Yes, I Wear a Fanny Pack

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So we decided to head North to Kratie, which is on the way to Laos. In retrospect I should have thought more clearly about it since I need to go back to Phnom Penh regardless to get my camera from DHL and we are also planning to go to Sihanoukville, which is a beachy town south of Phnom Penh, so I’m really running all around Cambodia but there are positives that came from it as well. My concern beforehand was getting to Laos. I went to a bit of trouble to get the visa ahead of time while I was in Kunming so I can cross the border from Cambodia. I wanted to do it so I could see the rural countryside…but from some of my reading it didn’t seem like a road greatly traveled. But now after taking this six hour bus ride I see a ton of backpackers (including single girls) who are making the ride for the Laos border (which is yet another 5 hours and 4 different legs including minibuses and boats from Kratie). So I feel more comfortable about making the trip once I leave Kirsty and her friends. I also exchanged emails with two of the girls for when I get into Laos to try and meet up.

On the ride up we made a pit stop or two. At one of them, on the way to the bathroom a little girl asked me to buy pineapple from her (as did many others) but this one kept asking and it does get annoying and out of habit I immediately say no thank you. When it was time to board the bus again I decided that I did want some pineapple and purchased it from one of the 10 others who had. The little girl from before saw and came running over almost in tears saying you by from her? I asked you before and you say no thank you and now you buy from her? It was so sad and she was totally pouting, but I didn’t want anymore and boarded the bus. As it turns out, when I went to take my first bite of it I noticed about 10 ants crawling all over it. Yea, not happening. So I ended up going back out and finding the little girl and inspecting all of her goods and bought one from her in the end.

Anyway, what’s in Kratie? An endangered species of river dolphins in the Mekong. We hired motorbikes to drive us out the 15km to the dock. The road there was a good road and lined with local homes and a slew of people just hanging out on their porches and the street. Again, there were a million pictures I saw in my head that I wanted to take, but we were on the go and I don’t have my good camera. I am actually struggling somewhat without the camera. I’m trying not to think about it but it is truly bothering me since my little camera just isn’t that good. I used to think it was but now that I have a comparison it just isn’t the same. The dolphin boat ride was quite nice, albeit short and we saw a handful of dolphins just teetering around in the Mekong. There were a whole bunch of boats trying to catch a glimpse up close of one of the dolphins. Clearly, I didn’t get any photos really worth showing…but Helen did so I grabbed a handful of hers.

I’ve also been struggling with what to do next. I’m really focused on being in Phnom Penh the second my camera arrives. But considering it is still in Orlando, I cant really expect it before Friday…although I would be very glad. My father said 4-5 business days, which if he mailed out late Thursday afternoon…could potentially translate to Friday. I think I will leave Kratie since I will have to come back up here anyway to make my way into Laos, leaving Kirsty, Helen and Gavin - disappointingly but the best thing for me now. Head back to Phnom Penh and get a guide for the Tuol Sleng Museum as I didn’t when I was there the other day. I definitely want someone to take me around as I think I missed a few things just on my own. I’ll spend the night there and check in with DHL Sunday if they are open and if not then on Monday. After that head up to Battambang, which is not far from Siem Reap (as you can tell I am running all over Cambodia and really should have planned this out better but that first flight missed and camera incident kind of took me for a ride) while the others head to a more rural eastern part of the country for some elephant trekking. No one is going to Sihanoukville now. Then I will come back yet again to Phnom Penh to get my camera which should have arrived by then. See some sites here and then make my way back up to Kratie for an afternoon bike ride into the local villages and then first thing the next morning head to Laos and the 4,000 Islands. I am bummed I have chosen to leave Kirsty and her friends but there are a ton of Westerners around and I’m sure I’ll find a new friend as soon as even on the bus tomorrow.

So as it turns out, I changed my mind and in the end I decided to stay one more day in Kratie - as I’ve been telling lots of you plans change all the time. It was a fantastic decision actually, minus the sore tushy I have…we rented bikes for the whole day and rode around the small town and out to the villages where I had seen so many pics (on our way out to see the dolphins) that I wanted to take of the locals in their natural habitat…again, bummed with no SLR but I’m actually appreciating what I see a little more. I don’t necessarily need to document everything, although I would really like to. I know that its possible to get lost behind the camera so I’m going to make an extra effort to not just look the picture but to experience it as well. Some things are just better to see and smile and make note in your head versus reaching for the camera, although old habits die hard…and I’m partly justifying the fact that I don’t have my good camera to make me feel better. The experience is a little different but I have to tell you, I would have left my bike and just walked the entire length of the road that we did to get all of the shots I wanted! I did end up with a few decent ones since it was sunny and good lighting. We did a total ride of about 35km I reckon, most of which was along the Mekong back to where the dolphins were. We also got caught in a fantastic downpour! I kind of enjoyed it…

The road we biked along was quite nice, but its insane that the cars that travel along this road speed by so fast and there are hundreds of children playing and lining the sides of the roads. It’s a little scary. All of these kids and really everyone was SOOO friendly…all wanting us to stop and say hi…they would be waving and shouting hello as we biked by. It’s an incredibly different way of life but so simple and they just seem so happy. It’s incredibly humbling I suppose that they can be such a happy people after everything they went through with the Khmer Rouge and the basic life they live. To some degree I am envious and I feel a sort of contentment when I see it. Although it’s sad to note that health and hygiene is greatly missing from their lives. Kirsty and I had some interesting discussions on our bike ride just pondering about the life here and such.

I should also mention that Kirsty’s friend Helen has a Canon SLR camera and either her camera or memory cards are all screwed up (despite having just purchased them) cuz a whole bunch of pictures she is taking leaves her with corrupted files…so no one can rely on anyone! It’s crazy and bad luck for all of us! Separately, for those that have been “embarrassed” by my fanny pack you can be happy I found a myself wearing it as a purse when “going out”…the rest of the time - deal with it. I like my fanny pack. We were able to catch an early morning market the next day during breakfast and before our bus rides to our respective destinations. It’s always nice to be able to walk through one….

So now it’s Monday and I’m on the bus back to Phnom Penh to get my replacement CAMERA…I cannot wait! Can you believe its already here?! It arrived Sunday afternoon…which translates to only 2 and a half days…I am extremely impressed. I am pretty sad to be leaving Kirsty now. We travel really well together and I’m super glad I made the effort to meet up with her in Cambodia. When she finishes up here she is back to London for a few days with her first priority being obtaining her camera from the shop to make sure it will work properly for her trip to Machu Pichu.

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