At the foot of Bokor, west of Kampot, the land is flat and green, and then suddenly it isn't. The mountain rises abruptly from the coastal plain, a long ridge of sandstone covered in dense forest, and the road up begins with almost no warning, leaving the rice paddies and palm trees behind and starting to climb. Here is the entrance to Preah Monivong Bokor National Park, and the beginning of one of the best mountain roads in Cambodia.
The road was originally built by the French in the 1920s to reach a hill station on the plateau, a place where colonial officials could escape the heat of the lowlands. It was a remarkable feat of engineering, and it came at a cost: many of the labourers who built it are said to have died from disease and accidents. The old road fell into ruin during the decades of war, and the modern road, rebuilt in recent years as part of a development project on the plateau, is wide, smooth and well engineered, a pleasure to ride.
The climb is about thirty kilometres long and rises to around a thousand metres, with long, flowing curves, a few hairpins and constant views back over the coast. On a clear day you can see the Gulf of Thailand stretching away to the south, with the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc on the horizon, and the salt flats and rice fields of the plain below. The forest around the road is home to monkeys, hornbills and many other creatures, and in the early morning you might see gibbons swinging through the trees.
There is a ticket booth at the park entrance where foreigners pay a fee, and the road is busy at weekends and holidays with locals heading up for the views and the cooler air. The weather on the mountain can be very different from the coast: often cloudy, misty and cool, with sudden rain, so bring a jacket. There is fuel in Kampot, about fifteen kilometres away, but none on the climb itself, so fill up before you go. Ride carefully, as the curves can be deceptive and there are often cattle and monkeys on the road.