Phnom Penh to Tonle river

We started off in Phnom Penh with a Cyclo ride. Quite a bit more comfortable than a Trishaw as it had a back and comfy cushions. What a motely line up.

These were fixed gear affairs and had a drum brake operated by puling up the crude handle behind the driver.

These two look like they have decided to have a leisurely race.

Our first stop was the Royal Palace.

As we waited for our tickets the girls discussed what they would say if they bumped into the King. (Fortunately this did no occur so the serious looks were quickly dropped.) Please note they had dutifully followed earlier instructions from our guide regarding attire. Specifically there should be no Bow Wow tops (ie when bowing there would be no wows!). Mind you I am not sure of the guides education when he announced he was an MBA (married but available).

The palace was very photogenic with its brght colours and lush gardens.

In one of the quadrangles was a large picture depicting the Sri Lankan wars with India. (Why this was on a wall of the palace was less clear. (The heritage on the IndoChina peninsula is frankly very confusing.)

In the afternoon the girls went off for another cooking class while the lads decided on a walk around the town. We had to delay our departure because the Pandaw had pulled out to let a sister ship escape that we had berthed alongside the previous night. I was allowed forward to see the Bridge which was a little different. There were very few controls and the steering wheel was unusually small.

Once ashore we visited a few sites including the central markets. This was attractive with its contrasting colours against the blue sky and very functional with its high vaulted ceiling keeping the space quite cool.

It was clearly popular with hundreds of small stores inside where the yellow ceiling offset the vivid colours of the stalls.

Outside there were more goods on the move. Not sure of the legality of this load but clearly whatever was behind was not of any concern.

Our plan from the outset was to finish our walk with a cocktail at the roof top bar of the Foreign Correspondent Club. An historical building that has remained unchanged over the years. Our bar seats gave a great view over the river and looking down on the teeming street was almost empowering.

Indeed we seemed to be exposed to god like qualities with the setting sun (which was behind us) and the tower block opposite on the confluence of the Tonle and Mekong rivers.

While a little after the sun had set we were treated to this Turner masterpiece.

As we set off the following day up the Tonle I was struck by several new developments adopting a green approach to life. This one was particularly lush.

Our first stop up the Tonle adopted the old rope around the tree style of mooring and then steps were quickly hewn and gravelled.

Cattle are well looked after and each is treated to a daily swim and wash down.

Meanwhile we were treated to a viewing of an unusually large bird of its type, the Giant Pied Kingfisher. There were a dozen or so all within a one kilometre section of river.

On one of several confluences there was a small spirit house. I advised Sue this was to keep whiskey and the like in and apparently she dutifully advised others of this fact before the penny dropped….

The Tonle and upstream Sap Tonle lake are fed by the Mekong flooding backing up as well as rainwater (65/35%). As the dry season approaches the waters recede and the exposed land is progressively farmed. Here are paddy fields with the more mature rice towards the foreground. Water is pumped from the river to the new fields.

Our destination was a huge floating village. Although most are Vietnamese this is the fishing centre of Cambodia.  Some 600,000 Tonnes of fish are caught each year of which 35% is sent overseas to some 18 countries. The area is the largest provider of fresh water fish in the world.

 

Some of the houses are quite elaborate.

and others have keen gardeners

The catch seems to be prolific. The fisherman bending over has just off loaded a net full of fish from the boat berthed alongside. He made quite a few trips.

A number of the houses were also fish farms similar to those seen in an earlier posting. Here is one being built prior to launching. The bamboo floats can be seen along the bottom of the cage.

We returned to Phnom Penh and en-route in the late afternoon and were treated to a great sunset. Here are three shots from a large collection.

 

 

 

I must finish this posting on a sober note. This part of Cambodia is its life blood in terms of rice and fish production. It is at risk as there are over a dozen dams planned on the Mekong upstream in China and Laos. If these are built the Mekong is unlikely to flood sufficiently to recharge the Tonle and the upstream Sap  lake. The landscapes and lifestyle above would disappear with massive environmental and human impact.