fri day 126

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Having allowed ourselves a bit of a lay in we headed out for some breakfast at 11.00. Kratie ( pronounced Krachie) is a pretty small town sitting on the side of the Mekong river, in itself not too much to offer apart from in the surrounding areas where theres enough stuff to make it worth a visit for a day or two. Back at the only Cambodian/western restaurant in town Kate and I decided to hire pushbikes for the afternoon. Sitting in the Mekong adjacent to Kratie is a small island called Koh Trong and according to my book is definitely worth an explore on a bike for an afternoon - so perfect. Off we headed down a flight of steps to the boat and got on a waiting taxi boat, which only leaves when its full, so only having to wait a further 20 minutes we were off. A 5 minute ride across the Mekong and having to push the bikes across what felt like the Sahara - it was so hot and the sand was burning! We made it up to the path that runs the perimeter of the island. Stopping firstly for a delicious sugar cane drink we set off for an explore. With a lovely tarmac - yes really - path we passed tradional Khmer houses on stilts and huge hay bales, dried up rice fields and a couple of temples - what else? with many locals carrying on their daily tasks and spotting an old vietnamese floating village it was a lovely 2hr tour around the island. Making our way back down to the boat landing and having some help with the bikes from the locals we arrived back on the mainland with no problems. Wanting to explore a bit more we went for a short ride around the town - partly short because the storm clouds were hovering above and sure enough within about 2 minutes of getting back the heavens opened! It almost seemed to put the locals in a party mood - rainy season is soon to start and I really think they look forward to it - after so many months of hot/dry stickiness its a welcome relief. With many people coming down into the streets to watch the heavy downpour - and make the most of the water ( washing pavements, watering plants etc) it was interesting to see. The rain carried on well into the night with only the thunder and lightening being less dramatic. Kate and i decided to sensibly stay put in the restaurant and ending the evening by candlelight! After what must have been 5-6 power cuts throughout the evening. As the rain eventually died down we walked back to the hotel - mostly in the dry.

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