Mekong magic

* Saturday, Sunday and Monday

We have just returned from a weekend trip to Kratie, which is East of Siem Reap.  Eight of us left on Saturday morning in search of Mekong sunsets and Irrawaddy dolphins; myself, Rob, Hannah, Bill and Jack (who Rob and I build with) and Grant, Chris and Steve (who are working on project 9).

In the week leading up to the trip we deliberated about how to get there and at the last minute we canceled our eight bus tickets and instead booked ourselves a private mini bus - an excellent decision all round for a number of reasons.  It wasn't much more expensive, we had much more room, we left a bit later at 9am, went via a shop for snacks, stopped when we wanted and still arrived by about 4pm.  It also meant we got some random experiences which we would have otherwise missed out on.  Our driver clearly had never been to Kratie as he regularly asked random people for directions, many of whom seemed to like to take the piss by each pointing in different directions.  He also found us a very local spot to stop for lunch in Kampong Cham where we were dished up a variety of soupy dishes, mainly full of animal insides. We each paid $1 for this treat and then had to leave swiftly after Steve left his footprint in some wet concrete and I managed to break the loo and water came spurting out.  Then when we were nearly there he decided to take us on a short cut via 25km of untarmacked road and at one point we thought we were going to have to get out and push as we started to roll back down a slope. 

But the main thing was that we arrived in time for sunset.  We checked into all six rooms of the guest house and prepared ourselves to take over the place for the weekend.  We had a few beers up on the balcony on arrival and then headed over the road to have a beer at a little "cafe" on the riverside.

And watched a spectacular sunset...

We had dinner in another guest house as we'd wanted to explore the town and see what was on offer beyond where we were staying.  However we soon realised we were'nt in Siem Reap anymore Toto and that Kratie was a very different kettle of fish; no pub street, in fact no restaurants really.  So after eating on the one place we found we headed back to our nice balcony and played a lot of cards before having a relatively sensible bedtime, to make up for last week's series of late nights and so to be rested for the next day.

The next morning we had a fun day planned.  The guy from the guesthouse, Andrew: a slightly eccentric, old kiwi, had arranged a whole day trip for us for a really reasonable price which was excellent.  So all we had to do was get in the tuk tuks and see where the day took us.  Not only did he arrange the day for us but he even closed his restaurant so that his cooks and tuk tuk drivers/manager and bar staff could have a day out - and he also came along for the ride.  Between us we had three tuk tuks full of people and cool boxes, and one of them was even a roofless/convertible tuk tuk.

The first stop of the tour was Phnom Sambok, a beautiful tree-covered hill temple with great views over both river and countryside.  There were lots of steps to climb but the views were worth it.

It was so peaceful too, well until we arrived.  Grant stupidly rang the bell at the top as one of the tuk tuk drivers suggested it would be fun and in response two monks came running out (Australians, you can't take them anywhere!).  We took that as our cue to leave and head to the next stop to see the Irrawaddy dolphins!!!  These are very rare fresh water dolphins; there are only 75 left.  This is due to the poisons finding there way into the Mekong that the dolphins can't handle.  Even excess soil running into the water is a problem, which is cause by extensive and sometimes illegal logging around the river.  So we had our fingers tightly crossed that we would see some as we headed out in our two little boats.

And we were in luck, we floated and rowed about for an hour and saw five or so at different points popping up for air.  They're not the kind of dolphins that do leaps and tricks and you're not allowed to get very close so we didn't get many photographic masterpieces.  But it was a stunning experience and so hard to believe that they live there in the river with their funny little stubby heads (which this dolphin has shyly hidden from the picture).

After this excitement we were pretty hungry and so were glad that at our third and final stop we would be having some lunch.  We were due to have our lunch, and spend the afternoon, at the Kampi Rapids upstream from the dolphins.  I'm not sure what I had expected but it certainly wasn't what we got. I suppose I'd imagined us sitting on a quiet river bank and having a quick swim but as we approached all we could see was little wooden huts in the water and lots of Khmer people in their clothes sitting amongst the rocks in the shallow river! It was better than anything I could have dreamed up, it was a bizarre and surprisingly local experience as we were pretty much the only non Khmer people there.  The huts are only temporarily built for the dry season and then dismantled when the wet season starts in May, because once it starts to rain the Mekong will rise about 16m heigher than it is now.

First of all we sat down to eat and had an amazing spread for lunch; two whole cooked fish, green mango salad, curried rice salad, chicken with chilli dip, bamboo baked rice and more.

Then we plopped ourselves into the river and shamelessly sat there for about three hours drinking beer, laughing and trying not to float away.

The joking continued as we sped back to the guesthouse, stopping only to stare at the sunset over the river for a bit and spy on some monks having a private dip.
Then after quick showers we were back in our seats on the balcony from which we did not stray for the rest of the night.  After an interesting dinner (you might say that the orders got a little confused) we played the Rizla game, (famous person is written on the rizla, stuck to your head and you have to ask Yes/No questions until you get it right) for a number of hours, which I proved to be rubbish at, and then tried to play another game of two truths and a lie.  But the conversation got grubbier and vaguer, as the days sun and beer took its toll, and we eventually we took ourselves off to bed for another good sleep.

We were back on the balcony 8 hours later for the final time to eat our final meal (again with most of us eating quite different things to which we had ordered).  Then after we had settled the bill we got back on the road to retreat to Siem Reap.  The journey home flew by despite four odd stops for various reasons.  The last stop was hard to understand as we just suddenly stopped at an old bridge, perhaps one that the driver fancied visiting.  But no-one minded; the guys got a cigarette break and I took photos of a nice cow that lived nearby.

We got back by 4.30pm and said goodbye to our driver and gave him a generous tip as it had looked after us so well (well he got us there and back in on piece anyway).  Then we all slipped back into Siem Reap normality and prepared for our final four days of work.  What a brilliant weekend, I'm so glad we went.

But I can't believe we now only have one week left, we're going to be so sad to leave.  We have felt so welcomed and happy here; we've made so many great friends and loved the time we have spent out in the village with the family, building them a house.  It has totally exceeded my expectations and I think that is due to the project being so well organised, Cambodia being such a unique and positive place and how lucky we've been with the people we've shared it all with.  Coming back here after just a few days away it felt like home and so it's going to be hard on Saturday when we leave knowing we'll probably never be back; or at least not back for many, many years.

But we haven't left yet and so I'm going to make the most of our final few days.  On Thursday the family will be moving into their home and I can't wait! And in the meantime we have walls and windows to finish and house warming pressies to buy - I'm looking forward to the next few days.