The Adventure Jungle Tours

THE ADVENTURE JUNGLE TOURS is Neptune’s specialty; it was established in 2006. With by now, lots of experience we can get you to any destination in the area. There are a couple of highlights, such as the mangrove marshes and the waterfalls. Although we normally follow our settlled and proven schedules, we are open to individual requests, proposals and ideas.

We don’t want to exhaust people by letting them march or row for hours on end, just to reach a pleasant spot. Therefore, we conveniently travel by boat, get the kayaks ready and start individual exploration at the spot. There are certain areas, we avoid during the wet season due to the weather – the fun factor might just get stuck in mud. Tours and trips have become increasingly popular and numerous during the last years and most guesthouses in Koh Kong do make offers now. As a consequence, we regularly assess the situation and, if necessary we redesign a concept and offer alternative activities.

For example, we have abandoned our tours to Koh Kong Island, mainly because by now everybody else seems to be doing it. In this context we want to point out that we are in touch with the other operators in town. On your request we can arrange bookings for you, but only the ones that have our approval!!! Fortunately Koh Kong has much to offer, lots of hidden jewels that the scouts and spies of the global travel magazines usually just miss and fail to recognize as such in their frantic search for sensations and superlatives.

Starting points for all jungle tours are at the NEPTUNE RIVER BUNGALOWS in Tatai. For a tour we expect at least 3 persons.

Booking can be done via phone or in person at the RAKSMEY BUNTHAM Guesthouse and FAT SAM”S pub in Koh Kong town and at the NEPTUNE RIVER BUNGALOWS in Tatai or by email.

Tours on Offer

1. TREK - SWIM - RELAX

• Easy Tour!
• START: anytime before 1 pm
• There is no need to hump anything – equipment, bags, kayaks, food…all delivered by boat.
• We are going to prepare food as per your order.
• Don’t forget: Please dress appropriately with suitable shoes or sandals and clothing, something for the head and swim wear.

TREKK: around 2 hours walk through the jungle and over a (modest) hill to the Tatai Waterfall.
SWIM: have a nice time in always well tempered and crystal clear waters, climb, observe, explore and enjoy these surroundings.
RELAX: you decide how long we are going to stay – there is plenty of time to relax… How about a BBQ – on the rocks, that is?

Return to the River Bungalows: either by boat or by kayak – in case you have excessive energy, you might as well walk. This should be timed – sunset around 6.30 pm.

For this tour we charge $10 per person
Food will be prepared in advance, according to your choice.

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2. TRIATHLON - MOVE YOUR BODY

• Hard Tour – constant action!
• START: 8 am
• There is no need to hump anything – equipment, bags, kayaks, food…all delivered by boat.
• We are going to prepare food as per your order.
• Don’t forget: Please dress appropriately with suitable shoes or sandals and clothing, something for the head and swim wear.

2 SPOTS TOUR: 2 hour trekking to the Tatai Waterfall – after a refreshing swim –
by boat to the up-river section, where we hop in the kayaks and row towards a small waterfall in rugged terrain. There we have time to
refresh and/or climb at suitable spots. Return tour (downstream) is by boat and detouring to kayaking spot No 2 – dense mangrove marshes with slow waters and slow pace return to the boat
In order to save time, we can eat on the boat, we can sort out a pick-nick place as well.

3 SPOTS TOUR: 2 hour trekking to tatai waterfall and after a little swim we go back on board and go to the small river channel from there we start kayaking to a small waterfall
with lots of climbing spots – then we hop in the boat, go down-streams, after arrival at kayaking
spot No 2 we going to kayak in the mangrove marshes towards spot No 3, where deepest jungle awaits us. From there we return to base by boat.

For this tour we charge $25 per person
Food will be prepared in advance, according to your choice.

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3. KOH SRA LAU - VISIT A FISHING VILLAGE IN THE MANGROVE MARSHES

• Easy Tour!
• START: 8 am
• There is no need to hump anything – equipment, bags, kayaks, food…all delivered by boat.
• We are going to prepare food as per your order.
• Don’t forget: Please dress appropriately with suitable shoes or sandals and clothing, something for the head and swim wear.

The idea is, to spend an enlightening, easy going day in Koh Sra Lau, a very traditional local community, among unassuming and friendly people. This ain’t one of these mass tourism – human zoo – things. Neptune Adventures is the only tour operator here and, as you will learn, the visit remains an exceptional encounter…for all of us.

It is a 2-2.5 h boat trip – kayaks are on board so we can explore the area anytime later, kayaking the river or the surrounding mangrove thicket.

For the Gourmet: This is an ideal place to purchase life fresh – or seawater crab and shrimp in the village and have them prepared right away. To elevate this meal into the spheres of perfection, we might bring our own seasonings, dips, sauces, veggies and bread etc – made in advance with (hopefully) your articulate consulting, observation and approval.

After lunch, there is plenty of time to explore the place – teeming with original life.

For this tour we charge $25 per person
Food is extra and will be prepared in advance, according to your choice.

The Villagers

Cambodia is home to a Muslim minority of considerable size and so is our village. Most of these people belong to an ethnic minority – The Cham, an ancient and indigenous people, that once held sway over central Vietnam. During Cambodia’s classic Angkor period, the Kingdoms of the Khmer and the Cham exhausted each other in regular warfare with steadily shifting success. Both people went into slow decline that was caused, among other things, by invading people from the North, namely the Thai in the North West and the Vietnamese in the North East. Whereas the Khmer were able to retain a certain degree of territorial and ethnic integrity, the Cham fared much worse and after the Vietnamese had completed their conquest of the central highlands, the diaspora of the few remaining Cham began. Many settled in South Western Cambodia and one group left for the big island of Hainan in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Muslims in South East Asia and in Cambodia in particular, seem to appear very moderate and much less outspoken in comparison to their peers of “classic” countries in the Middle East. In areas with little Islamic population it is hard to recognize them at all. There are districts with a Muslim majority and noticeably greater cultural impact on public life and religious expression.

There are two distinct communities in Cambodia with contrasting forms of religious . The traditional Cham – retain many ancient Muslim or pre-Muslim traditions and rites. They consider Allah as the all-powerful God, but they also recognize other non-Islamic practices.

The orthodox Cham have adopted a more conformist religion largely because of their close contacts with, and intermarriages with, the Malay community. In fact, the orthodox Cham have adopted Malay customs and family organization, and many speak the Malay language. They send pilgrims to Mecca, and they attend international Islamic conferences.

Apart from Phnom Penh, there aren’t any Mosques of mentionable size, but this is changing. Some provincial capitals are again the home of newly built mosques. Rural communities usually do fine with residential house sized Medresas. You can tell by the small decoratively domed roof and occasionally there are stylized Minarett towers at the corners (see Picture). The habit of Muezzins, calling for prayer does not exist.

In traditional Cham communities women wear head scarves, that seem to have a rather fashionable function – in stark contrast to the original idea of enshrouding female beauty. .. The concept of “halal” (diet rules) doesn’t have absolute authority either and you commonly spot men sitting with beer and other dubious stimulants, instead of the familiar tea.

Generally speaking, it is a truly remarkable experience – Theravada Buddhism and Islam side by side – and it is proof, that two profoundly different denominations can (and did so for a long time) exist alongside each other.

More on Islam in Cambodia

Koh Sra Lau has been integrated into a community management program, that is working toward a future community led management of the local Eco system. Let’s find out, what has been accomplished and how progress is being made.

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Arrival from Thailand – the quickest way:

Arrival in Cambodia – quickest  way: