Having more than enough days in Koh Kong ...and not too much in terms of tourist attractions in the area, we managed to explore the area and town at leisure. Koh Kong is a border town between Cambodia and Thailand. Gambling is not allowed in Thailand and there is a Casino right at the border crossing in Cambodia. For the rest - there seems to be a lot of fishing in this area - along a very tidal river. Crab is also a speciality here. For some reason - never quite worked out why, there seems to be a substantial german expat community in Koh Kong ...who all look like serious drop-outs with the craziest dress-sense. When I asked the german baker, what had brought him to Koh Kong he flatly ignored my question ...obviously not the done thing here to ask about such personal things.
There were several highlights to our time in Koh Kong. We hired motorbikes and drove to the Tatei Waterfall - about 30 minutes scooter ride away. Amazing environment - clean water (in spite of refuse on the banks), warm and extremely powerful. Wonderful to swim in and feel the power of the water. Beautiful scenery all around ...such a treasure.
At Thmorda we had the use of the kayaks, and managed to go paddle up the river and through the mangrove forests during the day and also at night. The statues depicting the Buddhist Hell (did not realise there was such a thing !!) on the neighbouring property of the WAT, with lots of practicing monks, was eerie enough during the day ...but seriously eerie in the light of the full moon. Clint ventured out into the darkness on a kayak on his own one night, and felt slightly uneasy, when he saw the statues in the moonlight, the water started bubbling under him. Eerie moment ...flying fish the cause. The river is extremely tidal and at this stage the water receeded strongly in the evenings - with the water being about 1/2 a meter deep only ...especially around the mangrove forests. The area is known for its glow-worms and also glowing plankton in the water - and we managed to marvel at both on our night-time paddles. Such amazing natural phenomena ...so priviledged to have witnessed it at such close range. The mangrove forests are also some of the largest in the world. Paddling up the river, one sees just a few homesteads and huts along the river, seemingly belonging to subsistence fishermen. Such a green, lush and peaceful environment ...all that is to be heard is the swish of the paddle through the water. This river should be a slalom skiers paradise ...water like glass most of the time. And the full moon over the jungle of the Cardomon Mountains ...just perfect. A time to take time to connect to all the simple things in life. Utter bliss.
We made the most our private terrace - indulging all the senses with early morning yoga sessions.

Seeing that there was a beach close by, we decided to do a sunset dinner at the long sandy palm fringed beach. The sunset was idyllic and the dinner really good - after the initial bartering about the price of the meals. Later we discovered that we most probably got the pricing all wrong - that the meals were for all of us ...the Cambodian way of eating ...rather than single meals, which would explain the much higher prices. Definitely the very best Tom Yum Goong I have EVER had (and there have been many !! ) and just SOOOOO much seafood in it. Clint and I went back the next day for lunch ...but sadly the standard was not consistent. The meal was not bad ...but not close to the meal the night before.
The rest of the crew found a local eatery in Koh Kong, where the food was exceptionally cheap (definitely meant for the locals), but also really good. Always an adventure to find the best local places - both in terms of quality of food and price.
We shortened our stay in Thmorda by one night - so that we would also remain within the Visa times - as every day over is USD5 per person. We also felt that we had exhausted the excitement and chilling that Thmorda had to offer and could do with another shopping day in Bangkok.
A kind young gentleman from the Thmorda staff (who had looked after us well on our visit due to his good command of English) accompanied us to the border and assisted with the Border crossing. The only negative was, that both Dylan and Ryan needed a visa for at least 20 days ...before their departure from Bangkok, but at the border could only get a visa for 15 days. This meant that they would have to arrange an additional visa for the few days - at substantial cost.
Our trip to Bangkok from Koh Kong was uneventful - and especially luxurious - as we had a private transfer in an airconditioned luxury van, with a great driver. This made this journey rather pleasant, which can be rather arduous, when you have the alternative to take the 3 connecting busses. Last bit of travel luxury for Dylan, Ryan, Ricki and Jemma - who would be doing their own thing on a rather tight budget for the next 3 weeks.
An interesting aside on Cambodia. Siem Reap is the main tourist town of Cambodia, due to its proximity to Angkor Wat and Tonle Sap Lake. This means that the trade in tourist goods ...e.g. T shirts and all other souvenirs is really good here. There were some really worthwhile products on sale - both in terms of price and quality. Quality also in terms of fabrics and design. As this was our first stop on our travels, I decided not to buy here - but rather to spread it over the next few places on our itinerary - to spread the spending to other communities and also not to have to carry it with us wherever we went. Bad decision !! There were no other touristic products on sale ...except perhaps in Sihanoukville, where we did not spend much time. Battambang, Kep and Koh Kong did not have any such things on sale. Pity ! Missed out !

And so ended our magical trip to Cambodia. Hopefully the powers to be will come to their senses and protect the pristine ecology of this beautiful country, before the scourges of civilisation, litter and polution, and greedy developers destroy it.