To Kampot, Cambodia via Angkor Borei
Up early, breakfast and on the bus for the long ride south to Kampot. Eak is our Cambodian guide. Some information given on the bus including an interesting discussion of "Wa's" the traditional greeting in Cambodia. There are many different hand placements depending on whether it is a child-father, monk-king, old-young, young-old greeting. If it's up to the forehead, a greeting to Buddha.
A stop for bread (baguettes) along the road and a supermarket to buy lunch makings for a picnic lunch. Not every town in Cambodia has a bakery and when people visit their families, they always bring bread...a treat. Students, factory workers and everyone else also pulled up on their bicycles to buy a daily baguette.
FACT: Almost 95% of the factory workers are women. Read an interesting article -- The United States guarantees Cambodia a specific amount of sales every year, encouraging the country to position itself as a big sweatshop-free producer. Disney, Sears, Wal-Mart, Gap, Nike and Levi Strauss are just a few manufacturers who rely on local suppliers.
Other sights along the way? Gasoline (petrol) sold along every street/highway in large quart Pepsi bottles. Black market gas that is a little cheaper than the service stations. Don't ever buy one of these bottles thinking there is really a soft drink inside! It's gasoline.
At last the stop at Takeo to board our speedboats. You can't visit during the dry season (March-April) because water levels are probably too low. .(The levels were pretty low now, in December.) ..View image... The first stop was at small museum with a few finds from Borei. It was also as good a place as any to have lunch and eat our picnic supplies.
Angkor Borei has been called "spectacular" but I wouldn't quite use that word. How about "scenic." It is in a remote, location on a small hilltop overlooking the plains below. Partially visible were the pre-Angkorian system of canals that spread up to the Vietnam border.
It was very hot on the uncovered boats and the highlights of this day were the river sights. Barges, cattle swimming across and trying to motor through the water hyacinths clogging up the river.
The trash situation in Cambodia is unbelievable. The group is making a big deal (rightfully so) about collecting our plastic water bottles to dispose carefully, and not littering. Everywhere we went, the countryside was a disgrace. It made me wonder if our efforts did any good at all. Boated back to Takeo and continued south to Kampot.
Arrival in Kampot around 6:30 pm...View image..., everyone exhausted from the bumpy bus ride, heat and time on the boats. Cleaned up fast and went to dinner at a beachside restaurant. ...View image...Ordered octopus and shrimp and paid the price. Nauseous all night with a grand finale of diarrhea. Served me right for eating any kind of fish products in this heat.
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