Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Day Fifty-Four
Leaving Vietnam - Crossing the Border to Cambodia
Early rise & early breakfast as we were off to Cambodia today. We checked out of the hotel & put our bags on to the bus. The tour guide advised us that we were going to see a fish farm then take a boat ride through a floating village then stop to see some minority people. This was all before we boarded the boat to go to Cambodia.
The mini-bus drove us to a little harbour area where there were Vietnamese minority ladies waiting in little rowing boats for us. There were two people to a boat & we had to put on some life jackets for safety. Once in the boat the lady started to row & she was quick. The strengh in these women was unbelievable & we felt really horrible sitting there & letting her row the boat. As she rowed the boat we took some pictures & looked around at the floating houses as we passed.
The boat stopped & there was people helping us to get off the boat as it wasn't very sturdy & my balance is zero anyway. On the floating shack we walked in to a big room which had bit massive holes in the floor boards. To be honest this floating platform we where on didn't look & feel too safe to be standing on. We all gathered around the pits as the tour guide explained about the fish farm & the type of fish that they bred. Underneath the platforms there were big massive cages where all the fish are kept. We were told that there was catfish amongst many other types of fish.
To show us & example of the amount of fish that where in these cages the tour guide took a scoop of fish pellets from a big tub & threw them in to the hole in the platform. You should have seen the amount of fish that surfaced & was thrashing around in the water all crazy - They couldn't get enough of the pellets. We had never seen anything like it before. We were then taken to another platform so that we could see the under water cages properly.
After the fish farm we got back on to out little boats & the lady began to row us further & further in to the floating villages. The sights we saw as we passed peoples houses was unbelievable. There were dogs just sitting on the porch of the house with no where to go as the houses are not connected to each other they just floating singular. If you didn't own a boat or raft of some sort you would be screwed living here.
There were some women washing their pot & pans in the water & other women washing their families clothes. Each house was different & some even had cool little hammocks outside their door so they could just chill out in the lovely weather. The deep we entered the more we realised how isolated these people are from the mainland & how they have a tight knit community. It was amazing to see that there was electric cables running from house to house from the main land some how & some even had satelite dishes so they could watch tv.
The boats pulled up to a little platform where we all had to get out of the boats & walk in to a village. As we approached the entrance to the village there was an old lady who must have been about 80 years old & she was sitting on the floor chopping lots of pieces of wood. When we asked the tour guide what she was doing he told us that she was making little fencing to go around the lemongrass which was growing. In the village there was lots of children all running around & trying to sell us toffee waffles & asking us for money.
We were allowed to enter the houses & take a look around. In the underneath of one of the house there was a young girl who was weaving silk blankets & scarfs which will probably be taken to town & sold. All the houses where on big massive square pole sticks & they sat quite high off the ground. The tour guide explained that they put there house on square sticks as if they used round ones then snakes can wrap themselves around & climb up in to their houses - it made very good sense. On the front of one of the square poles was lots of dates but they weren't in any order. The guide told us that when the rainy season comes then the village becomes flooded & these homes look like floating villages. He further explained that the dates are because the villages mark how high the water comes up to each year. These people seemed to be clued up & very clever.
We looked further in the village as the children followed us around shouting & singing a song to make us try & buy some of these waffles. Andy stopped two of the little girls who where about seven & he told them that if they sang a Vietnamese song & got the other kids to sing it too then we would buy some of the waffles & give them money. It was so beautiful to see as these children all stood around looking up at Andy & singing in Vietnamese. True to his word Andy bought the waffles & I distributed the money evenly bewteen all the children so it was fair. I can tell you that it didn't take long before Andy has his lips around one of the waffles.
We spent about half an hour in the village before we had to make tracks back to dry land & get on the boat which would take us to the border of cambodia. We went back to the mini-bus to collect our big heavy bags & we where taken to another boat. I couldn't believe the boat that we where actually getting on. It was really tiny & very narrow. There was about 22 of us on this small boat & the lady made sure people & weight was distributed evenly across the boat as it was capsize otherwise. We had been told to prepare ourselves as we would be on this boat for at least three hours.
As we settled down on the boat the lady came & gave us immigration forms for Cambodia. She took our passports & our visa money & explained the process to us. It wasn't long before we dropped her off on dry land whilst she sorted all the visas out. She reassure everyone on the boat that she would be meeting us further down the river. As we sat on the small boat we passed lots of sights. There was lots of Vietnamese villages that stood on the side of the river & waved at us as we sailed along. Everyone seem extra friendly & nice as when other boats passed they all waved too.
The boat was very very slow & the noise of the small engine was beginning to get on my nerves. As we were sat at the back of the boat we felt all the vibrations too which wasn't good. Looking around the boat there was all kinds of stuff on board. On one side there must have been about 20 big trays of eggs. There were some plastic bottles & other stuff too. It looked as if our little boat was doing some kind of wheeling & dealing across the border - We shall wait & see!!
