Day 110 – The Boat from Battambang
It rained all night and we could just envision the road trip back so we opted for another journey. We were warned the river was low and the fast boat would not be operating which normally takes about 4 hours so we were mentally prepared for the trek ahead. I think though, Nancy was not yet visually prepared judging from her reaction at seeing the joined planks that would be our boat down the Mekong. We stepped on board and the boat rocked. Other people stepped on baord, or moved, or loaded on sacks of strange fruit and everything tipped. It was going to be fun. People kept coming and Nancy kept muttering – ok enough friends. They are not really getting on here are they? are you kidding me? It was funny. There were a bunch of locals, 4 polish backpackers, an English bloke and a Montreal girl. The driver had good english and we were chatting not long after launching about the journey – how long to here andthere etc. And he replies – ‘oh I do not know, my friend usually does this but he drank too much and is sleeping so I took the trip for him. I have never done it before!’ Fantastic. We learned not to talk to him too much to avoid distraction because at one point whilehaving a discussion we rounded a bend and had to go hardover to avoid an oncoming boat.
At random moments for no apparent reason, the steering cables would just disconnect. The driver would contort to get underneath the dash and see if he could reconnect it. At this point we would be free sailing through the Mekong headed towards a bank so he would scurry out and use a large stick to avoid crashing into itandthenworkon the cable. We motored along with our load and would occasionally stop as the motor overheated because it was not getting water. (driver laughed as he stated that his friend did not tell him what to do in that situation) I had not noticed before but we had our own boat mechanic travelling with us and did we make his salary worth it this trip. He would be holding parts together as we started the engine,fixing the steering from behind,working on god only knows what back there.We finally pulledinto a floating repair station where a guy was literally in the water mending and soldering these engines. Somepeopletooks thisoppurtunitytogosee the crocodilesholedup inbamboo cagesgetting readyto be soldfortheir skin.
The kids waved from the floating villagesand if we were dropping someone off there one of the little ones would paddle out to pick up mum and grandma and all the fruit they had brought from the market. We stopped for lunch and Nancy got to experience a river toilet- no fancy ceramic hole this time just a square cut in the planks and direct into the river with the kids swimming just outside…We eventuallyarrived at the Tonle Sap Lake.In rainyseason this water grows 5fivefoldand is the largestlakein SE Asia.But it was still low water and as our driver had never navaigated this before and did not know the deepest part we were soon spitting out mud followed by complete immobility as we got beached.We tried rocking,prodding but eventually all the men had to crawl into the muck and push until they freed the boat and it wasquite the hysterical process watching our English friend get mired and left behind in the sludge.
9 hours and 15 minutes after we left Battambang.we pulled into Siem Reap. I could speak volumes on what I saw and learned during this lengthy boat trip but it would not mean anything-you just have to experience it yourself. So consider that a recommended activity next time you are in Cambodia. The learning did not stop at the boat. Nancy and I got thrown off a tuktuk on the ride back to the hotel because the driver was being an idiot and we got dupped by not clarifying the service before we got in.Lesson learned. and another driver happened by the dusty road so all was good.
Tags: Travel
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