Siem Reap - Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia and Flight to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (Thursday, November 10th, 2016)

We've had fun staying at the Royal Lotus hotel here in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  One of the things that we'll remember is that each morning when Steve and I would come in to the dining room, they would hand us a reserved sign to put on our table.  As far as we could tell, we were the only ones that received this special treatment.  Apparently, we were the only very white Americans and they thought they needed to look out for us.  

We enjoyed the royal treatment, but even with our reserved sign, we didn't take any chances.  We always left at least one person at the table when we would go for food because if you didn't someone would steal your table, reserved sign or not.



We drove along the rolling hills of the farm lands, stopping for a ride on an ox-cart, the vehicle still being used today by local farmers.  It was quite an experience riding on the ox cart.  It is made of all wood, with no padding at all, therefore, you feel every pitch and rut that the cart goes through.  Our ride was only about 1/2 mile, but that was plenty and gave us a true feel for an ox cart.

There was no straw for us to sit on.  It was a little hard.  I can't imagine working on one of these all day.

The ox carts are pulled by water buffalo because they are so useful in the very wet, usually flooded areas of Camboida.  This country uses both cows and water buffalo, but the cows are only good for dry land and eat dry prairie grass, so they are not useful in this part of Cambodia.  Water buffalo on the other hand love mud and water and they eat water plants.  So they are a perfect companion for the swampy rice fields.

The route we took on our ox cart ride was a muddy road next to the rice fields.



And as you can see, there isn't much suspension to pad the ride.



We saw a couple of cows during our ox cart ride, and as you can see, they wanted nothing to do with the mud.  They tend to head for higher ground.





The water buffalo on the other had, love the mud and prefer to stay there all day.







Chris and Helen were right in front of us.

Our ox cart ride took us through a local community, where we could get a glimpse into the life of the farmers that live here.  We went by several duck farms, the perfect use for this flooded land during the wet season, and were able to see a woman gathering up her ducks.

The irrigation ditch to the right of us is part of an irrigation system that was built over 1,000 years ago in the 1100's by King Jayavarman VII, the same king that built two of the temples we visited yesterday.

Sarah and Beverly look like their enjoying the ride, but I know different.

Look at this cute face!

More duck hearding.

Our ox cart ride ended right by the local barber shop.  It wasn't much, but a haircut only costs $1 if you get it here.

Doesn't he look great!

I love the time we spend in the bus, just seeing how people in each area live.  This is one of the things that Steve and I really miss this trip compared to our Thailand trip.  We don't get much bus time.

Everywhere we go, everyone is so friendly!

These kids found a nice soft soft spot to sit.....the cow.

Our next stop before leaving Siem Reap was a boat trip to a floating village.  During the monsoons, or rainy season, the Tonle Sap lake floods, expanding by many times it's dry season size. There are many floating villages, where the people call the lake home.  We stopped at the edge of the lake, where we caught our boat.  All of the village people were there to see us off.

The water in the Tonle Sap is only a few feet deep, so all of the boats have their propellors many behind the boat, right near the top of the water.

We will follow this channel several miles out until we reach the floating village.

All Aboard!

Most things in Cambodia aren't tall enough for Steve and I, so we've learned to watch our heads.

As we leave, the village see's us off.

Camps along the canal.  They are only temporary, and will follow the water as the lake recedes.

The canal is like a super highway for the people that live in the floating villages.  This is their only way to the mainland.

In a few months the water will recede, and this will be dry land again.

The first thing we came to when we reached the village was the school.  It was a chain of about 4 buildings all floating together.

As we got further into the village, we were introduced to a way of life that we could have never imagined in our wildest dreams.  Each house floats individually, with its garden and farm closely attached. And somehow, these families have become a community with the water as their streets.  

The following brief video gives you a glimpse into life in the floating village (thanks Chris for the videos!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBvjQ239lRM

Most of these families are fishermen, and when they bring their nets in for the night, they hang them in front of the door so that the babies can't fall into the lake during the night.

