January 25, 2024
Day Phnom 5: Hill Station
A bike climb up the mountain
While having dinner last night at the Kampot Hideaway guesthouse, the hosts told me something intriguing: "There is a place nearby called Bokor Mountain that has a casino at the very top in the middle of nowhere."
So much for retreating from the temptation to lose all my money. I was going to make a beeline for this place. It could be done with a day trip, leaving the luggage behind and taking the bike around 45km each way. The mountain was also 1000 meters high so it was no small feat.
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Besides the beauty of this place, you can use boats to transport back and forth. The Saudi guy I met last night explained that he hates traffic so much (we are kindred spirits in that regard) he just goes from his house to the Hideaway in a kayak for food and beers and then works online. If there is anything needed from the market or in town, he sends his wife to get it.
At a nice early hour I set off. Immediately this was a beautiful ride. The weather was cooler, the people waving and smiling, and so many small shops and cafes worth stopping for along the way. The initial 15km sailed along very smoothly and then it was the turnoff for the national park.
The climbing began straight away. It never got more than a 5% gradient which was very refreshing. It made for a steady climb at around 10 km/h speed and staying in higher than usual gears. I wasn't sweating at all.
I had been told about the monkeys, but they were very chill and not much of a nuisance at all. There was so little traffic and the interactions with tourists were all very positive, so they had no reason to attack us or play tricks. I always figured that animals can sense the vibes of a place, and in this sense it was extremely chill as were they.
While stopping to watch the monkeys, a couple rolled in on a scooter. Actually I saw dozens if not hundreds of other foreigners riding scooters up the mountain and I commented to this couple, "Man I sure would like to be riding one of those scooters right now." There was every reason I could have done so, rentals are dirt cheap, but I had to cycle this in order to work off all the calories from the excess beer in the last couple days.
They said, "We're teaching in Taiwan and this is how we get around so it's easy to get used to it." I said, "Oh that's interesting, I work in China." They said, "Please tell your leader not to bomb us ok? The DPP won the third term election and the very next day China launched missiles across the Taiwan boundary line. My parents were freaking out but I told them not to worry, this is just what China does." I said, "Yes, that's pretty much the case, it's just sabre rattling" and we laughed and parted.
Unfortunately, we can't be so sure of that. I fell into this trap of thinking in the weeks prior to when Russia invaded Ukraine. I said something like, "Oh there's no way there'll be a war, Putin is just bluffing" but then the tanks rolled in. That day in February 2022 was also China's canary in the coal mine moment.
With each twist and turn of the road I felt better. This was, in a sense, very therapeutic and a key reason why this tour was happening. But the pace of healing was happening very slow. In a way that's how it should be. With all the trauma I have been through in my life in the past several years, it is unrealistic to expect quick healing in a few conversations or bike rides. This was going to take a long time to heal, but I felt confident that day by day, I would start chipping away at the callouses.
It was all I could do to push these thoughts about China and Russia out of my head and practice meditation techniques while on the bike. The simplest technique was to just focus on my surroundings and take in as much detail as possible, and it worked amazingly well.
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This was totally out of place with the surroundings. While there had been no traffic coming up the mountain, all of a sudden there was a myriad of construction and development at the top. This was backed up by all sorts of truck traffic. There must be some Chinese construction companies working on this development, as the casino of course is run by a Chinese boss.
Once at the casino the parking lot was deserted so I put my bike off the side out of place and walked in. Right away the doorman asked where I was going. I said, "Casino". He said, "You're not allowed. It's for private guest access only. You can walk around the lobby area only." I did so but then snuck off to an adjacent restaurant. While there I ordered some delicious food and the waiter later told me, "There are rooms you can sleep here for $30 a night." I perked up at that. For this amount of luxury it would have been a steal, but then the only way it was this cheap was it had to be subsidized by the casino. And I had already booked two nights at the Hideaway back in Kampot.
So then what, tell the good guys there I'm staying at a casino and they should give me my money back? It would be an extremely dick move to do that. And for what purpose? A remote luxury hotel would have no chances to meet people or have chats at the bar. I could access the casino but then probably lose tons of money. Who knows what else might happen. So the only decision was a no brainer really, get on the bike and leave. The restaurant prices were very reaosonable, so I left a tip and that was that.
Next it was a ride to the waterfall but there was no water. Not the right season, but it was still very peaceful.
I got into the town then found the bar where the owner had introduced himself last night while dropping into the Hideaway. His bar was in the downtown area of Kampot and was quite successful. He has a pretty good deal, he rides his scooter around all day while the wife manages the place. But then I saw that look on her face while they talked and immediately recognized she wasn't happy with that arrangement. When a woman looks a certain way, you just know.
Even so, we had great chats and the draft beers were amazingly cheap. 50 cents each so I downed five of them like they were water. Now we were getting towards the local prices. He explained a lot about how the bar works, and not surprisingly, it is hard to keep staff. The bargirls are more interested in finding s̶u̶c̶k̶e̶r̶s̶ boyfriends and they leave after a short time. Even so, the smart guys won't fall for these traps, and the smart bargirls will keep working at the bar.
Later it was back to the Hideaway for some well deserved chicken on a stick mixed with fries.
I told the whole story to the hosts and they were astonished. Ashley said, "This must be a new thing, I didn't know they had rooms up there." As we kept talking though, they said, "It's a good thing you didn't go in the casino. The question is, if you won big, do you really think you would be coming down that mountain?" Apparently you need security for something as small as $1000
The casino is totally out of place. The contrast between the rich and the poor is staggering, and the Chinese mafia who run the place can't be up to any good. It ended up far better that I wasn't allowed in.
Today's ride: 87 km (54 miles)
Total: 144 km (89 miles)
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