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Claire & Steve's Excellent Adventure
After our Pol Pot experience in Phnom Penh we decided to have a complete change of scenery and caught the bus up to Kratie in Eastern Cambodia. This was a wonderful breath of fresh air and a world away from the big city. Kratie is a small riverside town and our guesthouse was in the perfect location to sit on the upper balcony and watch the world go by at a very slow pace, play cards (beating Steve at Chinese Patience many times) and just chill out with a beer as the sun set over the Mekong River.
We were driven on motorcycles (one each this time) the following morning to take in some of Kratie's sights. Steve especially is getting into the whole Easy Rider syndrome and there is already talk of him getting his motorbike licence and buying a bike on our return. I think he may think differently when he realises that there wont be happy smiling children waving at him from every house as he drives past, or that he will have to wear a crash helmet and obey the rules of the road!
We stopped off at the monastery and climbed up the many steps to the top of the hill. It was lovely and peaceful with not another tourist in sight and just a few Buddhist monks swathed in their orange robes. We pondered with the idea of becoming monks but Steve felt that he would get bored and would need to come up with one of his money making schemes to seal the future of the monastery.
We got back on the bikes and bounced along the very bumpy dirt road (its a good job I have lots of padding on my rear) to the local bamboo village built amongst the rapids of the Mekong. It does not pay to be a heavy person visiting here as the base of the dwellings were strips of bamboo woven together and I wasn't altogether convinced that they would support our weight....they did however and we spent some time paddling in the rapids and doing very little else - we wouldn't want to over exert ourselves!
Our last stop of the day was just outside Kratie to a small place called Kampi, where we were rowed out in a boat to try to catch a glimpse of the rare Irawaddy Dolphins who live in the Mekong. It was a really peaceful experience, no engine noise, no honking horns, nothing but the water and the sound of the paddle as we rowed. We saw lots of dolphins and some of them came quite close to the boat which was a real treat. I wanted to get in the water for a swim but apparently this was against the rules so I stayed put.
We headed back into town with Steve at the handlebars of the bike - I offered to drive my guide back but he didn't look too impressed with that suggestion!
We spent the rest of the day relaxing after all the stress that the morning had brought!
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