Notice the chicken under the house

More beautiful, friendly faces!

A floating farm

A floating pig and a naked baby, not something you see everyday!

In the next few pictures, notice the little girl in the wash tub.  She was paddling herself from one side of the canal to the other to go visiting.

There is an island near this floating village, and the only thing on it is a Buddhist Monastery.

Vendors make their way through town selling their fruits, vegetables and freshly made food.

This woman and her daughter are selling fried bananas.  They smash, coat and fry them right on their boat.  When they saw that the village had visitors, they came over to the local shop to see if anyone wanted any.  They were VERY tasty!

The little girl holds the boat while her mom prepares the bananas.

Hot grease in a boat, there's nothing dangerous about that.

Before long, another vendor came to join her.

The views from the second floor of the village shop were great!

I think this is what they call farm raised fish, even if it is a floating fish farm.



Unfortunately, I think the fish farm is used to feed these.....a floating alligator farm.

A water taxi.  No thank you!

Tonle Sap Lake in the heart of Cambodia, with its rich diverse ecosystem.  It floods during the wet season and then recedes during the dry season.  The people of the floating villages follow the lake, moving their homes, schools , everything as the lake fills and recedes.  

Our visit to the floating village was an incredible experience that we will never forget.  878 people live in the village we visited. They depend on each other and are a very close knit community.  It is the perfect way of life for them, and something that we can't even start to comprehend.  

When we returned from the floating village, we headed into the city, where we had some time on our own for shopping and lunch.

Our group chose a restaurant called Champey, which had a nice atmosphere, and beautiful food too, although it was quite commercialized.  It's a great choice for a comfortable sit-down meal.

After lunch we headed out to explore the town.  This is us on the Japanese covered bridge.

We came across a fish foot spa that was very quiet, so the three of us decided to give it a try. It was $2 per person for 30 minutes.  You can't beat that!  My first reaction was very tickly, but once I got used to it, it felt great!

Before long, other people noticed how much fun we were having and decided to join us.  Of course, then we had to share our fish, so there wasn't as much massage left for us. : (

By the time our 30 minutes as up, the fish tank had a full house.



Boats in Siem Reap are getting ready for the boat festival too, just like they were in Phnom Penh.

A rowing crew practicing in the river.

Where's his read flag?

After our free time, we all met back up at the Angkor National Museum.  It holds many artifacts from the temples of the Khmer Kingdom that we visited yesterday, like a few of the miniature Buddhas from the wall at Angkor Thom.  If not protected and preserved, these relics may otherwise disappear.

The museum was a beautiful place, but of course, no photography was allowed in the exhibits.  

While we were out in town, one of the sisters got this beautiful henna tattoo.  I can't remember exactly, but I think it was just a couple of bucks.  Amazing!

Then off to the airport for our next flight.  Next stop, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (formerly Saigon).  This is the largest city in Vietnam.  Vietnam Air flight left on time and took approximately 1 hour.  Both airports were very easy.  We did not have to fill out any customs paperwork to go between Cambodia and Vietnam.  It was all computerized, they just looked us up by our visa.

We had dinner in the airport while we waited for our flight.  We chose a little place called Taste of Asia.  I'm not sure we'd make that choice again, but what can you expect for airport food.

I stopped to take a picture of the pilot, and he waved at me.  Made my day!  I love the Cambodian people!

Ho Chi Minh City is much larger than Siem Reap.

The bus ride to the terminal was packed.  No chance of falling down, everyone else would just hold you up.

Waiting for our bus outside the terminal.

First impression of Ho Chi Minh City, it's big!

Check in at the Liberty Central Saigon Hotel went very smoothly, as usual.

As with most of the hotels we stayed at, they provided us with a welcome drink to enjoy while we were getting checked in.

It's exciting to be in Vietnam, but we will definitely miss Cambodia.  The people are very friendly, the land is beautiful and the toilets always had toilet paper!

Now stay tuned for our Vietnam adventures!