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Published: July 13th 2009
Sunrise over Mekong
Sunrise over MekongWhen we last left off we were leaving Siam Reap for a one day stop off in Kampong Cham. I had absolutely no idea where this place was or what it was like, but it turned out we had an absolutely amazing time there.
Our hotel was a crazy warehouse thing that seemed in the process of renovation, as usual we had the resident bathroom gecko! (We named this one George). We had a beautiful view out of the window which I will try to upload, of the mighty Mekong river and a big bridge going across it.
What made Kampong Cham so special though was that we all rented bicycles from the hotel and Kakada led us to an island in the middle of the Mekong river where people live, he told us to bring our free toothpaste and toothbrushes from the hotel to give to the people there, as they are really far away from the markets and also very poor.
It was the most wonderful experience as I think riding a bike allows you to engage more with everyone around you, and you notice things you wouldn't from the bus. It was about a 20
The kiddies
The kiddies minute bike ride to the ferry (which we went on with 2 extra passengers... 2 COWS to be exact!! )
The best part was all the kids; they're so happy and NEVER fail to run up excitedly with cries of "Hellooooooo!!" They really are incredible.
A little bit of information...
Cambodia is overwhelmingly agrarian, (?) most of the population are rice farmers or farmers of some sort and the gulf between rich and poor is the biggest in south east asia due to their corrupt government.
The people in this island live a life that, to explain it to you guys, would be what we would envisage as almost feudal England. On the island they use ox-carts and these tiny ponies-and-traps to transport things, they get black and white TV and lightbulbs at night from car batteries but that is the only electricity they have!
So needless to say the kids were very excited when Kelly took their photos and even videoed them, and then showed them on the digital camera, they were laughing and giggling... so sweet, but also sadly touching because they live such a poor life. It could possibly (?) have been the first time they
Me jumping into the river...eek!
Me jumping into the river...eek! saw colour video! The trip is incredible and really eye-opening. If I had a kid and they ever complained about wanting the newest playstation I want to take them to that island, and show them how happy the kids are.
In Kampong Cham we also had an AMAZING experience having dinner with a local tuk tuk driver, his sweet family and his wife's amazing food....
The best bit was when the 2 year old wanders out with a GIANT TARANTULA ON HIS FRONT. YES A GIANT TARANTULA!
and BREAKING NEWS ... Kelly actually HELD IT. Ultimate triumph over her phobia... photo will follow?!
Alex is going to tell you a little bit about what happened after we left Kampong Cham, to the Homestay and then here to Sihanoukville.
Alex's bit:
From Kampong Cham we departed for our home stay. The purpose of the stay was to experience life in a local village for an evening and see what their lives were like. In other words: sleep on a cold, uncomfortable bed, eat slightly bizarre food and be woken up at the crack of dawn by roosters (I have since made a vow to eat as much
The house...of MEN
The house...of MEN chicken as possible because of the hell they put me through at 5 in the morning).
At the village a group of us went to the nearby river to have a swim. The village is trying to get more money through sustainable initatives such as taking tourists trekking round the village, going to see waterfalls etc. The water was really warm and we got some pretty good photos! (Will try and add them).
We had a quite nice dinner and we even did some Cambodian dancing afterwards, turns out our tour leader is the Cambodian version of Michael Jackson.
The men slept in one house, the women in the other. The men spent their evening doing manly things like making fire, slaying mammoths, standing atop mountains, measuring eachother's beards and so on. The women were in a house where we think they had pillow fights, talked about cooking, having children etc.
We were woken up at 5 as we think the roosters camped under our house. I hate chickens...so so much.
ANYWAY...we left for Sihanoukville which was meant to take about 2hours. It ended up taking 8 hours because there was heavy rain and we
PUPPY!
Our stop on the way to the beach-look what was looking at us from under the table (Kelly couldnt resist giving him tidbits) had to take a detour across what was described as a road. This road had pot holes verging on craterdom. I kid you not. So we're finally here at the beach (oh and I spent about an hour in a squat toilet after not having done a number 2 in about a week). I know it's disgusting but I wanted to share the horror I went through with everyone. And I got bit on the bum by a mosquito. Why? WHY? So now I've got to put on DEET while I'm pooing...great.
So we're hoping for some good weather tomorrow. watch this space.
Lots of Love.
K&A
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G Tuppen
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Awesome blogs
We laughed and we cried. loved the stories and pictures. Did not think Kelly's smile looked natural whilst the Tarantula was on her body Good job Sophie was'nt there. The fish massage would drivw me mad, and I to would screan like a little boy Toilet ,pooh, and mosquito's NO NO NO NO. Kepp enjoying life and keep the blogs coming. Grandma and Grandpa P.S. Nells got fleas!!!!!