Well this morning we headed off by boat to Siem Reap. Due to the low water on the Tonie Sap Lake (more like a river until near the end of the trip when it widened considerably) the trip would be an 8 hour one...
It was supposed to be boring but ended up as anything but...in no certain order...let's see....
We had a rest stop (turned out to be the only one) along the way and the loo was just a hole over the lake and there were fish circling around underneath. Yes it was just a hole in the floor...you definitely had someone watch your stuff while you went in or one false move and your camera/purse or whatever would be in the lake. The fish either like the warm pee coming in or they are pervs and like to see ladies parts.
We were just a few minutes out when all of a sudden there was something flying over me and jumping all over the floor - a little fish! Guess he wanted to join the tour. Roger reached down and scooped him up while I hooted and hollered. Okay it wasn't my best moment I admit but I am not used to fish jumping all over the place by my bare feet.
As if that wasn't enough...we were coming around a bend in the river/lake (sure seemed like a river to me at that point)..the driver had hooted his horn and all of a sudden a long boat approached from the other direction and could not make their turn and ploughed right into us! Our tour leader Tidagh (not sure how to spell it) had been standing on the side of the boat talking to the boatman and she had to jump quickly out of the way. We all yelled and expected to see her in the water. She had a couple of scrapes and was quite shaken up but still smiled. What a sport. She is a great tour leader. Anyway they carried on as if nothing had happened. The other boat took out one of the poles on the side of the boat holding the canopy and wrecked the side a bit - I was very close to it - the closest of any of us besides poor Tidagh. She was very lucky she moved so quickly or who knows what could have happened. She wouldn't have been sitting smiling with her daughter at the dinner tonight...luckily the boat was an old steel thing that has been around for ages so no harm done I guess.
When we weren't having mishaps we watched the life on the river...kids waved, people fished, lots going on for sure. I also caught up with my journal, read and listened to music. We all kicked in three dollars and our tour guide had bought us a killer lunch. Baguettes with Laughing cow cheese (yes they even have it here), jam, clementines, little bananas, pineapple, watermelon - it was great.
Anyway we made it in one piece. Tonight we went to a buffet dinner and dance show. The dancing was quite elegant - really so similar to Thai dancing. The food was pretty good but a huge buffet and no organization so people kept bumping into me. After quiet Battambang we are back in tourist land - big time.
Off to the Angkor complex tomorrow to see some serious temples....should be good.
It was supposed to be boring but ended up as anything but...in no certain order...let's see....
We had a rest stop (turned out to be the only one) along the way and the loo was just a hole over the lake and there were fish circling around underneath. Yes it was just a hole in the floor...you definitely had someone watch your stuff while you went in or one false move and your camera/purse or whatever would be in the lake. The fish either like the warm pee coming in or they are pervs and like to see ladies parts.
We were just a few minutes out when all of a sudden there was something flying over me and jumping all over the floor - a little fish! Guess he wanted to join the tour. Roger reached down and scooped him up while I hooted and hollered. Okay it wasn't my best moment I admit but I am not used to fish jumping all over the place by my bare feet.
As if that wasn't enough...we were coming around a bend in the river/lake (sure seemed like a river to me at that point)..the driver had hooted his horn and all of a sudden a long boat approached from the other direction and could not make their turn and ploughed right into us! Our tour leader Tidagh (not sure how to spell it) had been standing on the side of the boat talking to the boatman and she had to jump quickly out of the way. We all yelled and expected to see her in the water. She had a couple of scrapes and was quite shaken up but still smiled. What a sport. She is a great tour leader. Anyway they carried on as if nothing had happened. The other boat took out one of the poles on the side of the boat holding the canopy and wrecked the side a bit - I was very close to it - the closest of any of us besides poor Tidagh. She was very lucky she moved so quickly or who knows what could have happened. She wouldn't have been sitting smiling with her daughter at the dinner tonight...luckily the boat was an old steel thing that has been around for ages so no harm done I guess.
When we weren't having mishaps we watched the life on the river...kids waved, people fished, lots going on for sure. I also caught up with my journal, read and listened to music. We all kicked in three dollars and our tour guide had bought us a killer lunch. Baguettes with Laughing cow cheese (yes they even have it here), jam, clementines, little bananas, pineapple, watermelon - it was great.
Anyway we made it in one piece. Tonight we went to a buffet dinner and dance show. The dancing was quite elegant - really so similar to Thai dancing. The food was pretty good but a huge buffet and no organization so people kept bumping into me. After quiet Battambang we are back in tourist land - big time.
Off to the Angkor complex tomorrow to see some serious temples....should be good.
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