Kratié

Understand

thumb|Pagoda Roka Kandal Kratie is one of the four provinces in northeastern Cambodia, and although it is relatively remote and not heavily visited, travelling here won't earn you points if your priority is to be a pioneer. There's no large-scale tourism, but plenty of backpackers pour through here during the peak season. The town has developed to meet this demand, with very good budget accommodation that is well known in backpacking circles.

Respect

The province is heavily rural, so be mindful of yourself and your behaviour. Do not add to the already overwhelming amount of litter and discarded rubbish visible in and around the town, and be mindful of local norms in dress sense, so don't go swimming in a bikini.

Get around

As the town is so small, ignore offers from touts to take you from the bus stop into town, since it's a walk of just a few minutes. If you feel compelled to hire a motodop to take you anywhere within town, you won't need to pay anything more than 500 riel for your short journey. To visit sites outside the town, you'll need to hire a motodop for a few dollars - standard prices are posted around the guesthouses, typically US$3–5 depending how far and how long you go for.

Bicycles are by far the best way to get around Kratie and enjoy the town at your own pace. Most guesthouses will organize you one, but they usually all come from the same shop - from the front of the market head south until the street ends across from the Ministry of Water Resources. On the corner there bikes can be rented from a lovely Khmer family for US$1 or 4,000 riel per day. Easy to spot this shop - look for all the bikes!

Motorbike rentals are available at just about any guesthouse. A 110cc Honda step through bike for US$6 per day. Given the tiny size of the town, you won't need one to do anything within Kratie, and the roads outside Kratie aren't in great shape, but it can be a great way to look around the country side a bit further afield.

See

thumb|right|200px|Pagoda Roka Kandal

Do

thumb|right|200px|Pagoda Roka Kandal

thumb|Irrawaddi Dolphin jumping You can also see dolphins from Koh Rougniv Island, which nicely combines with a home stay in Koh Phdau. You get a private, and romantic sunset tour for US$7 per boat, no other tourists in sight. The free trail guide (e.g. Community Development Tours) provides maps, transport and accommodation options. You can travel on a small part of the trail, or all of it. You can travel alone or with a group. There are many options along the 180 km trail, which runs between Kratie and the Cambodian/Laos border. Allow enough time to go with the flow of river life. Along the trail, you will have the opportunity to see critically endangered Mekong River Dolphins, while minimising your impact on them and the habitats they rely on. By using the Trail, you will also be assisting river communities, some of the poorest, but most welcoming, in Cambodia. As advertised, cycling (as opposed to hiking) is maybe the best method to see the trail, as it allows to rapidly cover the long stretches of track where it is impossible to obtain drinking water.}}

Eat

Eating at small food stalls offers a cheap alternative to restaurants, with fried noodles available, chicken rice porridge, foetal duck eggs and others. Servings are generally smaller than in nearby restaurants. The riverfront night market has been moved to the road out to PP. Follow the riverfront and keep going when it turns inland.

Drink

Watching the sun go down over the Mekong, with a cold beer or a tuk-a-lok (fruit shake) on the river front, is one of the joys of a visit to Kratie. There are many stalls which set up in the late afternoon to service that need (and stay open until midnight, unusually late for a Cambodian provincial town).

Red Sun Falling will stay open until the last person leaves, which can be pretty late, and the new Marlees Bar offers the other bar option in town.

Go next

Banlung - This town is near spectacular natural attractions, including waterfalls, volcanic lakes and natural parks, and hill tribe villages. Chlong - A small town, about 30 km from Kratie. Kampong Cham - the third largest city in Cambodia, full of colonial charm. Stung Treng - The town most tourists pass through on the way to Laos. Sambour district - a small and charming town along the Mekong river about 38 km from Kratie