A River and a Valley Far Away - A year in the Cambodian wilderness

Aug 2, 2026

Upload by Patrick

A River and a Valley Far Away recounts a year lived in the Cambodian wilderness, shaped by rainforest encounters, volunteering, and close observation of daily life. Through chapters moving from prologue and early “rainforest dream” to specific places such as Sre Ambel and episodes like riverbank life, motorcycle diaries, and monsoon seasons, the narrative connects people, community spaces, animals, and personal reflection. The book’s progression builds a vivid memoir-like journey with interludes and field anecdotes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages328

Reading Time8 h 25 min

AccessFree to download

Prologue

A Rainforest Dream

Volunteer

Kingdom Come

Cambodia 101

Sre Ambel

A Rainforest Prelude

The Curious Tale of Bat Shit Mountain

Riverbank Life

Kids!

A Motorcycle Diary

Crouching Toilet, Hunting Spider

Shadow Tales

An Animal Kingdom

50 Shades of Sihanoukville

Ghost Bird

Monsoon I

Rice I

The Community House

Interlude

Issac Walton vs the Paddy Field

Poisonwood

Loss and Loathing

Le Cafard in Greeneland

A River and a Valley Far Away A year in the Cambodian wilderness [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) A River and Valley FarAway A year in the Cambodian wilderness Copyright © Kampot City Books, Cambodia, 2016 Printed in Cambodia by STC (JSRC) Printing House, No. 470, Monivong Blvd, Phnom Penh Text and images: Wayne McCallum Jacket Cover: Julien Poulson & Robert Starkweather © Kampot City Books Inside Cover: Robert Starkweather & Wayne McCallum © Kampot City Books Layout and page design: Robert Starkweather © Kampot City Books Maps: Robert Starkweather & Wayne McCallum © Kampot City Books ISBN-13: 978-9924-9110-0-5 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author. For more information please go to [www.waynemccallum.com](www.waynemccallum.com) [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) To Hiromi Without whom there would be no story to tell [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Ifa treefalls in the forest does anybody hear? Anybody hear the forest fall? Bruce Cockburn (1988): If a tree falls? iv [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) “Because, as I found out, the dream comesﬁrst.” Anthony Bourdain [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Contents Table of Contents Prologue 1 ARainforest Dream 5 Volunteer 14 Kingdom Come 19 Cambodia 101 27 Sre Ambel 30 A Rainforest Prelude 35 The Curious Tale of Bat Shit Mountain 42 Riverbank Life 54 Kids! 62 A Motorcycle Diary 65 Crouching Toilet , Hunting Spider 78 Shadow Tales 80 An Animal Kingdom 89 50 Shades of Sihanoukville 99 Ghost Bird 106 Monsoon I 113 Rice I 120 The Community House 129 Interlude 131 Issac Walton vs the Paddy Field 142 Poisonwood 144 Loss and Loathing 154 Le Cafard in Greeneland 159

FAQs

What is the setting of A River and a Valley Far Away?

The story is set across a year in the Cambodian wilderness, with recurring focus on rainforest life and local places such as Sre Ambel.

How does the book structure the year?

It moves through a sequence of themed chapters and interludes, including early “rainforest dream” sections, volunteer time, monsoon and rice periods, and later loss-and-reflection episodes.

What kinds of experiences are described besides wilderness life?

The contents include community elements like “The Community House” as well as adventure diary-style scenes such as a “Motorcycle Diary,” plus animal-related tales such as “Ghost Bird” and “An Animal Kingdom.”

Aug 2, 2026

Upload by Patrick