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This trip, I decided to start off calmly – no 20minute dashes to the airport to be the last in the check-in queue and just make my plane – no, I’m gonna have a ‘relaxed’ weekend in Phnom Penh, watching the Dragon Boats race across the riverfront from the Mekong to the Tonle Sap. So, the capital’s 2 million swelled to double as many Cambodian’s flocked to the city to celebrate the phenomenon as three rivers, that converge in the city, reverse their flow back to the South China Sea. The city began gearing up from Thursday evening as the roads closed into gridlock, and vendors from the provinces set up stalls across the central part of town. My usual 20min ride to the airport now took me 2 hours! Undeterred, I gathered the troops and we hit the bars for a night of revelry. I can say a lot of alcohol was involved, as was some drinking games, dancing, and a few notorious PP night stops, however, the rest will remain untold (mostly coz I can’t remember it myself!)
The first mission on Saturday was to fight the headache with some of Cambodia’s cure-all – rice porridge – then on the Chow, an upscale rooftop terrace overlooking the riverfront to watch the boat races. Teams rowed their way ferociously up the river past us, while we sipped on Anchor Beer. It was a fascinating event to be caught up in as hundreds of people milled about in the streets below, vendors hawking all manner of tack and deep-fried critters. At the closing ceremony for each day, boats carried large, brightly-lit boards displaying messages from the government to the many people enjoying the balmy night.
After the Sunday night fireworks, we partied away in the casino, before collapsing into bed for two hours, then making the arduous bus ride to the northern frontier town of Stung Treng, 9 hours away. There we quickly arranged a taxi to take us and two travelling Khmers to O’Svay, a small village on the Laos border. Driving through the forest in the melting light of the day, we got a little unsettled when the car stopped, and all the lights went out, in a dark, isolated spot. Fortunately, the engine restarted quickly and we arrived at the village soon after. From there we all clambered precariously into a narrow canoe, backpacks and all, by the light of someone’s phone torch, and, with the boat swaying under us, we set off into the deepening gloom. The moon was incredible, as this auspicious date was picked especially for the water festival, and we whizzed along the river in our own lunar halo, shining almost as bright as day. The ridges of the untamed forests grappled the sky with bony fingers, and the inky waters of the Mekong swirled around our lonely boat. We were enjoying the absolute serenity of the scene, and the serendipity of the night cruise, when suddenly the engines cut and we were left floating in the black water. Our boatman paddled us to the shore, where we could sit until someone else came with the part to fix the engine! After an hour, we were on our way again, with Pou steering us home for the night.
At the homestay, Anlong Chheuteal, we were fed a simple dinner then collapsed into out little hut on stilts for the night. The beds were made from strips of bamboo suspended from a frame that swayed gently with every turn. The open windows let in the cool air, and I was chilled in the early morning light. Around 6am, I made my way down to the bank of the river and couldn’t really believe that right in front of me, the rare Irrawaddy fresh water dolphins had come to greet me! I jumped straight into the water and swam off with Pou to take a closer look. At one point, I saw two of these incredible creatures changed course and began swimming in my direction, until the roar of a nearby boat made them disappear. Altogether, I saw around 3 or 4 within 20 or 30 meters! The legends tell of these peaceful creatures rescuing villagers from drowning and bringing them to safety on the bank, however, during the Pol Pot regime, the soldiers shot many for fun or target practice. Now their population is deeply under threat from the increased river traffic and pollution of the river.
After breakfast with the dolphins playing happily in the background, we set off to hike to the waterfall – misnamed on all the literature as Sopheakmith, which is actually across the border in Laos – the Khmer name being PreahNithMith. We trekked over the rocks for a couple of hours in the heat, clambering and slipping, but the view across the crashing cascade was worth every drop of sweat. The sheer volume of water was astounding, and from a distance the waterfall seemed to start so high and span so far across the horizon. By this point we were so thirsty, but none of us seemed to have the foresight to bring any liquid! I had managed though to carry an empty water bottle. So Pou took us past the precipice of the fall and filled the bottle from the river! We then proceeded to drink Mekong water! A little murky, but when we were so thirsty, it was well received! So I thumb my nose at all the people who gasp open-mouthed at me when I say I’ve swum in the Mekong – now I have actually drank from it!! Haha! Anyway, I survived, and without a single unexpected bowel movement! So proud!! For the journey back we decided to beat a path through the jungle. However, many plants appeared prepared to attack us, and the poor Khmer guy for leeched while wading through the shallow streams! We finally made it back to the boat and that afternoon I had some well-earned hammock time!
The next morning, I tried to ask Pou, in my minimal Khmer, to drop us at the Laos border. He smiled, and drove us 10 minutes to other side of the bank – Laos! Hmm, I kind of need a stamp in my passport, I part-mimed, using the very limited store of Cambodian words. So after waving my passport at him, and imitating the immigration officer, he drove us off to O’Svay where we were conned out of a dollar for the Cambodian official’s lunch, and two for the Laotian – I guess they eat more. Finally in Laos, we arrived at our tropical paradise – Sip Phan Don – 4000 islands. Commence relaxation – oh after a tour of Don Det and neighbouring Don Khon, linked by an old French railway bridge.
The next day, we geared up and jumped into a Kayak. We had only gone upstream half an hour to Don Khon, when I managed to impale my foot stepping out of my Kayak. Blood gushing and bacteria multiplying, my sweet guide rushed off to find some medical help on an island of 2000 people. He came back with a bicycle and proceeded to push me to the ‘hospital’. There they wiped down a dirty bench with an even dirtier rag and began ‘cleaning’ my wound. As I still had a full day in the water, they gave me a rubber glove, which I fitted over my foot – very sexy – covered by an equally as sexy striped plastic bag. Within an hour the infection had caught on and I could no longer walk. Funnily enough we ended up kayaking back to Pou’s homestay and on seeing me hobble up the pontoon, he rushed over with concern, and began the amazing Khmer hospitality of offering me everything and anything to eat and drink – spicy sour tamarind, a sweet stick of raw sugar cane, and some Lao Lao Whisky! After watching the dolphins a second time, we jumped back in the Kayaks and paddled out to them. They let us come amazingly close, it was just breathtaking.
Unfortunately, as my foot was so badly infected, I couldn’t walk, I ended up missing out on the trip to Wat Phou in Champasak, instead opting for hammock therapy and a good dose of crime fiction. Actually just what I needed since I am still recovering from dengue fever!
Traveljournals.net
VISIT LAOS WITH ASIANWAY TRAVEL
Laos Tours:
EXOTIC LAOS TOUR
REAL LAOS EXPERIENCE – 7 DAYS
LAOS OVERLAND ADVANTURE – 12 DAYS
Tags: , Asianway Travel, deloasagricultore, Laos Tours, tinh-huong-cau-hoi-du-lich, travel-alone, vietnam-scenic, Visit Laos
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 at 11:43 am and is filed under Laos Travel Guide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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