Bousra - Mondulkiri's finest

The beautiful scene at the top level falls at Bousra Waterfall

Not so beautiful - the author does his Khmer impression and has his photo taken with the falls as a backdrop

Everyone loves waterfalls in Cambodia and I'm no exception. I can't get enough of them. So having a free day in Sen Monorom at the back-end of my visit to Mondulkiri meant I simply had to get out to Bousra to see the waterfall. Regarded by many Cambodians as their country's finest waterfall, I hooked up with one of my best pals from Phnom Penh, Sokheng, who just happened to be in town on business - she works for the Wildlife Conservation Society and they have a project in nearby Khaosima - to make the 40km trip east of the provincial capital. Our moto drivers were Chen, her colleague at WCS and Samnang and an 8am departure meant we were there in an hour. The road, which has a top level of stones in places, hard-packed dirt in others, is a toll road and costs 3,000 riel per moto. It passes Pnong villages, rubber plantations and the Plai river before delivering you to the Bousra entrance, where foreigners pay a dollar to enter.

A close-up of the ten metre top-level falls at Bousra

Too close to the edge of the 25 metre drop for my liking: me and my good friend Sokheng

The ten metre waterfall that greets you was indeed impressive and is even more memorable during the wet season, from the photos I have seen. Now in the height of the dry season, the water volume wasn't too great but was still enough to catch three Khmer women unawares the week before our visit and swept them to their deaths. So be warned. The rocky riverbed now provides a nice place to picnic before it tumbles over a much larger 25 metre drop to the floor of the valley below. There are steps leading down to the valley but they looked far too steep for me to attempt, so I contented myself with a few photos, a paddle in the refreshingly cold water and a chat with a few Khmers on holiday for the weekend from Phnom Penh.

A side angle view of the 25 metre drop of the second-tier waterfall at Bousra

The 5 metre Monorom Waterfall, 3kms outside of Sen Monorom

After a drink with some of the stall-holders, who were cousins of Chen, we returned to Sen Monorom and a much smaller waterfall just a few kilometres outside of town. Its called Monorom Falls or Domnak Sdach (King's Resting Place) in Khmer. It's a five metre drop into a pool that is often frequented by young children who use the falls as their diving platform. Today there was no-one around except for workers from the hydro-electric power plant being built next door. Back in Sen Monorom, we had lunch at the So Paul restaurant, next to the Kouprey monument before Sokheng and Chen had to leave town to return to Khaosima, and I headed for another hot shower and rest.