Siem Reap, Cambodia
(Notes from my journal)
This was our last full day in Siem Reap. We kept this day largely unplanned and just wanted to see some of Siem Reap and, if possible, the Cambodian countryside.
In the morning, we woke up and went to The Blue Pumpkin for coffee and breakfast. The coffee and croissant was OK. It was nice to hang out there for a while. Then we went to the “Old Market” where there were a lot of tourists and locals shopping. We then got a horrible foot-massage somewhere there. Finally, we went to Khmer Kitchen for lunch. Fried rice, spring rolls, Khmer style curry with three soft drinks. Simply delicious and spicy (and for only $5)! After lunch, we headed back to our hotel. Gordon suggested to skip the touristy floating villages(which, by the way are not even Cambodian settlements) but instead, to go see a Cambodian fishing village. It’s not as touristy but promised a flavor of life in Cambodia. That sounded like a good idea and Gordon helped find a guide and we were on our way!
The guide took us in his tuk-tuk on the same “Japanese style” road. This time the feeling was different since the tuk-tuk is open and the dust hits you in the face. We could not even open our mouth without covering it (out of fear of swallowing dust, or worse, bugs). We then took a turn and passed through many small villages and it was quite pretty. Finally we came to a stop and he parked the tuk-tuk and said, from here we walk since the road is damaged. After a 10 minute walk, we reached an inlet and hired a boat and off we went. The boatman put a chair for me up front on the “deck” and I had a fun time sitting there until it got really windy.
After 35 minutes we arrived at a fishing village (Kompong Polok). There are ~5000 people living in the village and all the houses are built on stilts in the water. The only way to visit your neighbor is by boat!
We stopped at the local monastery, which was also the house of the head monk. Unfortunately, the head monk was out and hence we could not meet him. However, the house was open and our guide, Mahrom, took us to the top most terrace from where we could get a view of the surrounding area. I asked him questions about life there for a while. Almost everyone here is into fishing. They have no electricity but they all have modern amenities (esp. televisions) run on batteries and/or generators. They get everyday essentials from boats that come around selling whatever wares they need (vegetables, soap, wine… you name it).
After walking around a bit more, we got back on the boat and headed to the Tonle Sap lake. One of the reasons we took this trip to Kompong Polok and not the floating villages is because this part of the Tonle Sap lake has water for only 3-4 months a year (and it did when we were there). The rest of the time, its dry land. This is because as the Mekong river flows down from China, and during the rainy season it swells up and the waters flow back up into the Tonle Sap lake. We passed a lot of mangroves and finally hit the lake. Its huge!
The boatman stopped the boat in the middle of the lake and we spent about ½ hour chatting with each other about this and that (mostly their life in Cambodia). Then we headed back.
As the sun began to set (and I hate sunsets), a weird feeling began to dawn on me. Our trip was almost coming to an end. I was not ready for it. I had planned to come to Cambodia for 10+ years. I finally did. I saw the most amazing temples. We loved SE Asia. The people, the food, the place, the vibe. Everything. I was sad to be leaving soon, but happy that we had the chance to meet learn so much, meet some amazing people and experience these wonderful places.
Mahrom driver dropped us back at pub-street and get got dinner at a Khmer restaurant. The food was very good and they were very accomodating to our vegetarian needs. We then walked back home, along the Siem Reap river. It was lovely.
We went to bed early that night, since the next day, we planned to leave around 7 am. Next stop: Back to Bangkok!
This post is a part of the Thailand, Laos and Cambodia 2007 itinerary
