Well this was an interesting journey. We booked to go by boat from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh - a journey of something approaching 200 miles. After a ridiculously crowded journey in a pick up truck to get to the "boat terminal" (this term needs to be used cautiously, it was a natural and muddy peninsula with a broken plank connecting land to boat), we headed away at some considerable speed.
The journey took about 5 and 1/2 hours and the first part was across the this lake "Tonle Sap Lake". We had NO idea how big the lake was. For about a 1 and 1/2 hours, we saw no land at all and the boat was zooming incredibly fast.
It set of at 7am'ish, when the sun wasn't too hot, so we opted for the roof. It was a fascinating journey, first across the lake and then down the Tonle Sap River.
This river is quite amazing. During the monsoon (June to October), the flow is up from Phnom Penh to the Lake, providing a very effective flood management system (Environment Agency readers please take note!). Then in the dry season, the river reverses its flow and the lake empties towards Phnom Penh, where it is used to provide irrigation.
As the boat zoomed down the river, far too fast for my liking (and not a life jacket or raft in sight), it scattered fisherpeople all over the place! But, the Cambodians are long suffering and this is probably the least of their problems, so when we waved, they always smiled and waved back.
Docking in Phnom Penh, we were besieged by "porters" who want to carry your bag a few metres for a tip. But, we were tipped off in advance and simply grabbed the bags and popped to a lovely restaurant next door for lunch until the commotion died down.
We then checked into our hotel...
http://www.pavilion-cambodia.com
Which is an oasis in the middle of the city. More to follow in the next blog!
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