Kratie

Say Kratie to any Khmer and they'll reply dolphins -- in particular Mekong Irrawaddy Dolphins. Around 20km north of Kratie, at the village of Kampi, the swirling waters of the Mekong are considered to be the best place in the world to see the critically endangered Mekong Irrawaddy Dolphin.

Dolphins aside, Kratie province is known for its pleasing riverside scenery and verdant villages and paddies. Nearly all who choose to stay here do so in the same-named provincial capital of Kratie -- an almost charming town with enough colonial architecture and tree-lined streets to warrant getting the camera out, a bunch of welcoming guesthouses and hotels and even a bar -- quite a novelty in these parts. The surrounding villages live up to your fantasies of lush, riverside Cambodia, with green paddies and beautifully polished stilted wooden homes shaded by thick palms.

Moreso than Stung Treng to the north, if you're planning on blasting through from Phnom Penh to Don Dhet in 4,000 islands, if you've got the time, you'll be glad to have at least had an overnight stay here.

Less than 80 dolphins (a VOA report in June 2009 put the total at 76) remain in the river -- primarily along a 190km stretch of the Mekong River in northern Cambodia heading towards the Lao frontier. About 25 of these dolphins reside primarily in the area near Kampi, and while there are ongoing and comprehensive conservation projects underway, dolphin mortality remains high. A recent report by the WWF, said the lower part of the Mekong River has become so polluted and contaminated that as many as 88 dolphins have died since 2003. Toxic substances such as the DDT pesticide that is used in agriculture and PCB that the WWF Cambodia Office believe is from mining in Laos, particularly the copper and gold mining in Savannakhet Province, do not help the situation.

A common misconception is that the dolphins can be seen from Kratie town -- this is not the case. The dolphins hang out at Kampi -- some 20km north along the river road. Any motodop will be more than happy to take you there and the going roundtrip rate as of June 2009 was $4. Other ways to get to Kampi include motorbike hire ($5 per day), bicycle hire ($2 per day) and car hire ($12 per day). Once you arrive at the dolphin pool, it costs $9 for one person to rent an entire boat or $7 per person with three or more people. The boat ride lasts for an hour or two and the driver is pretty flexible on bringing you back once you've had your fill. There are still a number of dolphins in the area and when we visited we saw about 10, several of which swam quite close to the boat.

It takes about 30 minutes each way to Kampi, and we recommend going in the late afternoon when it's cooler and you can pair your trip with a stop at the nearby Sambok Mountain pagoda to watch the sunset. The motodops from You Hong include this stop for free. A giant (like those who mythically built Angkor Wat) guards the staircase to the temple. At the top, there's a small pagoda on Phnom Bro (Brother Mountain) and another, higher hill connected by staircase, called Phnom Srei (Sister Mountain). Oddly, the male monks live on the sister hill and the nun's pagoda is on brother hill. We found the nuns to be incredibly warm and chatty with female solo travellers who spoke only basic Khmer.

Ko Treung, located across the river from Kratie's town centre, is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. We learned the hard way that bicycles are available on the island and you do not need to rent one in town and haul it down to the river before boarding the ferry. The ferry costs 1,000 riel per person, plus 1,000 riel if you bring a bicycle. There's a 9 km trail that circles the entire island, and while it's a bumpy ride, it's beautiful, lush, and unspoilt, with a few villages, grazing cows, and smiling kids around the perimeter and fluorescent rice paddies in the centre. We've never had more fun trying to get lost and never felt like we'd accessed authentic Cambodia quite so easily. You can watch the sunset from the island's western banks, but be sure to arrange transport back ahead of time since the last scheduled ferry leaves promptly at 18:30.

There are many other towns and villages that make pleasant day trips from Kratie. Among those is Chhlong, about an hour and a half south by motorbike. A morning trip with a motodop should cost you about $10. The town itself was both once a bustling port for French and Chinese traders, and the beautiful, decaying colonial architecture lining the riverfront attests to this. There's also a famous stilted home with 100 stilts. It isn't particularly impressive but the family who lives there is welcoming and likes to share stories from the "Pol Pot time". Villagers were evicted from the town during the Khmer Rouge's rule, and they occupied most of the town's buildings.

Inside Le Relais Hotel on the edge of town, there's a former prison where skulls of Khmer Rouge detainees still remain. There's not much here, although if you're interested in Cambodian history and have a driver who doesn't mind facilitating conversation with the locals it can be a very worthwhile sidetrip. There's also a hilltop pagoda, that, while under construction, is surrounded by war-era pillboxes and a police base that are both work a look on your way out of town.

Aside from the dolphins, there's ample opportunity for boat-trips, village walks and general exploring -- both You Hong Guesthouse and Star Guesthouse are good places to get more information on things to see and do around Kratie. In our experience, the area surrounding Kratie is particularly lush, with beautiful stilted homes, and some of the friendliest people we've met throughout Cambodia.

There are several NGOs that organise home stays in several of these villages as well as in Ko Treung -- they can be contacted through their Web site if you plan ahead, and CRDT is has an office just west of town (ask Joe at Falling Sun for directions) where there is usually at least one English-speaking staff hanging around. Ask for Claire.

Cambodian Rural Development Team: (023) 357 230 ; www.crdt.org.kh ; No. 695 Street 2, Kratie
Cambodia Community Development: (012) 674 800 ; ccd-kratie @ hotmail.com (for island homestays).