Day 4 - Cruising the Tonle Sap/arriving in Phnom Penh 22/9

There was a surprisingly good turn out of eleven from fifteen for the tour to Tonle Sap. The Tonle Sap is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. During the wet season it can be as big as 200 kilometres wide and 300 kilometres long. The highlight of the journey out to the lake was when we were driving along the dirt dam wall, almost at our departure point, and we passed a big crane which was trying to extract a car from the water. I'm pretty sure I didn't go driving last night so it must have been someone else.

We quickly boarded two small boats and set off for the nearby floating village.There are a number of mainly ethnic Vietnamese floating villages dotting the shore of the lake. All the houses are built on boat bases so they can be moved around depending on the level of the lake. The children I saw certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves and didn't look as though they had too many worries in the world. I suppose it wasn't too bad a life given the abundance of fish available for both eating and trading. Some of the bigger boats looked quite comfortable and had me momentarily contemplating the possibility of selling up everything in Sydney and moving here permanently. One of the more surprising sights of the morning was when we passed a small floating catholic church.

After viewing the floating village we carefully moved our way through the tops of the trees out towards the centre of the lake. It didn't take long before all you could see was water on all sides and the odd small wooden boat in the distance heading for a favoured fishing spot.

On the way back to the shore we stopped at a combination fish farm, corner store and tourist trap. Apart from the fish pens there were also pelicans, turtles, monkeys, snakes and even a mongoose on display, as well as the usual scarves, postcards, chopstick sets and soft drink. Kenny, our guide, bought some turtles for a big celebration barbeque he was having that night. If you are ever sent out to buy turtles, apparently the small ones make the best eating. And you shouldn't pay more than $12 for them, although Kenny got his on special for $5.

The remainder of the return journey was taking up by Kenny explaining to us why the Vietnamese ate dog. For the people of Chiam the dog symbolises father and the pig symbolises mother. When the Vietnamese defeated Chiam in a major battle they ate dog as a form of sledgeing. Apparently it wasn't invented by the Australian cricket team after all.

Prior to our departure for Phnom Penh we had a couple of free hours to do what we wished. After a quick stop at an internet café and then a meal, Vinnie and I wandered through the old market trying to find a replacement tour mascot, without a great deal of success, although we did purchase a rather gaudy painted wooden man as a stopgap measure. I also found a fantastic elephant handbag for my 2 year old daughter, Rebecca, and a few other trinkets.

Kenny dropped us outside the airport terminal, where we thanked him for the wonderful job he had done and presented him with one of our tour shirts as a token of our appreciation.

Check-in seemed to go fairly smoothly, we paid our departure tax, passed through customs and headed for the bar. I was sitting having a quiet beer when one of the check-in staff approached me and told me there was a problem. Apparently two tickets had been issued in the same name. I had to go back through customs and help them check off the passenger list. The problem was discovered and I told them to change one of the duplicates to that of the person who hadn't been issued a ticket. Apparently this was way too easy and therefore impossible. The only thing I could do was purchase another ticket and try and get a refund in Phnom Penh. As I didn't have $75 USD on me, I had to go back through customs, try and raise the funds (thanks Joberg), purchase the ticket and everything would be okay. I could have done without the aggravation.

On a more positive note, Vinnie managed to find a suitable replacement mascot, Garry the Gecko, in the airport gift shop. In fact he was so delighted that he totally missed the no smoking signs and walked all the way across the tarmac out to the plane with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Thankfully he didn't blow the plane up and we departed safely.

We arrived in Phnom Penh in the early evening to be met by our guide Suk, who escorted us to the Diamond Hotel, located near the Central market. After the usual chaos associated with our arrival at a hotel, rooms were allocated and we decided to go searching for a place to eat. We headed off in the general direction of the river. My first impression of Phnom Penh was that it was similar to what I imagine Bangkok would have been like 30 years ago. After wandering the streets for a while we managed to find the river, and then (a much harder task) agree on a restaurant. Some of the boys, forgetting the strong French influence, were a bit shocked at their rare steaks, but apart from that the meal was fine, if not memorable.

Our next port of call was the famous Foreign Correspondents Club (known locally as the FCC) which we managed to find after only one false start; choosing directions by committee is never a good idea.

The FCC is a beautiful old colonial building overlooking the river. Life doesn't get much better than sitting upstairs at the FCC, drink in hand, with a cooling breeze blowing in from the river, taking in the view as the local people stroll the promenade in great numbers, have picnics, play badminton or just sit on the grass relaxing, or more likely courting.

There are also a number of interesting photos, some instantly recognisable, on display from the Vietnam war era. This is one place where you wish the walls could talk.

Unfortunately, as the owners realise that it is a must visit for all western tourists it is not the cheapest place to drink. The drink prices pale in comparison to the USD $25 (close to $50 Australian) they were asking for a polo shirt.

Some of the boys were talking to some fellow western travellers, putting in the hard yards. Jimmy was quite baffled by this: 'I can't understand why you would come to Asia, with all the beautiful women here and talk to westerners. I don't find them attractive at all.'

As closing time approached people were jumping on bikes and scattering in all directions in search of further drinking opportunities. I jumped in a taxi with Jimmy and Dan. I don't think they build taxis over there with people the size of Jimmy in mind but we managed to all fit in eventually. Unfortunately the Heart of Darkness bar was closed for renovations so the taxi driver redirected us to the infamous Martini Bar. Just as we were walking in a girl that looked no older than twelve was walking out (thankfully unaccompanied or things would have got ugly). We all did a double take but continued on. It was fairly crowded, the dance floor bar especially. We headed for the main bar, where you could at least hear yourself think. I'm not sure what proportion of the women there were working girls, but it was significant. I got very good at pointing to my wedding ring, whereas Jimmy and Dan had to keep saying things like 'not tonight, maybe tomorrow' so they would go away.

After a few more beers we decided to pull up stumps for the night. Our taxi driver actually came in the club looking for us to make sure we were alright. We got him to take us back to the hotel for some well earned rest. I think it was about threeish but don't quote me on that.

Laotian Rugby Tour Diary Archive

Linus

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