River sights in Cambodia
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Andoung Tuek
On the western side of the highway bridge over Preak Piphot, this river port can be used as a jumping-off point for a boat trip along the east coast of Botum Sakor National Park and for an excursion upriver to Chi Phat. Andoung Tuek is on NH48 98km from Krong Koh Kong and 191km from Phnom Penh.
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Ta Op
Small boats can be taken up into four mangrove-lined streams that are rich in wildlife, including the pileated gibbon, long-tailed macaque and black-shanked douc langur: Ta Op, the largest, on the east coast; Ta Nun in the middle of the south coast; and Ta Nhi and Preak Khsach on the east coast.
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Koh Kapi
On the Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary's west coast, along both banks of a channel, is the Venice-like village of Koh Kapi. Each of the fishers' houses - held aloft by stilts - has a blue or green wooden boat docked outside. Ask around to find a local family willing to prepare a fresh fish or seafood meal.
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Kbal Spean
In the midst of the jungle, cool water rushes over a skilfully carved river bed, known as Kbal Spean or the 'River of a Thousand Lingas'. The phallic symbols of fertility have been shaped into the rocks along with some deities that recline under a set of rapids. It takes about 1½ hours to get here from Banteay Srei on a sandy track. From the entrance, it is another 30-minute walk. The trip out here is best combined with a visit to Banteay Srei.
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Phoum Kandal & Chong Kos
A short sail from Kompong Chhnang's waterfront takes you to two colourful floating villages, Phoum Kandal to the east and Chong Kos to the northwest. Much less commercial than Kompong Luong, they have all the amenities a mainland village would have - houses, machine tool shops, veggie vendors, a mosque, a petrol station - except that almost everything floats. Many of the people are ethnic Vietnamese.
From the Tourism Port, you can charter a big wooden boat with space for eight (around US$8) for a one-hour excursion. A cheaper, quieter and more ecological option, available about 300m to the west, is to get around like the floating villagers do: on a narrow wooden boat…
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Areng River Valley
The nearby Areng River Valley, some of whose inhabitants belong to the Khmer Daeum minority community, is home to the dragonfish (Asian arowana), almost extinct in the wild, and the world's most important population of critically endangered Siamese crocodiles, toothy critters that don't eat people.
In 2007 researchers found 23 Siamese crocodile eggs in a nest on the Areng River, in the Central Cardamoms Protected Forest. They took 12 eggs to a protected site where, 45 days later, all hatched; after being blessed by monks, they were released back into the river. Observations confirmed that all 11 eggs left behind also hatched. It's hard to believe but these 23 hatchlings…
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