Water Water Everywhere

    Today I hired Caauy the moto tuk tuk driver again to take me out to Kompong Pluk which is on the Tonle Sap River where they live on stilted or floating houses. The journey there was interesting to say the least. Caauy (pronounced Choi) picked me up at the hotel and we maneuvered through the flooded streets of Siem Reap by tuk tuk until we got to about 2 kms from the ticket checkpoint. We couldn't go any further because of extensive flooding, so then I hired a dugout canoe for $5 to take us to the checkpoint and then onward to the bigger river boat for the tour. Caauy came with me which was great as he has pretty good English compared to the canoe owner. I had to climb into the canoe which was more than tippy, but I found my way, crawled onto the bamboo mat and sat down. The owner paddled and putt putted his little engine through the swollen river delta through the grasses and around the trees to where I had to get out of the canoe again and go buy my ticket for the bigger boat tour. I was less than graceful and tried to exit on the side instead of stepping to the bow and off onto the dirt pile they had for me...so I stepped off the side into 2 feed of very slimy mud and water...they howled at me then I got back in and went off the right way.

     Off to buy my ticket - the alternative to the canoe was an ox-cart through the water...I chose the canoe though I admit the ox-cart would have been interesting...we were off then through the delta again for about 2kms where I was landed at a bridge that wasn't underwater. Caauy took the driver's cell phone number and  then it was off on a series of logs and planks just above the water level. I fell off the first log of course...then I did fine on the planks. Of course I bleated out when falling off so the locals in the area heard me and when I mastered the planks, I received a few cheers...thanks.

     Finally made it to the bigger boat dock and tracked down my assigned boat and driver. Just a couple of 18 year old boys with an 8 seater boat where I was the only guest - awesome! Caauy also came along for this boat ride, which was fine with me. The boys had very little English. The boat ride through the delta was refreshing after baking in the sun on the canoe deck. The delta was so flooded, there wasn't much to see besides grass and bushes. The road was well under several feet of water. About 30 minutes later we approached the villages which were amazing. There were some that were underwater - stilts not high enough, and then dozens of others that were just fine. We stopped at a floating restaurant then where I hired another canoe to take me through the forest which was quite beautiful. The paddlers this time were a young girl and her brother. She was so very endearing and spoke very softly - duck head ma'am...be careful ma'am, etc. I managed to get onto the boat from the restaurant without falling overboard. After the forest paddle, I had some lunch at the restaurant and shared some beers with Caauy and the two young boat drivers. From there we left Caauy at the restaurant while the boat drivers took me out to the Meekong Lake - huge it was! Couldn't see the other side at all, reminded me of the Great Lakes in Canada.
     Then things got interesting...The boys took their shirts off and jumped into the lake...holy shit. Then two other boats showed up and the drivers did the same thing. Okay...well, I was hot, so why not give it a go. I wasn't dressed for swimming but I did have a change of clothes for the women's temple I was heading to after the river tour. So I peeled off one of my tank tops and jumped on in! It was terrific, so warm and refreshing. I had expected such a large body of water to be freezing but not a chance. Then I attempted to get back in the boat. Yeah...kind of like trying to land a beached whale with asthma. The young boys attempted to pull me up over the side but it was impossible. I was tiring as the boat was drifting and I had to swim against the current, and I was getting bashed against the side of the boat with each attempt. Finally another boat offered to let me climb up over the end of theirs, as it was much lower and then hop to mine again. It was anything but graceful but was at least successful. I hopped back to my boat and ransacked my bag for my asthma puffer and collapsed onto the chair. They asked if I wanted to swim some more...um. No. But thanks. Let's get moving...
     So then it was back to the restaurant to pick up Caauy. We drove through more floating and stilted houses where the drivers lived, and then Caauy took over the boat for awhile as he had earlier, and we putted our way through the delta. Just a short way out Caauy then jumped in for a swim, ditching his wallet and cell phone first. By that time I was not feeling so very well, with swimming on a full stomach, an asthma attack, and probably shouldn't have had the beers, so I flung the life jackets on the floor of the boat and had me a rest...soo very tired! Had me a nice little rest before landing and meeting up with the canoe driver. Caauy gave him a ring and he was right there to meet us. Back through the grass to the tuk tuk and then back towards Siem Reap. From there we went to Lolei, a small temple ruin next to a modern temple. We had seen truckloads of people dressed in white on the way to the river, and they were all at this temple for some kind of gathering. They were spilling out of the temple as I arrived and gathered around a monument outside carrying incense and candles on leaves. They knelt down and began chanting which was just beautiful. Once the chanting was over, they all got up and mingled before leaving, many of them stopping to call out to me or came over to talk to me, almost all of them women with shaved heads. One hollered out - NO PUB! I laughed and said okay, no pub tonight. One woman came over to pat my belly, thinking I was pregnant. That's always awkward...I simply told her no, no baby, just fat...too much to eat...and she laughed and walked away. Many of them just wanted to touch me...my arm, my hair, and then move on.
     By that point I was pretty tired so had Caauy take me back to the hotel. Time for a swim in the hotel pool! It was amazing...I finally really cooled off. Not much longer F. and I headed off to find some supper and check out the night market again. F. didn't go on the river tour because she is terrified of boats...good job she didn't come as there were more boats than I expected. I loved it, as I do not have a fear of boats, having grown up around them my whole life. What an amazing day.