EXCURSION TO MEMAN AND THE GOLD MINES OF PREY MEAS

There is in Mondolkiri a place that the authorities are a little reluctant to talk about, think about it, a gold mine operated by two thousand miners and located in the middle of the nature reserve of Phnom Prech ... A place where it is theoretically forbidden to cut even a single tree or to dig any hole! But hey! The mine produces a good thirty kilos of gold per month and feeds the pockets of a certain number of Cambodian political leaders, so we readily say to ourselves that the trees, well, there are many and that the holes, it is always filled ..

To go to Prey Meas, you need to have a good heart; three solutions are offered to you: leave with a moped (unthinkable in the rainy season), with a Russian 4x4 or with your own enduro bike. Let's say it straight, the track is terrible and very technical with countless stony or rocky passages. The quagmires, even in the dry season, are chilling because we are talking about ruts of 1.50 m to 2 m deep!

Impossible to give a precise itinerary, there are too many junctions, but know all the same that it is necessary to leave Sen Monorom by the road of the waterfall of the same name then, to ask for the way. Meman is about 41 km away and the gold mine about 9 km away. There is a ford on the Méman track and another one, probably difficult to cross in the rainy season, just after Méman.

The gold mine, in addition to the now classic spectacle of a beautiful archaeological disaster, allows you to witness a gold rush as one rarely does in our time, you will see Chinese from popular China who control the best extraction points, a beautiful shantytown and many small bars where it is more or less possible to eat. From Méman, a track allows to reach Kratie in a few hours.

Be careful, dress according to the season: poncho and boots in rainy season, and anyway, a good sweater in any season for the evening.

Be careful though, if there are no security problems and no incidents involving tourists have been reported, the authorities advise against going there. The miners do not necessarily appreciate foreigners interfering in their affairs... illegally. And the very difficult working conditions, coupled with adulterated alcohol, can make some people a bit aggressive. It is better to go there with a guide who knows the mine, or, at worst, to get information beforehand.