Andrew Jerome

Today we did something very different as we wandered outside of our usual comfort zone. When travelling before, we have always been very wary of accepting any offers on the street, such as tours, souvenirs or massages (our past trips to Egypt and Cuba probably heightened our world wariness). We did however see a video on YouTube last night of a vlogger who recommended hiring a tuk tuk for the day, as it is a unique and cheap way to explore the city. Therefore, today seemed to be as good a day as any to try!

After breakfast, Ted spoke to the receptionist about hiring a tuk tuk, and she promptly went outside and spoke to one of the drivers waiting out the front of the hotel. We didn’t really have any set itinerary, so she suggested a few places and the driver said we could do it in about 2 hours for $10, or we could have the whole day for $20. We couldn’t really see ourselves wanting to go all day in the heat, so we decided just to try the first option.

Being in the tuk tuk was better than we’d expected, mainly because the movement meant there was always a steady flow of air. Our first stop was a service one - we had a full bag of laundry we wanted to drop off at a nearby laundromat! We were a bit early though as grandma was still eating her breakfast with the kids, whilst a man looked like he’d just stepped out of the shower to serve us! They weren’t that perturbed though, and we were very grateful they took our dirty washing to clean.

The driver Mun then took us to the nearby Royal Residence, where we got some better photos of the palace and gardens. Mun suggested taking us to the War Museum, which was definitely not what we’d expected. We half imagined we would be visiting some huge, grandiose building in the middle of the city, so when he drove us to what resembled a rural farm on the outskirts of town, we were a bit confused.

The entry fee was $5 which seemed a bit steep, but the museum was more interesting than I thought it would be. It was essentially one big garden filled with machinery, guns, and vehicles from the war complete with ex-soldiers as guides. There are also two planes, which were obviously our favourite things to see. One sad part was the section on landmines, which spoke about the heavy toll they have played on the people of Cambodia. This was not a traditional museum in any sense, but either way, I am glad that we saw it.

Ted had previously shown interest in seeing a nearby floating village, so when he asked Mun how far it would be (he indicated about an hour), we decided to explore it. Even though the day was getting warmer, travelling in the tuk tuk made it pleasant…until we left the sealed roads! There was plenty of dust blown about but we figured it was just all part of the experience.

We first needed to buy tickets to enter the village at a ticket booth, where I bought some drinks and used (surprisingly) very Westernised toilets! We then drove through a rural village where there were also other tourists about exploring the local markets and shops. It was definitely an opportunity to see the real Cambodian people as opposed to the area we’ve been staying in Siem Reap.

When we came to an area with a low river and many old, rickety boats lying around, Ted surmised that it might have been a boat graveyard. Our prediction wasn’t quite true though, when Mun pulled over to the side of the road, and a boat operator motioned for us to come onboard! We then realised this was going to be the next part of our transport to visit the floating village.

The Kampong Pluk floating village was nothing short of an experience. For starters because it is dry season, most of the houses were on very high stilts and not so close to water level. It was interesting to see how the people of this community lived while simultaneously being very grateful for what we have in life. Some of the sights and smells we encountered weren’t so appealing, and one of them included people swimming and working in the unclean water we were sailing through.

Our boat driver then sailed out to the open water of Tonlé Sap (the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia) until we arrived at a two-story floating platform in the middle of the lake. It was very much geared up for tourists, as it sold drinks and souvenirs, as well as a display of live crocodiles (I kid you not). We only bought a couple of drinks but after talking to the operator, she mentioned how they also sold school supplies to a local school for extra money.

When the amount of everything climbed to $US20 (the amount seemed to change every time), I became really PO’d because I was starting to doubt the intentions of the operator as it was appearing more and more like a tout to take tourism dollars (reviews on TripAdvisor have similarly expressed this concern). By the time we left, I was still annoyed but our boat operator did say he had the school supplies and we would be delivering them to the school on our return.

My doubts were allayed somewhat when, sure enough, we stopped at the shore back in the town and our boat operator pointed out the school, giving us the bag of school supplies. We disembarked and trekked up some stairs before reaching the school building. We were both unsure where to go but when we found the classroom it was like they had been expecting us.

The kids and teacher were so welcoming! We couldn’t understand fully what the kids were saying but the teacher seemed to be asking them to express their gratitude which they all did in unison. It was definitely a heartwarming moment. I think we both would have liked to spend more time with the students to learn more about their daily life and routine, but we were unsure if we were able to do this with our boat operator waiting for us, so we bade farewell to the school and continued back.

After about twenty minutes more of sailing, we were returned to our original embarkation point, but with no sign of Mun anywhere! We weren’t necessarily bothered as our boat operator called someone and assured us he would be there soon. The heat however was unbearable, but fortunately there were some locals who offered us to join them at a roadside shop covered by a sheet to avoid the blazing heat. As the minutes continued I was getting concerned but fortunately after about 15 minutes, Mun came back!

By this time, Ted and I had had enough excitement for one day, and asked if we could return to our hotel. It was the middle of the day so it was the perfect time to call it quits and head back. The return trip took about an hour but by that time we were tired, dirty and satisfied, and looking to relax. After showering and changing, we ate at the hotel restaurant for lunch again - after the heat of the day, we weren’t exactly motivated to trudge around town and find another venue.

Ted went for a walk around the shops and discovered a well priced clothing store. We aren’t sure how genuine the articles are, but Ted made some purchases of T-shirts, shorts and boxer shorts which were pretty great. One pair of shorts came as a necessity for Ted, as we need to have knees covered for our visit to Angkor Wat tomorrow. We thought we would only need to purchase the cost of the tour, but we are now expected to buy temple entry tickets which are about $US37 each.

For dinner, Ted had found a Japanese restaurant during his walk so we thought we might give it a try for something different. It didn’t quite work for me as there were only a couple of vegetarian options but truthfully, it was still enough for me after lunch. We have our 4am wake up tomorrow so, it will be an early night for us tonight!Read more