I first came to Ratanakiri expecting a province of wild jungle, shy hill tribes, and virtually no infrastructure in any form. After all, it was one river in this province, the Tonle Srepok, that reportedly inspired the movie "Apocalypse Now". Although there is jungle and old-growth hardwood forests - unfortunately subjected recently to heavy deforestation by Hero-Taiwan - I was surprised to find that much of the province is rolling hills and fields, farmed by the many indigenous hill tribes. As for the infrastructure, there is not even a mile of paved road in the entire province; and many villages are virtually inaccessible after a heavy rain. Very few of the villages have electricity. And those areas that do have electricity find that it often doesn't work. And the province is poor, dirt poor. With this poverty are many of the associated health problems. In March 1999, a cholera outbreak killed several hundred residents, even decimating entire villages. Malaria, typhoid, and various infections continue to cause problems for the populace.

What follows are lengthy accounts and numerous photographs of my three visits to this most interesting of Cambodian provinces - a province so enigmatic that many Cambodians throughout the country raise an eyebrow in wonder at the mere mention of the name 'Ratanakiri'.

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Note: Due to numerous spelling variations of many of the place names in Ratanakiri province some of the spellings I use may not match up with what is used elsewhere. Also, I humbly admit that I'm not entirely sure I have the three waterfalls identified correctly. Apologies for any confusion this may cause.