Woke up very refreshed in Kampong Thom, mattress was so comfortable. Had another shower, so great having the room to myself! Phone reception for the hot water for coffee and the concierge knocks on the door 3 mins later. I'm still wearing my nighty. Open the door and he's holding a GLASS with the boiling water. I let him in and he quickly puts it down on the dresser. Have my breakfast and cigarette on my balcony, so civilised. Colin and Dylan carry the luggage down, Dylan wants to know what I've packed that makes my pack so heavy. I ask how Dylan's night out was (he was going to take a tuk tuk to some club). He says he decided against it. He and Colin had gone to the 5th floor, seen a small bar in a room playing Cambodian music, gone up to the bar thinking they could order some beers, then noticed the pretty but heavily made up girls, so deduced it was a brothel. A guy came over saying karaoke, but not for them, he ushered them out quickly. The next morning Dylan had questioned the concierge, who also said it was a karaoke bar. The bus arrived promptly at 08H30. I wrote the journal while Dylan slept, we passed through a few villages. The bus driver really motored, hooting every time he passed bicycles, motos, cars and trucks and other buses. The road is good, but quite bumpy and very busy. Cambodian music played non stop, there was even an adaptation of "Summertime". I woke Dylan at 11H00 as I didn't want us to end up missing the town again. I asked the Cambodian guy sitting to my right whether was Kampong Cham. He didn't understand, but I think gestured that this was not Kampong Cham. We got to Kampong Cham at 12H00. Colin and Dylan had decided that the guesthouses we wanted to check out were within walking distance and didn't want to pay a tuk tuk driver. We set off down the road, Dylan carrying his backpack on his back and mine in front, in the blistering sun and it seemed we were heading out of town. Various motos were asking if we wanted a ride and Dylan said no, but good judgement prevailed when I said we should take a tuk tuk. The driver said he would charge $2 to take us to Mittapheap Guesthouse. Unfortunately they only had one double room, so Dylan ran across to Nava on the corner and came back saying we should check the next one. The tuk tuk driver Bow said we could go to the Mekong Hotel, which was $15 or so and we said it must be cheaper. He said there were places along the Mekong for $5, we stopped at one where the rooms were really grotty and dirty, with sagging mattresses. Then we went to the Speanthemey and even though the downstairs reception was basically a garage with a counter and narrow concrete steps up to the 2nd and 3rd floors, the rooms were clean and the mattresses comfortable. The balcony outside had a view of the Mekong to die for. There was a squatting toilet, basin with no drain and hand shower fastened to the wall. A bucket of water with a scoop under the basin caught the water which flowed from the tap whenever the stopcock was opened on the pipe mounted to the wall. Another tap on the pipe fed water to the shower.
Bow had asked whether he could take us on a tour in the afternoon, starting at 14H00, so we dropped the bags in the rooms, didn't bother to shower as we would immediately be hot and sweaty again and set off with him. He first stopped along the Mekong for us to take photos of the Vietnamese boat people, then stopped at a Cham house, where he beckoned us to follow him through bushes. I suddenly had an uncomfortable feeling that we may be walking into a trap, as we were walking off the beaten track with this unknown person and we were carrying all our money. I told Dylan and Colin to be prepared. My suspicion turned out to be unfounded, as he just took us to a spot along the river where they grow lotus flowers. They are absolutely beautiful and fragile. He opened one of the seedpods and told us to peel the seeds inside and eat them. They were so deliciously sweet and tasty. I photographed a guy threshing rice. Then he drove us to an Amica project in a very poor area, where the French assist the Cambodians in setting up small handicraft businesses and they assist in getting their products sold - a big industry is weaving material, tablecloths and cotton and silk scarves. He stopped at a house where an old woman of 86 was rolling cotton onto a large loom and her daughter was weaving a cotton scarf. The old lady is so hunchbacked, I would be surprised if she can walk much. The scarves are woven from quite fine cotton, so it takes a long time to make. Bow said she makes 2 in a day of many hours of work. She asked if we'd like to buy any and clearly one can't refuse, so we went upstairs into her house and it was surprising cool. The floor is made of strips of plaited bamboo, with small gaps, so you can see through and through which air circulates. The house seemed to consist of a fairly large common area and two other rooms further back (I didn't go any further than the living room). I didn't see any evidence of electrical lights, so I guess they use paraffin lamps or candles. There was a language barrier so I couldn't really ask questions. Piles of kramars (scarves) were put on a mat and we sat on the mat looking though them. I didn't like any of the colour combinations. Dylan found one he liked and paid $3, I'm sure we'll find more in Phnom Penh for a lot less, but I guess she needs the money.
Bow then drove us to Wat Nokor, an 8th century temple, beside which a new vihara has been built. The temple is quite well preserved. Quite strange that the new Buddhist temple was built right next to the old one. The last stop was Phnom Bpros, a hill with modern cement pagodas, with hints of Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei. There is a 12M reclining golden Buddha, as well as a shrine with some skulls of Cambodians who were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Next to the shrine outside were mounds of sand covering the bones of more people massacred. Some steps led up to the monastry and some small wild monkeys live on the hill.
We got back to the guesthouse at 18H00, had a shower, bought bus tickets to Kratie, then went to the Mekong Crossing for supper. It's owned by two American guys, who motorbiked around Cambodia 5 years ago and decided to stay. We only met Joe, who is short, with piercing green eyes, large Freddie Mercury moustache and broad Pennsylvania accent. He plays the coolest 60's, 70's and 80's American music. The food is good, I was excited to see I could order "Western"food, but my toasted cheese and tomato (green) sandwich was not so successful - they use the local white processed cheese, dairy products are not really available, are imported and are very expensive. We went across the road to an Internet cafe and I continued with the blog for an hour.
We went back to the Mekong Crossing at 23H00 to pick Joe's brains about Banlung and Stung Treng. He said Stung Treng doesn't have anything going for it, but Banlung is nice, very laidback, jungle. He said the only thing worth doing in Kratie is going to see the dolphins and one doesn't even need to take a boat out, you can see them from the jetty. We met 30 year old Dave, who claims to be making a documentary about retrieving the remains of Erroll Flynn's son, Sean, who was killed by the Khmer Rouge 10 years ago. Dave says he works in Saigon in security, is divorced from his Vietnamese wife and has a 2,5 year old daughter. Hetalks non-stop and said he had caught malaria, dengue fever and some other disease and he gets sick when they flare up every now and then.
We went back to the guesthouse at 00H00. I slept surprising well, the fan was so effective I had to cover myself with the blanket during the night.
I apologise for not including any photos, this programme is not allowing me to upload any, will keep on trying ;-)
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