Fast Boat, Slow Boat, Broken Boat

It seems like every morning brings a new adventure, some better than others but they always lend themselves to our motto, “It’s an adventure!”

Today’s adventure started well with a quick Tuk Tuk ride to the “fast boat” dock in Phnom Penh.  We boarded and found good seats as it was not crowded and we headed up the Mekong River.  It is winter here which means it’s the dry season.  The river was about 40 feet down from cresting but we were assured that it was still viable and we had just spoken with new friends that had taken the same route except by bus and they said it was “horrible.”  Besides, it’s always better to take a boat than a bus – right?

The Mekong is a large River, very wide and slow moving but used by all sorts of boats from one-man fishing canoes to small cruise ships.  The water is muddy with large clumps of water hyacinth and the occasional tree floating on the surface.

The trip started out well with with us cruising at a good clip up the river.  A couple of hours into the trip we headed for the river bank and another boat.  With both boats floating independently, we transferred to the “slow boat.”  The river continued to widen until we entered a large lake.  At some point,  we lost all sight of land but were still continuing nicely.  That was until the young first mate ran by from the back of the boat (stern) towards the captain muttering something.  The captain promptly shuts down the one and only engine and we are adrift…..

After about 30 minutes and much banging with big hammers the captain restarts the engine.  We start at a good clip again but this is short lived as the captain doesn’t like the temperature the engine is running.  We have a couple of starts, stops, banging and wrenching when we finally get back on our way although at a reduced speed.  We finally get to our harbor after  almost 9 hours for what was suppose to be a 6 hour trip! It was an adventure!

Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and a thousand other temple sights.  This is the main reason for our being in Cambodia.  These temple sights, many close to 1000 years old, are truly incredible.  They are massive and intricate.  Many have changed from Hindu to Buhdism over the years.  Some are in incredible condition while others are little more than buried piles of rock block.  Angkor Wat is something that you really need to see to appreciate.  It is surrounded by a large moat and encompasses more than 400 acres.  It is the largest religious sight in the world.  

You can go for days looking through these temples and temple remnants.  After two full days of exploring many temples it was time to head to Bangkok, Thailand and having had enough of trains, buses and boats, we opted for a cheap flight on Bangkok Air.