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The greener side of Cambodia Pro Tip

Pack sunscreen, mosquito repellent, long pants and hiking shoes. Enjoy the journey and some uncertainties that come with it: There may be some mis-communication for boat bookings from Andoung Teuk to Chi Phat, for instance, but it sees enough tourists that most glitches are sorted out soon enough.

Pack sunscreen, mosquito repellent, long pants and hiking shoes. Enjoy the journey and some uncertainties that come with it: There may be some mis-communication for boat bookings from Andoung Teuk to Chi Phat, for instance, but it sees enough tourists that most glitches are sorted out soon enough.

Chi Phat in Cambodia is probably not everybody’s idea of a holiday, but if the prospect of roughing it out, doing a healthy amount of trekking, mountain biking or swimming at a waterfall sounds appealing, this eco-tourism spot could be the gateway to great fun.

I had been to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap a few years before, so the chance to see another side of Cambodia — its nature and a community sustaining itself through eco-tourism near the foot of the Cardamom Mountains — was welcome.

Chi Phat is about four-and-a-half hours by bus south-west from Phnom Penh. I’d asked the lady at the ticket office of Virak Buntham bus company, near Sisowath Quay, to tell the bus coordinator (who only spoke Khmer) that I would need to alight at Andoung Teuk, a nondescript spot along the highway. The passenger beside me turned out to be Cambodian Chinese, so I took the opportunity to be doubly sure and asked him to nag the bus coordinator on my behalf.

Four other tourists alighted with me and we took a boat — piloted by a petite, fashionable local in skinny jeans and beaded platform slippers — from Andoung Teuk to Chi Phat commune.

She guided us to the visitors’ centre when we arrived, and I was shown an extensive catalogue of treks and other activities on offer.

There are activities catering to those who prefer less physical exertion, such as a boat ride to watch fireflies at night, as well as to hardcore outdoorsy types. Some last between two and seven days and take trekkers deep into the forest, with nights spent in hammocks and a chance of spotting more wildlife. I opted for two full-day treks that offered waterfalls and a bat cave.

Eco-tourism in Chi Phat — a former hub of wildlife smuggling and illegal logging — began around 2008, supported by an environmental non-government organisation called Wildlife Alliance. The village consists of about 550 families and, from what I could observe, the locals make a living from tourism by cooking for visitors, offering rooms in their homes as guesthouse accommodation, providing motor-taxi services and serving as guides to trekkers and mountain bikers. All treks are guided, and some guides apparently used to be poachers.

My guide on the first trek was the pint-sized, affable Rat (pronounced “raht”), who works as a school librarian. Born and bred there, he knows everyone in the village. And as a tractor trundled past to harvest bananas when we were a few kilometres into the walk, he hitched us a ride. We bounced violently on the back of the tractor for what felt like about 10km, shaving off part of the 26km we would otherwise have made on foot. Besides its novelty, the tractor ride allowed me to take in the grasslands and birds along the way.

When we were back on our feet, we came across a tarantula’s nest and a gecko, and plucked some sweet bananas and ate them fresh from the tree.

O’Malu waterfall made the trek worthwhile. The waterhole was lovely to take a dip in, and the waterfall featured a nook big enough to fit a couple of humans, where one could be still, listen and feel the water pounding down at just the right intensity. Seasoned swimmers would also have a blast launching into the water from heights of 5m or more.

My trek the next day, with a Swiss-Dutch couple and our guide, covered 19km and took us to another waterfall, a bat cave, and a river ideal for a swim. The water was once again such sweet, beautiful relief after a sweaty hike and there were butterflies aplenty, with many resting easily on my outstretched thumb and on my shoes, probably feeding on the salty nutrients in the mud caking them.

No bats were spotted in the cave behind a waterfall, but then, none of us had taken flashlights along.

Visitors usually arrive back in Chi Phat village at about 4.30pm after full-day activities, which allows enough time to cool off and take a shower before dinner. Meals are fairly simple affairs but offer an opportunity to chat with other tourists, who may be staying at other guesthouses or at the eco-lodge, an alternative accommodation option that I heard was a tad posher than the no-frills guesthouses.

There are no nightlife options to speak of in Chi Phat, so it really is a destination to hit the sack and rise early, to make the most of its surrounding sights and natural wonders. You’ll be able to indulge in shopping, cafes and other pleasures associated with a city once arriving back in Phnom Penh or another more developed part of Cambodia.

Getting there

Buses from Phnom Penh to Koh Kong, run by company Virak Buntham, will stop at Andoung Teuk if you ask. It costs about US$7 (S$8.75) and takes four-and-a-half hours from Phnom Penh (Virak Buntham’s station is along the riverfront north of the Night Market) to Andoung Teuk. From Andoung Teuk, take a boat or motorcycle-taxi (US$7 to US$10) to Chi Phat.

Where to stay

Guesthouses, which are rooms within the houses of villagers, come with mosquito nets and cost about US$5 per night. Dinner at the visitors’ centre costs US$3.50. To find out more, visit www.chi-phat.org.

Highlights

Trekking, mountain biking, kayaking and swimming. There are trails aplenty —the reason tourists visit the eco-tourism spot at the foot of the Cardamom Mountains. Full-day activities cost about US$15 to US$25, depending on the number of people in the guided group, and include breakfast and a packed lunch.

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