Siem Reap to Battambong by boat.

31/3 - Last night was a hot one, but only because of the heat. The bus turned up on time. I bagged the seat with the leg room, then twigged we wouldn't be staying at 3 people so moved out of the way. We ended up chocka and someone didn't show. It wasn't far to the boat. We passed through a village on big stilts. The lake Tonel Sap, has receded a fair bit being dry season. The houses don't look much, but some of them are really smashing. In the open ones I saw TV's, water coolers, smashing dark wood furniture and the floors shine. Cambodians seem to start the day, whether at home or work, by sweeping the floor with the brushes and brooms made from natural materials. Some of the houses are not so flash, but still tidy. Some have bamboo floors, so there are gaps, which must be cool and handy for when washing the dishes in a bowl, any splash just drips through. It may be why there are no coins in the country too, if they are dropped they are lost. I was surprised how smart the shacks were, but should not be. That is a bit stuck up of me. Sorry.
At the boat and off the bus where loads of lasses bombard us to buy bread, water, fruit, cheese. "Nothing on the boat sir." They are not letting us out of their sight, so there is no rush to buy. They are always smiling and friendly. I don't know how to explain that it is nice hassle, but it is. They don't just take your money and run, as they move amongst people, they always have a word for you when they get back to you and the smiles are warm and in their eyes too.
We got to the boat and it is a bit hard to describe. An English speaking bloke, who was picked up from a posh hotel, sees the boat and exclaims "Is THAT it????" He was a bit reluctant to get on.
It is a fiberglass shallow shell with a longtail motor and canopy, no seats, just a ledge down each side. OH OH, to get to it is via a plank over water. There is a handrail. It brought back memories of my Dad crossing something similar to get to a lough staging we were fishing from in Ireland. He ended up swinging from the rail, while me and our Gil laughed. He must have been watching over me, I made it.
The LP says this is one of the most scenic boatrides in Cambodia. If that is the case it is not for the landscape scenery, but the people their homes and villages we pass by on the way. It is one of the most uncomfortable journies I have made, but I would go again tomorrow. Once on the lake, there are walls of fishing nets everywhere. It wouldn't be easy to traverse the lake without knowledge of the route. The nets stretch for hundreds of yards, funneling the fish to an area at the end. We passed a floating village that moves as the lake recedes and rises. It had loads of shops, a church, everything usually in a village. We passed similar village along the side of the river, once we left the lake. People move around on canoes. There was a kid alone in one, who could only have been about 4.
These fast boats that we are in are not popular with the villagers. It is easy to see why, their wake swamp the nets and some unattended canoes. As they are heard, people come out to steady their canoes. Having said that we stopped and picked up about 4 people from the villages. One old dear with her son and 5 boxes of fish. This is a great experience. The old dear is funny.She bosses about the boat crew and some other lads who have joined us and they all make a fuss of her. She has a great gold tooth smile. Her son was a bit shy, but eventually gave a smile and I had him trying to roll his eyes.
Not surprisingly for people living around rivers and lakes, fishing is the main stay. I don't think we were ever out of sight of a net or trap. There are lots of piles of fish on boats and houses, but there are lots of herons, terns, cormorants and quite a few different storks, so there must still be plenty of fish around. The water is varying shades of murky brown and where an offshoot joins the river it is 2 shades at once, side by side. We pull into the floating services at this point. It is pretty good too. Not Forte, but tasty and cheaper too.
It is really interesting to see how the river or lake molds the villagers lives. They wash in it, do laundry, wash up squatting by the side of their home. One kid squatted by the side, then his Mam splashed his bum. Work it out yourself. Along the river there are loads of groups of kids skinny dipping laughing and having a great time and there are lots of hellos and waves when they see us. The adults are a bit more dour, that may be the fast boat thing, but a lot still smile. The villages contain everything, grocers, hardware shops, garages, petrol stations. I don't know why I am surprised, it is only commonsense really, that everything should be available. A lot of the houses have TV aerials too and I spotted one satellite dish. There is the equivalent of the mobile shops too, lasses paddling along the river selling fruit and veg from house to house. One lass pulled up at a shop in her canoe, shouted to the proprietor and he came out with her goods. There were quite a few water buffalo along the way too and a crocodile farm, a few more lads boarded here. The boat is now chocka. This is a great adventure and there is a big surprise at the end, a bloody big set of dodgy steps and the handrail only starts half way up. A lad offered to take my big rucksack when he saw me struggling with the small one. He did a lap of honour when I gave him $1, I thought he was going to have a party the way he went around showing all his mates. A dollar well spent. There are mini buses at the top waiting to whisk people away to their respective hotels. The bloke who collared me got impatient and told me to jump onto the back of his moto. It was cool, me with my big pack on, he had the small one up front, bustling along on a Honda 125 weaving in and out of the traffic. I'd fancied a go at this, another tick on the list. The lad asked what kind of room I wanted, cheapskated again, single with fan. He grabbed 2 keys, but the cheapskating bit back, they are on the 4th floor, no lift, but I made it and for $4 it is the business, fridge, TV. I'm chuffed, so chuffed I am off out for a coffee and brownie.
I have not been sure about Phnom Phen, but while I was having my coffee and cake, 2 German lasses joined me, tall, blonde and lovely, no towels to throw. They were telling me how much they loved Phnom Phen, which cheered me up. They have the same feelings about the Cambodian people as me too, regards their smiley, warm character. The cafe wants to close, 18:00, so I wandered off into the sunset, no doubt a very sexy sight. I ended up at the river. The town does not seem a big place. There is an obvious French influence in the architecture and there's some Art Deco. There is a lot of construction going on around the river, so there seems to be an effort to make the place aesthetically appealing to the tourists. The promenade has been paved, but does not look to have been done with great enthusiasm, it is creaking already, benches broke, stones raised and missing. I sat on one of the benches to find out where I was and was quickly joined by a young lad wanting to practice his English AND HE WAS. He was enthusiastic, curious and friendly, just like I would have expected before I started my travelling and had my view tainted. I never got to check the map, it was too dark when I moved on. I had to move on, the lad would have talked all night. I found a restaurant and ordered my pot of tea, it's a Chinese Cambodian place, ordered my food and in walked Martin and James, who I met in Siem Reap. 2 good lads having a good time on their tour. These 2 make me seem organised.
2 ladies with a kid each are sat on the kerb at the edge of the restaurant, one has a part of each leg amputated and drags her baby along with her in one arm. I don't know how to handle this, no matter what I do, I don't feel good or enjoy eating food in front of them. Martin and James, as usual, ordered shed loads of food, too much and Martin gives me a lesson in what to do. He takes all the fresh spring rolls they haven't eaten and gives them to the ladies. Then there is a funny follow up. One of the ladies comes over and asks for the sauce that goes with the spring rolls. She brought the dish back later. I felt really proud of the lads, so I suppose that is what to do. The ladies didn't bother anyone, they just sat and waited, giving everyone a big smile. I guess I need to order more food in the future. I handed over my packet of Oreos I'd been carrying around on my way out. I went for an efix on the way back, but got thrown out. The place was shutting. It looks like Battambong closes down at 21:00, there is hardly anywhere open. I headed back and got invited to sit on one of the benches outside the hotel door. How could I refuse. The moto driver who invited me was after some business for tomorrow, so I told him I had a moto booked, then he offered to get me a lady. With all the preliminaries done, we sat and had a good chat, then I hit the sack. One good day in many.