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Published: January 14th 2008
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Hello to everyone that reads this.
So for the last 5 days we have traveled into the north eastern part of Cambodia and it has been fantastic. We left Phnom Penh early to catch a bus up to Kratie which was about a 6 hr bus ride on a paved road thankfully. Once in Kratie each of us took a moto and a driver on a 15 min ride through the town and rural areas to a dock where we would take a boat to see freshwater dolphins in the Mekong river. Before I get to that though I just want to say, riding on a moto through Cambodia was F-ing awesome! It was exhilarating flying down a road, passing other motos and small huts with kids out front leading their cows to feed and old women hobbling along, and children saying "Hello" and waving to us. Where can you do that in America?
So after my hair was turned into a fro we hoped on a boat with a guide who was maybe 14 and we were whisked around the Mekong river looking for the not so elusive dolphin. We actually saw some even before getting
on the boat 😊 But it was great traveling up and down the river a little, getting a feel for the immensity of it. I want to say it is the largest river in the world, but I am not sure. It seems like it is though, what with all of the tiny islands in the middle. Let's just say it is ginormous.
We frantically tried to get some good pictures of the dolphins, but the best we have I think is a back fin sticking out of the water, which was to be expected. I was really hoping for a back flip by one, but the freshwater dolphins are a little more laid back apparently. According to the lonely planet from 2005 there were only 75 dolphins left, so I am not sure the population now, but I noticed that the money we paid to see them went toward conserving their habitat. You know me, always looking out for dolphins in trouble 😊
Then we took a moto to a hill with a wat for sunset, but we arrived a bit late which made me throw a hissy fit because I love taking a gazzillion photos of
the descent-ion of the sun, but I quickly got over it so as not to lose face in front of the monks 😊
The following day we took a small bus to Stung Treng which is about 4 hrs north of Kratie and then caught a truck from there to Ban Lung. The roads were a little bumpy, but if you pretend it is a roller coaster that lasts for hours it is an amazing day of travel. Our second driver from Stung Treng to Ban Lung was hilarious. He didn't speak any English whatsoever, but after about an hour or so he would continuously make comments about the bridges we would travel over and the cars and houses we would pass, but in Khmer. It was great. He would sometimes make a comment and then look at us and smile or laugh, which made me crack up. More hilarity ensued when Kam started ad libbing for him 😊 He even tried to run over some chickens at one point while saying something in Khmer at them. Hilarious.
We arrived in Ban Lung and I rested for a while because something that I had eaten upset my stomach.
I am ok now though G Fran 😊 The following day involved more resting for me, and then I checked out the town and market with Kamberly. We saw cows following a dog for some reason down the road and changed the color of our feet from a light tan coloring to a rusty red from the excessive amount of dirt. I want my shoes to stay that color now, they look way more natural.
We checked out the main market that was selling anything from U.S. Army Bags to flashlights, tools, jewelry, toys, and clothes. I had fun walking through the market looking at everything, experiencing the smells of Khmer cooking and watching a child chase a cat along a dusty sun light path. It was very peaceful.
Then we walked a couple kilometers up a hill to check out a reclining Buddha, where we got some great views of the surrounding land. We could even see Vietnam, or so we were told. Some kids by the Buddha laughed hysterically at us for about 10 min when we asked them their name. It was revenge by the Buddha for us laughing at our driver to Ban Lung
though, so I was ok with it. Now that is scientific evidence for the existence of Karma if I have ever seen it 😊 I had a very nice time relaxing by the Buddha, watching the light fade from the fluttering leaves on the trees.
The following day we took a tour of the area with 4 other people including a driver and a guide. Our guide spoke English very well and readily gave us information on each area we traveled to. The first two stops we made were to some incredibly dramatic waterfalls, spilling over into pools of water below. They put most of the ones we saw in New Zealand to shame. We are here in the dry season to, so imagine what they would look like with twice as much water gushing forth.
Our next stop was a grove of rubber trees. That's right, rubber comes from trees for those that did not know. My mind was blown basically. The harvest the rubber by making an incision in the tree about 10 ft up and guide the rubber in liquid form down into a container to then be taken to a processing plant. Our guide
told us that rubber was one of the exports from Cambodia.
Continuing on, we came to another waterfall with a bonus cascading fall off to the side, and ate some lunch. Then we got into the back of the truck, as we had been doing the whole time, and commenced with covering our faces every time a vehicle kicked up dirt in the process of passing us.
Our guide explained to us that he like many Cambodians, doesn't make much money in a month, which means he sometimes can't pay his rent and sometimes can't even buy food, but has to borrow from his neighbor. It is very saddening to hear and makes me feel incredibly lucky to have what I have, guilty of the luxuries I have bought, disgusted at my apathy at times, and has made me more aware of my life in the scope of the world. A very powerful experience for me indeed.
Too make this an even more powerful experience for me, we visited an incredibly impoverished village in the area. Some of the people in the group payed the villagers to take their picture which was good because it gives them
a bit of an income, but not much.
Then we went swimming in the local lake, where we swam out to a felled tree that was protruding from the water. It was very refreshing and fun to see the Cambodian kids play.
Today we left at 6:15 AM from Ban Lung and arrived in Phnom Penh at around 6:15 PM. It was a long cramped bus ride, but I was able to start and finish Heart of Darkenss, which was an incredibly poetic contemplation on the darker nature of humankind. Mainly it was a nice distraction from the kid who threw up three times. All into a plastic bag luckily 😊
Alright that is it for now. Our next stop is Sihinoukville and then back to Bangkok.
Daniel
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Mom
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Hissy fit
I'm glad to know you can have those fits, just like your mom. (Remember Italy?) And, I'm glad you can be honest with yourself. Is the "Guess the shot" a reflection of the sun in some water through some plants? I love "this kid entertained us for a while." Dad and I checked out your route through Cambodia, quite a tour of the country. As I told Kam, I am glad you all have had the experience to see a culture, economy and the remains of a holocaust in a culture that is so different from your own; especially to learn how much need there is for us to stay abreast of the issues so we can help support positive change and growth.