I usually choose silk yarn when I crochet hats, scarves and gloves but I never though much about how the yarn itself is made. So I spent an hour one morning riding my bike out to the Angkor Silk Farm, part of an initiative to revive Cambodian skills and art following the Khmer Rouge civil war.

It was International Children’s Day so the farm was really quiet with many staff having taken the day off but there was still someone on hand to show me the process of growing, harvesting, spinning, dyeing and weaving silk.

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Trekking is a big draw in Ratanakiri and the main thing that brought me there. It was also a lot more expensive because I was travelling solo. It seemed that every person I met in Ban Lung was just coming back from a trek or heading to Laos.

So headed to the government office of Virachey National Park Eco-Tourism Information Centre. The national park guides employed by this office are the only ones allowed to run treks into the national park, although there is more forest and jungle outside the official boundaries. The Centre’s two day trek was the cheapest was to go solo at the ‘bargain’ price of $123. Still, it was why I was in Ratanakiri in the first place. My guide and I also agreed that we would walk the three day distances (the first day of the three day trek involves no walking whatsoever on Day One so I figured I could handle it), spending the first night by the river in the jungle (rather than a homestay) and walking to a waterfall the next day before returning to the village.

Oh, how disappointed I was going to be.

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I never thought I’d look forward to a nine hour car journey but that’s exactly what happened.

After much debate, I decided to head to Ratanakiri for my King’s birthday break from school (six glorious days sure beats Queen Elizabeth’s birthday holiday!).

Unfortunately, Ratanakiri is on the other side of the country, a 14 bus ride away. Fortunately, my friends (Emily and Ethan again are my guides and fountains of knowledge) used to live in Ratanakiri and knew of a bus or minivan which made the trip between Ban Lung and Siem Reap using a newly paved road, via Stung Treng, slicing off at least 5 hours.

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