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Date of the journey:- March 2020
Distance travelled:- 230 miles
After a hearty breakfast at Neptune Adventure, it was time to move on. Our next destination was Battambang. Choosing not to get a bus to Phnom Penh then another to Battambang. Instead of taking shared taxis through the Cardamom mountains. Breaking the journey with an overnight stop in Osoam.
We took the 10 minute speedboat transfer back to Tatai bridge. Thomas, from Neptune Adventure, had organised a tuk tuk from there to Koh Kong bus station, the half an hour journey costing 10 USD. No buses at the bus station were going our way. So we took one of the many shared taxis for the journey to Osoam, deep in the Cardamom Mountains.
A 2.5-hour journey, in a Lexus 4×4 jeep, at a cost of 10 USD per person. The route took us on a dirt track road through the mountain jungle. A scenic journey passing 3 quite impressive hydroelectric dams, Lower Stung Russei Chrum Hydropower Dam, Stung Atai 2 Hydropower Dam, and Stung Atai 1 Hydropower Dam
Osoam is nothing more than houses along the red very dusty dirt track road, adjacent to the Stung Atai dam reservoir. There were a couple of places to eat in town. If you are looking for an evening meal and breakfast with your accommodation. Then the only place that offers that is Osoam Cardamom Community Center, just outside the town.
However, we chose to stay at the Bai Toang Guest House, which was where the driver dropped us. A basic, clean Cambodian guest house, the owner of which, didn’t speak a word of English.
Word must have got around the town that we were going to Pursat the following morning. From where we could get a bus to Battambang a shared taxi driver came to the accommodation offering his service.
The 4-hour journey, this time in double cab 4×4 pick up truck, again cost that magical 10 USD per person. A bright and early start the next morning our driver arrived to pick us up at 0745 hrs. Even though we had all agreed on his arrival at 0800 hrs the night before. Luckily we were ready.
Off we set for the journey to Pursat. Along the very dusty and bumpy road through the jungle for the first 2 hours. Then onto a nice tarmac road for the remaining 2 hours into Pursat.
The driver dropped us right outside a Battambang bus office. We were able to buy the tickets for the 2-hour journey to Battambang for 2.5 USD per person and board the bus at the same location.
Battambang bus stop is a few miles outside of the city. Tuk tuk drivers were there to take us to our accommodation Molopper Villa, booked through Booking.com, a 10 minute drive away.