the bat but lucky for me the photo I fired caught it center-frame.
Tomb Bat inside Peung Ro’nit
There’s not many big trees left in Cambodia outside Angkor Park. A few goliaths remain standing sentinel above the lowered tree line and it felt an honor to be in their presence.
Forest Giant
We’d been walking downhill from the rocky plateau and heard the river before we saw it tumbling down it’s stony bed, scouring bathing pools on route.
Curious pitcher and sticky carnivorous plants grew where water seeped from the ground. It was the ideal place for a picnic and a swim.
The Kulen River
Pitcher & carnivorous plants
We emerged onto the forest highway a few hundred meters on and walked back to Preah Ang Thom. Khmer New Year was well underway and busloads of Khmers had come to pay their respects to the giant Buddha reclining on top of an enormous boulder, which means stuffing hundred Riel notes into every orifice they could find. And if fertility is an issue there’s a giant linga you can lubricate with a pail of water, which spurts out of the surrounding yoni and fertilizes anything it splashes.
Kulen’s 16th century giant reclining Buddha
Linga & Yoni
We were waiting to say our goodbyes to the rangers at the MoE station when we spied a fat grub crawling across the earth beneath where we sat. A bejeweled blue bottle wasp landed beside and arched the sting on its abdomen into the grub’s neck making it shudder and convulse. Death was not quick enough for the wasp so it stung again until the grub remained lifeless. The wasp then straddled the corpse and walked it half a meter to a small hole dragging it down to feed it’s poisonous brood.
The perfect end to an April hike in the Cambodian countryside is a power shower under the Kulen Falls.
The Phnom Kulen Falls
Indochine Exploration contributes to the cost of patrolling the Community Protected Area and has expert lead hikes along the Langur Trail described, as well as mountain bike and longer hiking adventures in the national park.
by Nick | Jan 6, 2014 | Blog
We set off in the Jeep from The Navutu Dreams Lodge on an uncommon and deliciously cool Christmas Eve morn for a special day with Anke and Brando. Leaving Siem Reap behind we headed into a Khmer countryside of patchwork paddy fields dotted with sugar palms, interspersed by streams and ditches and small villages made up of clusters of stilted wooden houses surrounded by fruit trees.
Khmer countryside of rice paddy and sugar palms.
A newly Tarmac’d road followed the route of an ancient highway East towards the hilltop temple of Chau Srei Vibol. The seasonal floods had receded enough for us to cross the baray or moat and bush-bash our way to the East entrance. We walked inside the walls and marveled at the precision of the individually carved blocks of stone in a jigsaw of masonry.
The outer wall of Chau Srei Vibol Temple
A light breakfast of croissants and coffee was served beside the temple pool followed by an exploration of the laterite foundations and sandstone carvings that made up the old library.
Anke photographing Brando inside Chau Srei Vibol Temple
The Jeep came into it’s own as we followed the highway now a sandy track light years away from the hustle and bustle of Siem Reap.
At Andong Pei Village we left the vehicle because a few hundred meters further what was once the road and will be again in a couple of weeks, now appeared to be a lake. Anke and Brando looked a little apprehensive but before we had to wade through the water we turned off the path and walked along the dykes between paddy fields. Upon reaching a small patch of forest, we shuffled single file across a tree trunk bridge. Then bush-bashed a hundred meters to a forest clearing. There in front of us like a scene from a Harrison Ford movie, was the Tamarind Temple or Banteay Ampil.
Indochine Exploration adventure guide Manus checking out the central library of Banteay Ampil Temple
Some facts first, it was built around the same time as Angkor Wat by Suryavarman II a thousand years ago as a point station along a canal that ferried blocks of stone from the hills of Phnom Kulen that were used to build the temples of Angkor. The temple consists of an outer wall still mainly intact with entrances from the East and South, the latter topped by a gopura with an intricately carved relief of a Bodhi tree. A central library remains now gripped by the roots of a silk cotton tree.
Anke photogrpahing inside Banteay Ampil Temple
Back to today, Christmas Eve lunch commenced with a glass of champagne offered as we emerged from the jungle. While Anke photographed the mysterious ruins of an ancient civilization, lunch courtesy of Miss Wong Restaurant (and the ox-cart that ferried it across the flooded paddy), was laid out on linen inside the temple so when Anke and Brando were ready a gazpacho of infused vodka and Mekong lobster tails was served.
Christmas Eve lunch inside Banteay Ampil
Happy and just a touch tiddly we made our way back to the Jeep and the next adventure.
The Tonle Sap Lake is an inland sea slap bang in the middle of Cambodia, which fills and empties each year like a beating heart as the Mekong River surges South then North. The villages along the lakeshore have adapted to the rise and fall of the water by either floating on clumps of bamboo or towering on stilts eight meters above the dry season ground. Kampong Kleang where we were heading fell into the latter category.
Kayaking through the stilted houses of Kampong Kleang Village
Dean, the owner of Miss Wong and master chef for the day, with Indochine Exploration guide Manus, set off on a motorboat to work his culinary magic leaving Anke and Brando lead by me to kayak across the floodplain. In a few months time we’d be walking through rice paddy now we paddled across a vast expanse of water to a distant pagoda and the strange stilted houses that surrounded it. The inflatable bright red expedition kayaks are still a novelty in the village arousing as much interest in us as we had in the villagers. Anke’s shutter clicked continuously as she captured images of a village culture that copes with the Tonle Sap phenomenon.
Manus anchored the kayaks to the landing steps of Mrs. Om’s house and lead Anke and Brando up to the veranda where Tern, the maître’d for the night was waiting with the champagne. We watched the sun set over the village as the fishing boats returned to unload their daily catch. Dinner was ready so Tern served the first course of beetroot carpaccio with walnut bread accompanied by an Oyster Bay sauvignon blanc, followed by tender cutlets of seared Australian lamb and a Scott Base pinot noir.
Drinks before Christmas Eve dinner
The evening’s finale was a magical lightshow laid out across the lake. Small floating lanterns had been lit to attract insects which fell into the water and enticed fish to become entangled in nets below the surface. We motored gently through this sweet spectacle and bade goodnight and Happy Christmas to our guests.
