(Note I have been having big problems trying to upload the pictures, so I have had to reduce the size and hence quality - my apologies.)
The day started with an early breakfast on the open air top (4th) floor of the hotel looking over the city as the bustle of the day started. Our bikes were already on their way having been loaded into the van for a longer road trip which started at 5.30am. Today’s destination was Siem Reap, where temples such as Angkor Wat were located. It was really a detour, but having come this far it would be a shame not to see the temples. So today was to be an easy day. We would take a boat ride ending up on South East Asia’s largest lake, Tonle Sap after navigating the smaller rivers in order to get to Siem Reap. At this time of year, after the rainy season, the lake is easily navigable, it is much lower and so harder to navigate at other times of year.
These next two views are taken looking along either way on the road on which then hotel was located. In one direction is a market already busy with people, in the other direction are people coming into town to work.
The hotel had arranged a van to take us and our luggage and, it turned out, other people on the short journey to the river bank. In fact there were more passengers than seats and a plastic seat was used along with cramming people onto the existing seats, all perfectly normal here in Cambodia. The manager of the hotel followed us on a scooter and also gave us a gift of a krama scarf. The scarf is a multipurpose item for keeping dust off, sun out and carrying things as well as other uses. It was clear that the Manager was working hard to try to develop his business.
After a short journey we arrived at what looked a bit like a rubbish dump with a couple of boats moored alongside. The boat was capable of carrying 50-60 people but we had around 20 on which allowed us to spread out a bit. There were loads of kids around all getting involved in the getting things going.
After a short delay our luggage was loaded on, I keep my money, passport and phone in my laptop bag along with my computer and keep it with me. It would be too easy for luggage to get left behind in the number of transfers we have. Here is a picture of the mooring point as we left.
As you would expect on a river – fish play an important part of life for food and business. Everyone seems comfortable on boats and get involved in fishing. Here a couple of lads load their catch into a basket.
An older gentleman casts his nets out onto the river.
There are lots of houses right by the river, generally built on poles; some are built from traditional materials and some from corrugated iron.
During the early stages of the journey the river teemed with fishing boats, all casting their nights across the river. Our boat had to constantly zig-zag down the river to avoid them.
On this boat you can see the ubiquitous motor used for pumping, as a form of tractor engine and to power boats.
Despite the fact we were creating quite a wake as our boat moved down the river, few seemed to mind, most waved cheerfully of called out “hello, hello”.
The lad on the back here has clearly been doing this most of his life.
Whilst many people went below in the shade, enjoying the breeze through the open sides a small number sat upstairs on the deck and swapped stories. They seem to be second generation back-packers. We had a girl from Malaysia taking a late holiday, on her own because no friends could make it. A French-Canadian. who now works as a Tour Leader for a small company. Chris who is constantly making new contacts as part of his business and a Swede who has two weeks holiday. Notes were compared on places to stay, places to go and backgrounds to while away the time, occasionally someone leapt up to take pictures (if it was interesting enough to would others). Other people came up from time to time. However the sun was fierce and I required several bastings of factor 30 especially as in the breeze it did not feel too hot.
As we moved down the river it became more rural, with boats being paddled rather than being propelled by smoky engines. At one point the river became very narrow and we had to be careful to avoid being hit by trees on either side. We also had to watch out for red ants dropping down onto the deck.
Many children were to be seen playing on the decks of the boats shouting hello as we went on by.
Gradually the river opened out and we saw more solitary boats on the water.
The water went on for miles.
Every now and then we pass a river village. Here the local delivery boat is being rocked by the wake of our boat. The houses were built on poles to ensure they stayed dry as the water levels change.
After an hour or so we stopped at a village shop, just like village shops every where it sold lots of things and catered to the passing tourist trade. It also supplied fuel for the boats. Only instead of pumps the fuel was stored in old lemonade bottles. We bought a cold-ish beer and what tasted like a coconut macaroon. The Swedish guy bought Durian flavoured biscuits. It is a fruit with an unpleasant smell but nice taste. In Malaysia you can’t eat it on a bus, even the cookies smelt odd, they tasted ok, but I did not go back for another and most of the packet was left behind.
Here is “Granny” doing the washing up.
The sun was so hot that even with plenty of suntan lotion it seemed prudent to get out of the sun, but it was way too nice on top so I used my multi-purpose scarf instead.
Wherever we went there were people dotted around the lake fishing.
After a few hours we started to reach the other side. One of the first things to come into view was a hill with a temple on top (although not in this shot).
The boat moored at a causeway about a mile (1.5Km) long. Our bikes were brought to the causeway and we loaded our luggage into the van put on our cycling helmets and cycled into Siem Reap past many houses either side of the causeway. Of course there was the usual crowd to meet us, along with Tuk-Tuk drivers looking for passengers. Our bikes had taken a battering though coming by road in the Van. The seat cover for my Brooks leather saddle was worn through and the leather scuffed. Jim had a wheel scratched.
As we got into town the traffic got busier, with cars, motorbikes, tuk-tuks and bicycles everywhere. Eventually we walked into a modern (ish) big hotel. Everyone stared at us, it is not every day you get western visitors striding into the hotel wearing cycling gear.
We then had dinner at a local restaurant (Khmer Kitchen) there were quite a lot of foreigners enjoying the food so it must have had a good reputation. Tomorrow we will make a small tour of the temples. (40Km/25miles)
When cycling you tend to swap tales only with those cycling with you, as well as musing while pedaling. I found that the boat is a kind of meeting place for travellers who swap tales and work out what to do next as they travel. For us cyclists it was also time to re-charge the batteries.
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