Wow.
It's so different from anything else I've seen. And I love it.It' s like something out of an Enid Blighton book.
Children run out of their houses screaming HELLO.
When you say Hi back, they scream Hello even louder.
Absolutely everyone smiles.
The hills are green. The whisky nasty. And nothing here is made to order-.
Let me explain.
Ban Lung in the Ratankiri province.
The road to ban lung from Ratankiri is described as the bastard child of the devil himself. 6 hours of up, down, up, down, swerve, ... and repeat that for a couple of hours. I fortunately got there in 6 hours. Other backpackers I met took 24 hours to get there. Their bus broke down 3 times.
Enough about the roads. Or that road at least.
The first day I teamed up with a Danish guy called Mikel and visited the 7 step waterfall. The road to the waterfall is only called a road because the trees have been cleared from that path.It is the worst road I have ever been on. And if they ever pave it, the place will LOSE it's charm.By the end of the 1 hour journey you're covered with red mud from head to toe. Like orange smurfs.Both sides of the road are lines with the greenest rubber trees I've ever seen. And of course, kids jumping out of their huts screaming HELLO.
I did think the 7 step waterfall was amazing. Till I saw 2 more waterfalls the next day.These places are only seen in movies and nowhere else.Think of this hollow gorge, huge rocks and trees all around, with a waterfall on one side. You can get behind the waterfall into a cave. Or swing from vines - Tarzan Style and jump into the water.
The two similar ones are Ka Tien and Ka Chang. All of them sound like cash registers don't they? (kaching kaching).
After that the lake. Oh the lake. How do I describe this one. It's supposed t be a meteor lake. And is almost perfectly round - again surrounded by trees.I hooked up with a nice bunch from the hotel to go to the water falls and the lake.
Found a nice tree that bends over the deep end. Climbed up to around 15 feet. And Splash.
Trust me, when you're up there, it's scares the hell out of you. And you can't tell people the water dripping from your pants is the water from the lake. Because you haven't jumped in as yet.
But it's absolutely amazing. The water is clean, cool and can see through the water for about 6-7 feet.
Can't get enough of this place. And the evenings are as much fun.
Justin - the Cambodian born Australian boy
Scot - The spaced out American from
Janine - the Dutch girl who like potatoes
Sandra - the German who claimed she was a vegetarian (animal cruelty was her reason) - but wore leather shoes.
And Dominic - The British chap who would close his eyes and recite poems after a couple of drinks.
The locals drinks which mess with you.I tried a questionable one called Tiger whiskey. Ooooh fire!
Ban lung has so far been my favourite place.Right now i'm back at Kratie.But all that later.
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