Bus rides in Asia are always an experience

At half past six in the morning I called a Grab Tuk Tuk, which took me to the bus stop in Phnom Penh. Before I could get into the van that took me to Kratie, I had to wait a few more minutes.

The van I was driving was pretty full, all the seats were occupied and there were four children on the bus who only found space on their parents‘ laps. Something that is quite normal in Asia.

One of the families sat next to me. So I had pretty little space and every few minutes a child would sit somewhere at my feet or fall asleep on my arm.

The road leading to Kratie was definitely not the best road. We kept going through potholes. Of course, the bus driver didn’t take this as an opportunity to reduce his speed, which made the whole trip to Kratie quite adventurous.

When we arrived in Kratie, the driver first stopped at a restaurant, where we then took a break. The restaurant was only 100 meters from the bus stop where we were supposed to stop and 200 meters from my accommodation. I then asked the bus driver if I could have my luggage, as it just didn’t make sense for me to wait until everyone had eaten and then drive another 100 meters.

But he didn’t speak English, which is why he always answered „No“. Eventually a friend of his came over and translated between the two of us. I was finally allowed to have my luggage and made my way to my accommodation.

Something like that has happened to me quite often in Asia. You’ve actually arrived at your destination, but then there’s another break and you have to wait until you drive another 100 meters.

Arrived at my accommodation in Kratie

There are no hostels in Kratie, which is why I booked a guesthouse. I got there at 11 o’clock. Luckily I was able to check in straight away. I had booked a three-bed room, but I was the only one in it at the time. In general, the guesthouse seemed very quiet and I didn’t have the feeling that other people were there.

But the accommodation was really nice. There was a terrace overlooking the Mekong River. The rooms were clean and very well maintained.

First I unpacked my things, changed my clothes and got ready. As I arrived in Kratie so early I still had the whole day to do something

Off to Kaoh Trong

An hour later I was on my way. I wanted to go to the small island of Kaoh Trong, which is across the Mekong River from Kratie. I then asked at reception where the ferry would depart from. There the owner of the accommodation explained to me that the ferry would leave directly opposite the accommodation and I would see from the terrace when the ferry came. So I should just wait there. Fortunately, I could already see that the ferry was just leaving the island for the mainland. So I left just a few minutes later.

The ferry was mainly designed so that you could drive your scooter on it. If you wanted to sit down, there were only broken plastic chairs. But until we finally left and drove to the island, it took at least 45 minutes. But the journey went very quickly.

When I got to the island I could rent a bike for $2 USD. Since Kaoh Trong is not very big, you can easily cycle around it once. As soon as I had my bike, I set off. I only drove a short distance and I immediately fell in love with the island because it had a vibe all of its own.

Exploring Cambodia’s hidden gems

I didn’t see any tourists the whole time I was there. Only locals living there in their huts with their animals that you saw everywhere. Watching life there was so interesting and exciting and the nature just incredibly beautiful.

I hadn’t seen any pictures of the island before, just heard that it’s supposed to be good. So of course I didn’t have any expectations and I didn’t have that „oh yes, I already know that from the photos“ moment. Because I was there alone and not a rush of tourists, I had the feeling of being in an undiscovered place.

I would have liked to stop every few meters because it was so incredibly beautiful. When I got to the end of the island, the given path stopped and I had to drive off road. But that was also a very special experience. When I finally found myself in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by palm trees and a cow pasture, I stopped and just enjoyed the moment. Being all alone in such a beautiful place is an indescribable feeling.

At some point I drove further and explored the island further. Again and again I passed local people who greeted me in a friendly way and children who waved at me or stopped me to shake hands. Everyone has been extremely friendly to me and excited to see me.

I visited another temple on the island, which was closed but looked really beautiful from the outside with its many bright colors. I also looked at a fishing village, which I could only see from afar.

The local market in Kratie

I was thinking, since there are only 7 kilometers to circumnavigate the island, whether I should do another trip around. But since it was already 5 pm. and I didn’t know when the last ferry would leave, I decided against it. Instead, I returned the bike and made my way to the ferry. Exactly at the moment when I arrived, the ferry left.

10 minutes later I was already in Kratie. There I went to the local market, looked at it and bought some fruits. The market was full of stalls where locals sold fresh food such as fruit, vegetables, fish or meat. I looked at the market and then went back to my accommodation. There were also a few European tourists sitting on the restaurant terrace. But actually the restaurant was the only place where I saw a few tourists, otherwise I was only surrounded by locals. But I really liked being able to come to such a beautiful place that wasn’t overrun by tourists but seemed totally untouched.

In the evening I also ate in the restaurant. Since there was only pizza or pasta to choose from, I opted for pizza.

A day trip to Kampi

The next morning I had breakfast on the guesthouse terrace. There was omelets and toast. Right after breakfast I borrowed a scooter to drive to Kampi. Kampi is a place only 15 kilometers north of Kratie. Although it wasn’t far, it took me a while to get to Kampi. The road was extremely rough and full of potholes. Of course, this meant that my progress was slow. But that wasn’t a problem because the track was very nice. At the roadside I could see many local shops as well as the wooden huts where the locals lived.

Spotting dolphins on the Mekong River

When I arrived in Kampi, I first did a boat tour on the Mekong River where you can see dolphins. The dolphins that can be seen in Kampi are Irrawaddy dolphins which are endangered. It is estimated that there are only 80 Irrawaddy dolphins left who have their home in the Mekong River. The fishermen in Kampi therefore take care of the approximately 20 dolphins that live on the Kampi coast.

Also like in Kratie, no tourists were to be seen. So it was very quiet on the Mekong River. Only a few boats could be seen. An elderly man took me out onto the river in a small motorboat. We waited there and I kept an eye out for the dolphins. Pretty quickly I was able to see the first dolphin that appeared briefly on the water surface.

Most of the time nothing happened in the water, only one dolphin appeared every now and then. However, I never knew where one of the dolphins would appear next, so I had to keep my eyes peeled.

If no dolphins appeared for a while, the boat driver would continue across the water to another spot where the engine would be shut off and we would wait for the dolphins. When a dolphin appears, the dolphins snort.

During the whole time on the water I could see one or the other dolphin from time to time. As the boat tour slowly came to an end, dolphins appeared all around the boat. I didn’t even know where to look first. The boat tour was over far too soon. The boat driver took me back to shore after an hour.

Exploring Kampi

From there I made my way further into Kampi with my scooter. There really isn’t much in Kampi because it’s a very small place. I then stopped at the river that runs through the town and leads into the Mekong River and took a closer look at the area.

Finally I drove back to Kratie. There I spent the rest of the afternoon on the terrace in the guesthouse. I used the time there to work off a few things from my to-do list. In the afternoon I drove off again and bought fruit at the market in Kratie.

After that I started packing my things and ate pizza on the terrace in the evening.

After dinner I went straight to bed because my bus left at six o’clock the next morning. My next stop was Kampot. Since there was no bus from Kratie that went directly to Kampot, I first had to drive back to Phnom Penh and from there to Kampot.

If you would like to know what I experienced during my time in Kampot, please read my next blog post Temples and abandoned places in Bokor Nationalpark in Kampot – Cambodia Travel Diary.