Koh Dach, Silk Island

Waking up with the sun today - our hotel is fantastic, Chaiya Palace. Sunset view from the rooftop, sunrise from our room. And it's a beautiful glow to be awakened by.

Today we're taking a tuk tuk to the Koh Dach ferry, and crossing the short distance across the Mekong on foot. The internet promises availability of rental bicycles on the other side - I'm cautiously optimistic. It's a bit of an adrenalin rush in itself to realize: we're in a tuk tuk, placing complete faith in an unknown driver to navigate us safely through areas we know nothing about. That's why we do it too though, build in as much safety as you can, but you need sometimes to take leaps of faith. It seems easy here, Cambodian people so far have been the nicest, kindest, people. They seem genuinely pleased to welcome visitors and share their culture.

This is the ferry the locals use too. It's small, very like an old BC ferry. It fills quickly with a truck carefully backed in, scooters, cars, and motos of all sorts. Not very many pedestrians though! We've paid 500 real each, about 33 cents, as our fare.

A smooth less than 10 minutes later we walk off, and the promised bicycle rental is immediately in front of us. An older woman quickly kits us out with decent bikes and helmets, $3 for a long as we want.

This island, a centre of silk production historically, is small and flat. Although the process of silk weaving is what we came to see, we'd like to see more of the authentic island.

Its a real contrast to the urban skyscapers of Phnom Penh visible just across the river. It's a rural, agricultural and peaceful area to slowly cycle through. Kids wave, smile, call out hellos as we ride narrow roads past stilted houses, banana trees and mango orchards. Many dogs, the most we've seen, laze indolently on the warm pavements. I see a pair of orange clad Buddhist monks being given food into their bowls, with respectul sampeahs accompanying the offerings.

An older voice hails us with a hello, and it takes some searching to find a grinning man picking mangos high up in a tree. He's tickled at our confusion and his successful game, and we're presented with 3 mangos. Smiles and human nature break through many language barriers.

Past the school and Pagoda, we arrive at the silk collective. A guide explained the process from silk worm to silk to the weaving process. The patterns are so complex they are generally the specialty of a singular family, and that particular pattern will pass through generations of mother to daughter. Always female! Our male guide said small and dexterous female hands are better suited for the work, but also female minds to understand and orchestrate the complex patterns.

The traditional weavers home is stilted due to annual flooding, but their wooden looms remain on the bottom level - I'm not clear why.

The silks themselves are dazzling, stunning colours and patterns. We are told the Cambodian golden silk is considered the finest in the world, and I don't doubt it.

Its been a very successful and enjoyable visit. We reverse our journey back, making a stop at the iconic Central Market just for fun.

Its a challenge though: despite our best intentions, our luggage will be severely testing the weight limits we have to work with!Read more