Bokor

Bright and early (for us anyway), our second crotch-rocket shows up, a sporty white number with a working headlight. It looks up to club standards, but to be sure my old lady takes it for a somewhat wobbly test drive before giving it a thumbs up. We’re cruising the highway today, so take advantage of the complimentary helmets (fortunately, each bike comes with two so I can choose the one without the giant crack). With this much protection we can’t possibly get hurt, so with the roar only 125ccs can provide, we’re off.

It takes a good 10km or so before we really get the hang of it, but pretty soon we’re doing an enviable job of keeping up with the locals. Good timing as we’re about to start on the windy, mountain road up to the Bokor Hill Station. As far as we can tell, there isn’t a whole lot to see at the top but a bunch of abandoned remains from when the French needed a place to escape from the heat at lower elevations. Old stuff can be cool though (just ask my trusty travel companion), and its a great opportunity for us to figure out how much we like the biker life.

The highlight is the old Bokor Palace Hotel & Casino, a grand colonial building set on a cliff overlooking the rainforest. Not long ago you could wander through the empty halls as the wind wailed around you (an even creepier experience when the summit was shrouded in fog, but today the carcass is full of workers starting in on a renovation. From the look of other buildings around here, construction projects start and stop with some regularity, so a month or two from now when it gets really hot, who knows what will new happening here.

There are a few other ruins, including an old church, but my fellow rider is getting a little anxious about getting off of the mountain before dark so we only stop for a few pictures.

Oddly, the most interesting building on Bokor has nothing to do with the French. Rather it is a 500 room, Vegas-style behemoth surrounded by acres of empty parking lots. There are clearly some financial shenanigans at play to justify such a project, as this place has to be burning money as fast whoever owns it can shovel it in. There’s talk of turning Bokor into a destination resort and building the infrastructure up here to support 150,000 people. Taking into account all of the people I can currently see, they only have 149,994 to go.

Our ride back to town goes of without a hitch and before long we are sipping cold mango shakes at a gritty little place called Captain Chim’s. It has everything I like in a restaurant (meaning it’s cheap), so we also fill up on some fried noodles and fried rice.

Kampot has a good feel to it, with a walkable downtown filled with outdoor cafes and bars. The most exciting of all though (depending on who you ask), is one with none other than poutine on the menu. The owner is apparently from Saskatoon and brought the world’s greatest dish (again, depending on who you ask) with them to Cambodia. We’re still full from dinner and a few street snacks, but there is no doubt we’ll be back tomorrow.