Finally the boat came to a stop & there was a tiny little floating platform where we had to leave all our big heavy bags. There was a floating building we had to climb steps to get up to from the boat as this is where we would get our visa sorted. We all had to sit in this floating building whilst we waited for our passports to be given back to us. As I was bored sitting around I decided to go & look around the immigration building. On the other side there were a set of steps which led down to a bridge you could walk across to get on to dry land.
As I approached the door there was a tiny little bird sitting there & not moving so I bent down & give it a little poke & it began moving. I went & shouted Andy so he could come & have a look at it. I sat on the floor stroking this little bird for ages whilst Andy was taking pictures. I decided to pick the bird up & hold it but it only sat there for about a minute before it flew off in to the bushes on the other side of the bridge. If I had it my way it would have been in my bag & coming along for the ride.
Finally with our passports back we had to grab our bags & board on to another boat.
The new boat was awful & they had the most uncomfortable wooden bench seats to sit on. We all piled on with our things & along came the swag that was getting smuggled in to Cambodia. We where on the boat for about half an hour before it made a stop off. We all had to get off the boat & walk along this tiny wooden plank of wood to get to the dry land. Once on the dry land it was the Cambodian immigration where we had to get our visas stamped. All sorted & stamped we were finally in Cambodia.
Back on the boat we prepared for another four hours of the boat ride. I can't even being to explain how uncomfortable & cramped we all were. We sailed along the Mekong & sure enough it wasn't long before we came to our first stop to drop off some swag the boat was carrying. As we sailed further down the river some of the sights were amazing. There was lots of children all running to the water edge & they were waving like crazy. Some of the children where playing & swimming around in the water which was great to watch.
Other sights that we saw was a farmer with his buffalos leading them down to the river so they could bathe & cool off after a hard days graft that they had just endured. There was another farmer how was getting a wash as his cows were also getting washed. There were people fishing on boats & on the waters edge. There was even a small boy who was in the water & he was brushing his teeth. I can't describe all the wonderful things that we saw because there is just too many. I can only say that the Cambodian children are adorable & we must have sat on the boat & waved constantly for at least two hours.
The boat finally came to a halt at the back of these houses & we where told to grab our belongings as this is where we would be getting the bus in to Phnom Penh from. We all looked at each other oddly as this was someones house. We walked along another narrow plank of wood this time with our big bags on our back which was quite difficult & we entered this house through a narrow passage way. Out on the front of the house there was the smallest looking mini bus that we had even seen. There was no way on this earth that 22 people all with their belongings where fitting on to this bus - crazy!!
It was even more funny when we were all made to wait whilst a man fitted a car battery inside the mini-bus. You should have seen the look on all of our faces, it would have been priceless. As people got loaded in to this mini-bus me & Andy & the Malaysian girls hung back & we soon realised it was too our advantage. As people where squashing themselves on to the bus we got told to get in to a big car which had just been driven out of the garage. Again the look on people's faces as we got inside the car was priceless as we had room & comfortability - it didn't turn out that bad after all.
The car pulled away along the streets towards Phnom Penh. As we drove down the main roads all we could see were lovely temples (wats) which where beautifully decorated & they very extremely colourful. It was mad as these looked so grand yet next to them were shacks for houses. You could see the poverty already here & we had only just arrived. It took over & hour to get in to Phnom Penh & we where dropped off at the bus station. Waiting for us was a tuk-tuk driver who was holding a card with my name on.
It got in to the tuk-tuk as we were driven to our guesthouse. It didn't take long before we checked in & we were taken to our room. The room wasn't great to say the least & the smell from the bathroom was vile. I had also tried to get internet connection but the laptop was having none of it. It wasn't long before I was in the reception & having a good old moan. The man on the desk reassured us that we could move rooms tomorrow & be on the bottom floor where there was wifi connection.
Being very hungry we decided to head out on the streets on Phnom Penh to see if we could first find a cash machine & secondly some food. It took us a while to find a cash machine because it was hard to navigate to anywhere in the dark & especially when we had just arrived in a complete strange place. We managed to find a burger place so we went in & ordered some food. We soon realised that they use US dollars as currency but when you pay in dollars they give you Riel for your change. Next to the burger place was a supermarket so we decided to go in have a look around & buy some supplies.
Back in the hotel we decided to look around properly as there was little balconies that you could look out of & a sitting area where wifi actually worked for a bit. After I had made a few phone calls Andy wanted to watch the football on the laptop through the internet but as the wifi connection wasn't great we had to sit down stairs outside the reception office which was closed.
As Andy sat watching the match the young security guard had passed me there mad Cambodian story books which look really childish. He told me to sit there & read them so I did. The stories where meant to be real & each story told of places in Cambodia & how they came to be called what they are. I have to admit that the stories were far fetched & that these peoples lives were sheltered.
With sitting downstairs in the great outdoors I was getting bitten to death by so many mosquitos. Fed up of itching my skin & being shattered after a long days travelling I left Andy to finish watching the rest of the match whilst I climbed in to bed. It wasn't long before I was asleep....
- comments