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Today has been one of the most amazing, eye opening day of my life. We ventured off at 8am with Scarlet and Ash for a tour of a waterfall and a floating village but it was so much more and so more amazing than I could explain in this blog post.
After an hour and half drive in which we all slept through we arrived at the top of this mountain about forty minutes away from any type of civilisation. We got out the car and were immediately greeted by a group of Cambodian kids who were shouting at the taxi driver. Suddenly they all burst into a tournament of rock, paper, scissors! The girl that won smugly walked over and then the taxi driver explained she had won to be able to guide us through their tribal village. It was so surreal and to witness that people lived like this was genuinely a privilege. We walked to the top witnessing an amazing view and passed a group playing live instruments, a medicine man fixing people and monks blessing people. Anyone who knows my obsession with the Buddhist way of life would assume
I got a blessing. Which I did. And was forced to pay $2 to do so. From my research I swear they didn't believe in material things! The tribe life was unreal and we even got to see a fresh water river which was beautiful!
After a waffle from one of the tribes stalls, we were driven to a waterfall. We got to see it from the top and then follow it down the mountain. Once we got to the bottom we were able to have a swim. This was breath taking, literally and physically. Me and Franks sat on a rock watching the powerful waterfall. We had little fish nibbling our feet, the type you pay for on Koh San Road. Weird sensitisation but my feet are definitely softer than before! I tried to swim under the waterfall but the nearer you got the more you couldn't breath! Also the random rocks and slimy vines catching your feet made it a bit of a mission! The sound of the waterfall was so soothing and the view was unreal.
Next we were taken to an authentic "off the beaten track" restaurant for lunch. We had delicious satay flavoured Indonesian food and afterwards had a chill out in the hammocks.
After dinner we were taken to the floating village which was so much more than I could ever imagine. As amazing as it is the reality of their living conditions is really sad and eye opening. The village has 200 children whom live with their parents and 350 whom live in the orphanage. There are so many orphans due to a risky lifestyle in regards to fishing, storms and diseases from the water. The river is their only water system causing such harm. We went to the community floating market and bought a crate of water to take over to the orphanage. The children were all so happy and welcoming. Showing us their work, high fiving us, playing with eachother, definitely an emotional but great experience. They even put on a musical show for a group of Vietnamese charity workers donating a large amount of food. The most eye opening element was how much happier these kids were than English kids and the sense of community and care is so evident in these beautiful kids.
We also got to sail out to the largest lake in south east Asia and the guy even let me drive the boat for a bit! The lake was beautiful as the sky was the same tones as the water making it look ever lasting. So peaceful.
Back in the village we stopped off at a tourist area where we watched crocodiles and catfish being fed and even had the chance to hold a snake. I didn't realise my heart could beat so fast till this moment!
On the way back we bought some beers and sat on the front of the boat watching over the floating village. It was such a beautiful ending to the day and it's clear to see I've ticked more than one thing of my bucket list now!
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