We were visiting a floating village on the lake called Chong Kneas where the whole population live on house boats making their living from the lake. We picked up a boat and a guide and set off up the Mekong River aiming for the lake. It was a few kilometres up the river and due to us visiting in dry season the levels were quite low in some parts, we got pushed wide on a corner by another boat fighting for the same space and ended up getting grounded on the river banks. After a couple of minutes trying to move the boat without our help the guide gave up so we all had to jump in and get it unstuck from the river bank, much to every bodies amusement passing us by in other boats.
We set off again and got to the mouth of the lake, it opened up into a huge area of water and we could see the village on the horizon. Showing us various areas of the lake and village as we approached we saw floating houses, bars, shops and even a floating basketball court!!
The guide asked if we wanted to visit the local school to which we agreed so had to stop off at a shop to by some books and pencils to take to the school. As we boarded the shop the pet monkey went for George and would have got him if it wasn't for the short lease. Not good seeing a monkey tied up in the middle of a lake but cultures etc mean they look at it differently. We bought the books and made our way to school.
As we arrived the school was just closing and the kids were going nuts running around fighting, turning over tables and just generally playing up. We boarded and handed over the books and spoke with the teacher who was just waiting for the children to be picked up. The classroom/school was about 20ft squared and they had to teach 215 children on 3 shifts throughout the day....crazy. Luckily an Australian company has just donated them a new school which is currently being built that is marginally bigger and has 2 floors which should improve the standard of education they will get. After here we floated across to the crocodile farm and grabbed a drink, a little girl had a few snakes and she hung one around Georges neck and promptly charged me a dollar for taking a picture!! Heading back down the river to the port the sun started to set and the sky lit up in incredible colours of red and yellow.....one of the most impressive sunsets we have seen and we have now seen a few.
The next morning was another early start as we started a 7 hour bus journey to Kompong Cham. Upon arrival we headed to a local persons house for lunch, it was a traditional Cambodian hut on stilts with no fan and we were sat on the bamboo floor while they brought out the food. There was plates and plates of food all of which was amazing, freshly prepared traditional food.
After the main course and fruit our host started to tell us that the area was special and renowned for a certain dish and wondered if we wanted a try. Next thing his wife was coming out with a plate full of large, hairy, fried tarantula!!!!! Our guide took a bite into one and the little boy who lived with the family was all over it, he couldn't get enough of them.
It took a while but some people tasted little bits and I had a leg, honestly it tasted like pork crackling. Nice but I still couldn't bring myself to eat any more! Next was the special whisky.......a huge jar of whiskey full of tarantulas! We couldn't be rude so had to give it a go, tasted a bit like Raki and was extremely strong.
After drinking it the guy said he can't drink it straight, he has it with coke as he is a Tuk Tuk driver and people won't get in his Tuk Tuk if he has a red face and is driving in zig zags.
The next morning we had another long bus journey to Kampong Speu in the Cham Bok Commune where we were spending the night living in a village in the middle of no where with a local family.
During the day we were all sat around having a laugh and joke and then Sareth our guide started to talk about the Khmer Rouge regime and for a good hour nobody said a word, just listened. What this country has been through in the not so distant past was very, very dark and the stories he told about how close him and his family were to getting killed were shocking, a sobering moment for everybody listening. A little later the food cooked for us by the female villagers was brought out and again it was really good. The drinks were given out and we all sat chatting around the tables at the community hall before heading back and playing cards in our hut. That night it absolutely chucked it down with rain for a solid 4-5 hours, it was still really hot and humid and the tin roof made it impossible to sleep through the racket so not much sleep was gotten...again!!
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