Time stands still in Lumphat

The Srepok River in Lumphat

This is the Srepok River running alongside the virtual ghost-town of Lumphat, the one-time provincial center of Ratanakiri province until it was virtually bombed-out of existence by B-52 bombing raids courtesy of the United States and the Khmer Rouge decision to move their HQ to Voensai. Today, Lumphat is the town that time forgot, large sections of the old town and former government buildings are left empty and overgrown and we found it impossible to find any meat at all for our lunch or any hint of ice-cold drinks after our trip on motos from Ban Lung. The ground near the massive bullet-holed water tower is dotted with water-filled craters as a result of the bombing and the nearby Prince Sihanouk school lies in ruins with stories of ghosts and ghouls keeping the locals away. On the way to Lumphat, we'd stopped at two waterfalls at Cha Ong and Katieng as well as the elephant village of Kateung, where its possible to hire an elephant for the walk to Katieng waterfall.

The bullet-holed water tower, one of the larger landmarks is Lumphat

The disused Prince Sihanouk school was bombed in the early 70s and now lies in ruins

Villagers at the elephant staging-post of Kateung