If
you talk about Kratie, people will quickly think of the Mekong dolphins, Kampi
resort, 100-pillar temple et cetera.
Upon
arrival at the Kratie town, if you continue your journey of another 15
kilometers north of the town, you will reach one of the most popular tourist
attractions in the province. That’s
Kampi resort – well known for its swirling water – where you can have an ideal
picnic and a view of Asia’s rare Mekong dolphins.
Every year, from January to late April or early May, water level at the Kampi resort is shallow enough for a wooden bridge to be constructed across the river and thatch-roofed huts built for the convenience of holiday-goers.
At
thatched huts or kiosks built on wooden stilts over the river, people enjoy
their freshly cooked food of fresh fish; some happily bathe in cool water and others
relax on a hammock breathing in fresh air while listening to the sound of
flowing water and occasional laughter of the nearby holiday-goers.
Kimsieng,
in her 40s, is from neighboring Kampong Cham province.
“I
come to visit here every year. I feel happy. The water is cold,” she says.
A
man by the name of Ny, in his 40s, is also from Kampong Cham province. He
says he often takes his family to the Kampi resort when time allows.
“I
visit here once a year. I like the cold water here. As my family’s living
condition is improving, we can travel to many resorts around the country,” says
Ny while bathing nearby his kiosk.
Kampi
resort is only open to tourists from January to late April or early May when
the water level of the river is shallow.
On
weekdays, the resort welcomes local and foreign visitors in their hundreds, but
during main public holidays such as Khmer New Year holiday, the resort attracts
thousands of holiday-goers coming each day.
In
fact, according to Mom Kunthy from the provincial office of tourism, on the
first day of the Khmer New Year holidays, the resort received roughly 7,000
visitors, about 10,000 visitors on the second day and approximately 4,000 to
5,000 visitors on the third day.
In addition to being a tourist attraction, Kampi resort also provide seasonal jobs for local residents who generate their income from selling food and tokens of souvenir to the visitors.
In
the afternoon, when you finish your picnic and bathing at the Kampi swirling
water resort, you can continue a journey of around one kilometer to see the
endangered Mekong dolphins nearby.
At
the dolphin seeing place, foreign tourists are required to buy entrance tickets
while local visitors are not. However,
everyone has to rent a boat if they want to have a close view of the dolphins. The
boat rent may cost 10 dollars for four to six people per boat.
Most
of the boat pilots are former fishermen. They have been turned from the persons
who threaten endangered Irrawaddy dolphins (or Mekong dolphins) into protectors
of the species. They
earn from guiding tourists with their boats to see dolphins in the river.
Besides
the Kampi resort and dolphins, there are many other tourist attractions around
the province including Koh Trong, one-hundred-pillar temple, islands and
waterfalls.
So
if you want to explore other resorts around Kratie, you may be required to stay
one or two nights.
Some
facts about Kratie:
Kratie
is located some 340 kilometers northeast of the capital Phnom Penh if you take
national road #7. However, it’s just approximately 240 kilometers if you take a
shortcut at Dambe district, Kampong Cham province. The
Mekong River flows from the north to the south of the province in the
approximate length of 140 kilometers.Kratie
is administratively divided into five districts, one town, 46 communes and 250
villages with the total population of 331,592.
