Slow Travel Archive– Cambodia to Borneo
From the archives of our slow travel journey. Hot!!!
It was our own fault. We had a month between leaving Thailand and moving into an apartment on Borneo. We knew April was the hottest month of the year in Cambodia but we decided to go there anyway. We'd just spent two and a half months at the Thai seaside town of Hua Hin, we were acclimatised to the heat, right? Wrong!
Cambodia in April is not just hot, it is blisteringly and devastatingly hot.
We flew into Siem Reap first and were greeted by the tail end of Songkran – kids in the street squirting everyone who went by with water pistols and cannons. Songkran is the Buddhist New Year and also the Water Festival. Back in Thailand we'd had all kinds of adventures with the water-soaked, clay-smeared crowds. The kids in Siem Reap were much more restrained. We travelled everywhere in Siem Reap in tuk tuks, open to the world, so we were bound to get a little wet.
I never thought I'd ever see Angkor Wat. I don't know why, but I didn't think it was possible so it never entered my mind. That's one of the things about slow travel being affordable. Almost everything is possible now. We booked a guide and he took us in the side entrance at dawn when all the crowds were out the front trying to get that perfect sunrise shot. We had the entire place to ourselves. It was magical and awe inspiring. We also visited Ta Prohm, the Tomb Raider temple, which is fascinating. In many ways the trees and their roots are the drawcard there. By this time it was 10am and time to escape the heat.
Phnom Penh is best not talked about but Kampot, a small riverside village in the south of Cambodia, is delightful.
We stayed in a truly beautiful boutique hotel called the Hotel Old Cinema and I thoroughly recommend it. There are many fabulous heritage buildings in Kampot that weren't bombed out of existence by the Khmer Rouge or the US. Sadly the Chinese are doing more damage to the remaining ones by tearing them down to build apartments. I would recommend going there sooner rather than later if you want to enjoy the old world charm.
We stayed longer in Kampot than we'd planned due to my husband's dental problems. Fortunately we found a great dentist and a cheap place to stay. But I kept getting sick with Cambodian colds and stomach bugs, and the heat was so oppressive we couldn't go out during the day. The truth is Cambodia was hard. I was a bit homesick in Hua Hin but in Cambodia it really hit me. We had left a perfectly comfortable home in a gorgeous part of Australia with the best beaches in the world to be stuck inside one room for weeks in a guest house far away from everyone we knew. I was not happy. If I could have gone home I might have. But our house is someone else's home now and we sold or gave away almost everything we owned so the home I was missing actually didn't exist anymore. Besides, I'm glad I didn't.
Our next stop was Kuching, the capital city of the independent Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo.
I love this town. It's a magical place where people of all cultures, religions and races mix in harmony. I think it's due in part to the unique history of Sarawak. Kuching is a glorious mash-up of culture and kitsch. We're staying in a friend's apartment right on the river with glorious views up river towards the Old Town and the spectacular DUN,over the river to the kampongs as well as down river. I am grateful every day. Here I was able to do the edits for The Chocolate Factory and finish the first draft of the 2025 novel (the first half was written in Thailand) in my own designated writing room. Luxury! We've met great people, made good friends and are overwhelmed every day by the friendliness of the Sarawakians. There have been celebrations, festivals, parades and fire works almost every week. The Sarawakians are proud of their culture and history. Oh, and the food is amazing. In Kuching my homesickness has fallen away completely. I feel revitalised party due to the cooler (but still hot) weather but also the energy of Kuching itself. It's uplifting. I am happy here.
I'm sure I'll return to Kuching at some stage. It's irresistible.