Kirirom National Park

This last weekend I headed out to Kirirom National Park with a group of friends and friends of friends from the house church I attend. Most of the group were mountain biking, but a few of us chose to hike instead. In fact, 2 of us crashed a guest house instead of in a hammock at the campsite! But it still felt like a great North American style camping trip. For one, we were a ways up a mountain so we were surrounded by pine trees. Pine trees that smell like Whitworth and home. The one night trip also included spaghetti cooked over an open fire, roasting marshmallows, a clear night with a million stars, and lots laughter with fun new people.

A little background about Kirirom- Before the Khmer Rouge this area was quite a vacation spot. Its only a two hour drive from Phnom Penh, perfect for a day trip. The king had a hot season house up on the mountain and there was a tea plantation. The Khmer Rouge took over the area early in the civil war and actually occupied it until 1992. Hard to believe. Although the KR lost power in 1979, they fought on in pockets of wilderness until 1999. We hiked up to the old palace, now all ruins. It was kind of creepy knowing that the KR destroyed the place, and were there less than 20 years ago. I found Kirirom to be something of a mysterious place. Because it has not always been a protected forest, you come across things like decaying houses and fences. In addition, plenty of illegal logging is obviously still going on. Its far to easy to put money in the right hands and then get to do whatever you want in this country. But, at least for now, Kirirom is a beautiful place and one of the more pristine I've seen in Cambodia.