Boat Ride from Battambang

When I left Phnom Penh, I took the bus directly west to the city of Battambang, which supposedly is te second biggest city in Cambodia (I'll have to check on that.) I spent the night there so I could take the "fast" boat up te Stung Sangker River, into Tonle Sap Lake to go to Siem Reap. There was a transfer from the hotel directly to the boat. But when we got to the river, motor bikes with tourists were leaving, shouting the boat is down river. 3 Cambodians jumped into the van, although I never found out if they worked on the boat, or were just hitching a ride. We trided a few bridges in searc for the one that the boat was tided to. Finally we drovedown a muddy path which lead to the boat.

I got a seat on the roof, which was nice because it was cloudy and not too hot. We took off... 12 or so on the roof, 25 + down on the inside... heading north with the river towards Siem Reap. We passed houses and shacks along te river in between the green trees leading into the river. Children would wave and yell "Hello" out of each group of structures. We occasionally met a boat in the middle to pick someone up or once for a boombox tied shut with a rag for a handle. There were schools and wats and small semblences of neigborhoods with people selling goods, boats for work and for trasport, wood collectors, motor bikes and bicycles. The part took 1.5-2 hours.

The river narrowed and began tomeander with sharp curves. The landscape turned to marshland with tall dried reeds, heavy bushes and plants, and rice fields in the distance. We got stuck at thin stretch about 3 feet wider than the boat on each side. Pieces of wood and debris got caught up and we hit bottom. The skilled boatmen pushed us free in about 10 minutes. Shortly after we had to stop again for a group of cows, 7-9, walked into the river, got caught in the current, and were swimming down stream from side-to-side. Eventually, with much use of the horn, they managed to stay on one side, just long enough for us to pass. The rier widended a bit and we had to play bumper boats at each corner. We'd get as close as we could to the inside corner, slow down, and honk the horn like mad. The boat man at the front would use the pole to stop of from running into te brush on the opposite river bank. We'd push off backwards, gently spin into the right direction, the motor would start up again, and we'd be back down the river. This system worked great except for when a turn would coinside with oncoming boat traffic. At one such turn, we could not hug the inside corrner as planned. We had to cut our engine, as not to hit the oncoming boats. We then drifted quite quickly into the jungle brush on the opposite bank. I was standing during the crash, and fell to my knees to grab my bag. At the site of impact, there were scratches and stunned looks. The boatmen did not even srug and continued on our journey.

Finally the river began to widen and become more poulated. Now there were patches of floating stuctures tied togther or to land. Not quite boats/not quite house shaped. We docked at a "convienence" store, this floating groups version of 7-11 for a 10 minute break. The locals piled onto the deck and quickly got a bowl of local fare: glass noodles and a watery meal/vegetable-like broth. The forigers bought platic sealed breads and water. I thought I was getting a local packaged iced tea... but it turned out to be an Asian (not sure which country) version of take-away Red Bull. I had to pour most of it into the river. I sat on the top with th locals and they quickly chowed down their food. Cell service was very good, as a few chatted on the phone, no doubtedly telling friends when the boat was expected down the river.

We took off, only halfway finished with our journey. The river widened some more, and sparatic housing groups of 3-9 would pop up on each side of the river. On top of fishing, I learned that the people grow green leafy vegetables on the river. By this, I mean they use bamboo to mark off the edges of their garden, and grow plants whoose roots form in the water. Besides making the initial stucture and planting, these gardens require no work. We continued to stop sparaticaly to let people off on awaiting boats, or occasionally, if none came out to meet us, we would dock just long enough for a Cambodian to hop onto a structure. It was us to them to find a way to get to the shack they wanted, as going onto the land was rarely an option.

Eventually, we came to the great lake in the middle of Cambodia: Tonle Sap. I knew we had to cross to the northern side to dock at Siem Reap. The lake was massive and brown, desolate, dreary, and baking in the sun. It took 45 minutes of eager waiting to get to the other side. Many of us fell asleep during the previous portion, and I had awoke to a bad sunburn on my lower shins. Dispite my eforts of sublock and bug repellant, I could not excape the forces of nature.

A last, our crossing was over, and we had to make way us a tiny channel through the Floating Village of Phnom Krom. This was an extensive group of houses, boats, shelters, and buildings where people lived along the river. We passed a floating school, filled of children reciting chants, some running outside to watch the boats (what kind of classoom management is that, I wondered). Next came their floating playground yard: a flat strcture with volleyball net and court painted on the floor, surround by chain link fense so no children would fall into the water. Every type of store or service could be found on at leas one of the boats. The true mysticism of this place is that is has a name, but not a location. As the water levels rise and fall through the wet and dry season, the village floats along the rivers and and aournd the edge of the lake.

All-in-all, the trip took just of 7.5 hours. We were told 6, but the Americans I met in Phnom Penh said it took them 10.5 in the opposite direction. Overall, I am very glad I got to see these remote dwellings and experience the hidden aspects of Cambodia not seen from the standard bus route. This will truely be the Cambodia I remember.