A Fast Boat to Phnom Penh

Early the next morning, our bus meandered through the stir of Siem Reap and halted at a small lake-side town. Here we met Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The area was devastatingly poor. Most people lived on floating houses and setup stalls around the ferry dock to make whatever tourist revenue they could from the sale of water, fruit and sandwiches of eggs, a meager slice of ham and Laughing Cow cheese.

At 6:30 am we boarded the ferry and watched the scene around us. It was a school day and I was captivated by the children making their way to the large blue-painted structure on the banks of the lake. Those on shore walked to school clad in their uniforms of white shirts and blue pants/skirt. We saw a “school bus” of sorts – actually a small wooden canoe – which shuttled around young children from their floating homes to dry land. We witnessed a distressing incident in which a little boy missed his footing while leaping from the canoe and landed face-first in the lake. He was dripping from head-to-toe in mud and murky water. The look on his face as he stared down his sister, the canoe paddler, was precious. In frustration he threw his book-bag at her and stomped away.

As our ferry pulled away, we got a first-hand glimpse at the families who called this lake “home”. Some children came out to wave and greet us, another little boy, of maybe four, decided he’d had enough of tourists and promptly dropped his pants, mooned us and gave us the finger. Now that’s a farewell to remember. The ferry ride took five hours and during that time, a few of us decided to stay above deck to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. We were also the ones who roasted to a crisp. With the boat going as fast as it did and picking up a brisk wind, you completely forgot that the sun was hot. Needless to say, we all got a little red that day.

By noon, we had arrived at Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. As our ferry docked, we were set upon by a throng of people all waving placards and yelling for us to use their taxi, stay at their guesthouse or visit their restaurant or shop. It was absolute madness! Imagine getting crushed by people as you are trying to make your way across a narrow gangplank with a 30 lb. pack on your back and a 10 lb. pack on your front. Their persistence dogged at us and we were smothered by offers. My advice to anyone taking this route is to plan your accommodations ahead and walk as far off the dock as possible before negotiating to avoid the cluster of chaos that greeted you.

Vendors eagerly awaiting our arrival in Phnom Penh.