To everyone who helped me out with my last-minute Cambodian
visa panic in November - thank you very much!
The trip was wonderful and guess what? I'm planning to go
back to Cambodia in a couple of months. Lots of people I
met mentioned Ratankiri province and how beautiful it was,
and this time I think I'd like to head in that direction.
Has anyone been that way recently, and if so, what can I
expect? What I'd really like to know is how long it might
take to get there from Phnom Penh, and what sort of weather
they'll be getting in September time. Also, how bad is the
malaria/dengue fever situation in that part of Cambodia?
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in January/February of this year and really enjoyed it.
Very few travellers go there. For an even more remote and
less touristed area, try Mondulkiri province. (I didn't get
there due to logistics).
I don't think you'll have any health problems but things can
change quickly so you may want to take the necessary
precautions. You'll be arriving close to the end of the
monsoon season so road travel may not be very good. Here is
the excerpt from my diary about Ratanakiri:
BAN LUNG
TRANSPORT: RAC flies round trip for $100. Can also get here
from PP by boat to Kratie, pickup to Stung Treng, pickup to
Ban Lung. Takes 3 days but is NOT recommended due to bandit
activity between Kratie and Stung Treng. I did meet several
travellers who went this way and had no problem. You can
walk into town from the airport just exit to the right.
Every vehicle kicks up clouds of fine red dust which covers
everything. If you fly, try to schedule your return to PP
on Monday or Wednesday when the big plane flies. If the
small (17 seat) plane gets cancelled on a preceeding day,
there may be a problem getting a seat. Make sure you
reconfirm your return flight immediately. The RAC office is
on the right side of the road between Mountain GH and the
market road.
ACCOMMODATION: The choices are Ban Lung GH (closest to
airport), Mountain GH, or Mountain II GH. Hotel Labansiek
doesn't appear to be doing much business these days, Hotel
Ratanak is being remodeled at the moment. Both of these are
near the round-about. I stayed at Mountain ($5 fan room).
A lady named Kim runs the place and also owns Mountain II,
which has a restaurant. She is quite knowledgable and has a
map of the town and list of things to see around Ratanariki
province.
RESTAURANTS: Not much choice here. The American restaurant
(no sign) mentioned in LP guide is apparently on corner
diagonally opposite Mountain GH and is only open for lunch
and dinner. Suppose to be very good value (most items
3000r). Other than the restaurant at Mountain II, there are
numerous food stalls along the road to the market. Another
option might be Disco restaurant Phkay Reatrei (also near
Mountain GH), but I didn't try it.
THINGS TO SEE: You can take trips to Lumphat, Bokheo (gem
mining town), and Voen Sai. The are two waterfalls (Ka
Chhoung & Chaa Ong) nearby, but they are difficult to find
without a guide. Yak Lom volcanic lake is a pleasant place
for a swim. Entry fee for foreigner is 1000r and 100r extra
(yes 100r) to visit the nature center there. It's also a
nice walk around the lake. Here is the opportunity to visit
the minority people (Tupuon and Jarai). If you have the
time, you can try to visit the national park (Virochey?).
See the LP Cambodia Upgrade for more info.