The boat to Phnom Penh

Last night, Voun took me to a Cambodian restaurant on the east side of Siem Reap. I was the only Westerner there and Voun was the only Cambodian who spoke English. The main dish was a communal plate of cut steak which we dipped in a sauce that we each made from several ingredients on the table. The food was quite good, but it was frustrating not being able to talk to anyone.

My shuttle for the boat to Phnom Penh was to arrive at six o'clock this morning. I had set my watch alarm, but the hotel attendant helpfully knocked on my door to wake me up. At 4:53. So I thanked him and then went back to be for about an hour. I waited outside in the predawn until about 6:25 when the already packed twelve passenger van finally arrived. We stopped at three more guesthouses and eventually had eighteen passengers crunched inside.

Siem Reap lies about ten kilometers north of Tonle Sap, which is an enormous lake, the biggest in Southeast Asia, in fact. The road out of town runs on a spine overlooking some beautiful farmland that was beautifully lit by the low morning sun. We arrived at the chaotic boat platform just before seven o'clock, in time to buy some bread and water before boarding.

The boat platform actually sits at the end of a channel maybe two kilometers from the actual lake. About half of the passengers started the trip sitting outside the cabin at the bow or on the low roof, until we reached the open water and sped up. The wind started showering everyone with cold spray and there was a bit of a mad slippery dash to get inside.

We crossed the lake in about ninety minutes the water calmed as we started down the river. The rest of the trip was a pleasant and sunny three and a half more hours. Fishing villages lie on both banks occurring more frequently as we approached Phnom Penh. There were fishing boats out along almost the entire length of the river, with long nets that sometimes stretched entirely across the channel. Our boat avoided the fishermen, but drove right over the nets, knocking the aerosol cans used for floats aside.

Children we passed almost always waved as we flew by and occasionally a fisherman whose boat was at the river bank would run down to make sure our wake wasn't throwing it against the shore.

The boat arrived at Phnom Penh at about 1:30 PM and a throng of drivers waited at the pier waving guesthouse signs and trying to secure fares. I stopped by the bus station to arrange my trip to Vietnam and then checked in at the Angkor International Hotel. After a short nap, I had lunch and walked around the waterfront. I feel surprisingly tired for a day of not doing too much and I'm looking forward to a long night's sleep.