After the embrace of beachy Sihanoukville we travelled east to Kampot (see previous entry) and hopped in the back of a truck to brave the rough, ruddy jungle road to Bokor National Park. It was a bumpy ascent through the cacophony of insects and strange tropical birds with deep, resonant song. 41km on the edge, and off the edge, of our seats. On several occasions we were nearly decapitated by low, fallen trees.
We opted to stay overnight and once the tour groups left we had the complex to ourselves. The mysterious caverns of ill-lit hallways, rooms and makeshift dungeons were eerie. The fog rolled up the mountain and we watched the approach. It swirled over the treetops as they sloped towards the summit.
There are many dilapidated buildings at the hill station (casino, hotel, post office, church) which were used as bunkers during intense, lengthy battles between the Khmer and Vietnamese armies. Where the walls haven't been blown away bullet holes filter in the sunlight. We wandered the abandoned rooms as wind howled through the hallways and empty spaces.
We slept in the ranger station. The power there is run by generator until about 9pm, then there is darkness and silence except for the wind. In the morning I awoke thinking there was rain pelting against our window. In fact it was just the force of the wind tearing through the space between our building and its neighbour. It sounded like a typhoon.
Before our group arrived to carry us back down the mountain we ate a breakfast of crackers, bananas and peanut butter on the terrace of the casino. Note to future visitors to Bokor: Bring food.
At least we had a nice view:
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