Introduction to Koh Kong, Cambodia Friday 19th April 2017

Spending 6 weeks on a tropical island definitely did not prepare our traveling 50 somethings for the culture shock of Koh Kong.

Koh Kong is not your idyllic luxury tourist destination.  If you are wanting to experience local life in Cambodia, then Koh Kong would be a worth while place to visit and experience.  The streets are lined with residences ranging from colonial mansions to modest houses interspersed with wooden or tin shanty-type dwellings. There is however a general air of acceptance with one’s lot in life and little noticeable segregation between the well-off and the not so well-off. A familiar sight (for South Africans) is the high security palisades, spiked gates and burglar bars adorning the larger more affluent-looking houses.  When walking around the town whether in the day or night, one feels quite safe although the town is somewhat reminiscent of a well-established township in S.A.  The local children are so welcoming and friendly and our travelers were constantly being greeted by smiling faces with waves and cheery “hello’s”.

The same can be said for the local children attending the English classes at the TEFL International School run by Nico Millen and his lovely wife.  This South African couple have opened their home to teach the local children of Koh Kong how to speak English while also running a successful TEFL school. Nico is passionate about improving the level of  English here on Koh Kong and refers to Koh Kong as a paradise.

Koh Kong is a small town on the east side of the Koh Pao River and is the capital of Koh Kong province. The Millen residence/school/TEFL Academy is about 100 metres from the road which runs along the Koh Pao riverside. Sitting at one of the many riverside restaurants one can see fishing boats, long-tail boats and other river craft on the river, (which at this point is more-or-less 1 km wide), or tied up at small piers and wharves along the river bank.

Photo Gallery of the riverside road

The riverside is also the location of the nightly street market where food of various sorts is prepared and sold by street vendors. The bright lights and the bustling and congregating of the local patrons are accompanied by tantalizing aromas. Our travelers will most definitely try some local food from the street vendors before leaving Koh Kong.

Large expensive SUV’s share the roads with bicycles, scooters, Tuk Tuks and pedestrians. Keeping in mind that Cambodians officially drive on the right-hand side of the road, is something our two intrepid adventurers are finding difficult. Firstly, driving on the right is a foreign concept and secondly, Cambodians seem to take that road rule as more of an advisory recommendation than an actual law.

Walking facing oncoming traffic (as learned from young) is all well and good but it is very common for one to hear, then feel and finally see a scooter zooming past from behind leaving one rather breathless and the hair on your arms and legs standing on end. Scooters driving along the right side of the road will meander over to the left if the driver is heading towards a shop on the left-hand side of the road and vice-versa for those leaving a shop on the left-hand side of the road. The result is a confusing ballet of complicated choreography simply terrifying to watch. Then, magically, by the traffic circle up ahead, all vehicles follow the correct traffic lanes, only to diffuse into organized chaos again after the circle.

Walking along the road can cause severe whiplash as one simply has to constantly check behind to the left, behind to the right, ahead to the left and ahead to the right. Richard has an idea to capitalize on this by designing and selling a Cambodian Pedestrian Survivor Helmet. This comes equipped with a left and a right rear-view mirror as well as an intersection management system (a small hooter with which to indicate you are about to cross an intersection). The latter is very important as there are no stop signs at any intersections. The only control for road users is to hoot frantically when approaching one of these cross-roads in the hope that anyone else approaching will hear you and slow down to allow you through. It can become quite musical as scooters from all four side-roads reach an intersection together, hooting intricately and weaving their way around each other (amazingly collision free). If you are an adrenaline junkie or into extreme sport, hire and drive a scooter around the circle on the main road in Koh Kong. Bound to get your blood pumping!

And then the currency!  Well now that is something else to become accustomed to.  Just having gotten the hang of thinking in terms of the Thailand Baht our travelers now have to work with Cambodian Riel and American Dollars (Dollars accepted, and sometimes preferred). At the same time they are mentally calculating the value in South African Rands. Complicating things,  but thankfully, with Koh Kong being so close to the Thailand border, the Baht is accepted so the two new Cambodians are also trying to use up their last Thailand Baht.

To give an example of the currency in Cambodia, 3 331 Rands is equivalent 1 million Cambodian Riel! A packet of cigarettes (Camel, nogal) costs 4 187 Riel (equivalent to 1 Dollar or 14 Rand or 34 Baht). Cigarettes, beers (and other alcohol), food, accommodation and transport is definitely cheaper than on Koh Samui.

The next few days in Koh Kong, waiting for their business visa’s, will no doubt add to the eye-opening, mind-broadening and life-enriching journey they are on. A journey which is teaching them not to take simple things like pavements, drainage, sanitation, refuse removal, flushing toilets, baths (Mandy misses her bubble baths) for granted.

And maybe the most important, how awesome it is to share life experiences, no matter where you find yourself in the world, with someone you love.