River Dolphins

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Another bus journey to take us to Kratie. It's amazing how the body can adapt to so many journeys! Today we sat at the back of the bus... The thought of more room lured us in, however the reality was that it was over the wheel and extremely bumpy!



When we got to Kratie we had lunch at the Red Sun and had the most amazing chips. They were crinkle cut and hand fried - just like my mum used to make! We then explored the local market, it was much better here than in Kampong Cham and the locals made us feel much more welcome.



After a short while chilling we set off to see if we could spot the Irrawaddy dolphins on the Mekong river. Harry said that he sees them nearly every time. We were lucky today too. I spotted the first one from our boat and then we saw quite a few. They are much shyer than normal dolphins and clearly prefer to be left in peace. I was concerned that we were adding to their demise as there are only 40 left now in Cambodia (the guide book said 60 in 2002), but Harry reassured us that this is not the case and it is the fishermen that put them at risk with their nets. There is now a section of the river that is protected now and the WWF have an office in Kratie.



It was such an amazing experience seeing the Dolphins swimming and playing with the backdrop of a stormy sky. My photos will never do the experience justice as most show small dots of a dolphin... They move so fast! It was wonderful though, I love being near the water.



We spent the evening in a restaurant overlooking the Mekong river, eating curry, drinking cocktails and watching the lightening in the distance. A perfect end to a perfect day!

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