Boat trip up the Mekong River

What an amazing trip we has this week. We traveled with the Kohls (humanitarian missionaries who went to check on one of their latrine projects) on the fast boat up the river and then across the lake from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. The trip took about 6 1/2 hours - about the same as by car but this way we missed highway 6 with all the pot holes!  We started in Phnom Penh at 7:30 in the morning not knowing quite what to expect beforehand. We were amazed as we boarded that most people were sitting on top of the boat where most of them stayed the whole trip!  The view is amazing but the seating is hard! And unsafe! No life jackets in sight except for one small boy. We started on the Mekong and then switched to the Tonle Sap River where the two rivers meet. It was several hours up the River and then into the Tonle Sap Lake.  The lake is huge and for a lot of the way you cannot see the shoreline.  The lake is fairly shallow and shrinks as the dry season continues.  In late spring it is not possible to make the trip by boat.  There are homes along most of the way and in places there are people who live in floating villages and river boats.  The river people are fishermen or Vietnamese who are not allowed to own property in Cambodia. It is hard to believe tha things we have been blessed to see and do.

While in Siem Reap we met with President Loy of the Siem Reap branch and his daughter Chetana.  They will help us plan a fireside with the Young Ambassadors and the members in the branch there when the YA come for a concert in May.  We had only a short time there so we made a quick visit to the market there which we really enjoy because it is much nicer than the markets in Phnom Penh which are crowded and have narrow, dark aisles and are pretty smelly. Some markets are worse than others but always crowded. We like the grocery stores and the malls better even though prices are a little higher. Cambodians love to bargain and they love the markets. 

We took a bus ride back to Phnom Penh which was petty comfortable even on the horrible road. We  stopped along the way a couple of times for a stretch and something for lunch. Took about 6 1/2 hours. When we have taken the same trip by car it was harder because a smaller car takes the potholes harder and our driver likes to pass everyone to go faster and we nearly have a heart attack many times during the trip!  The plane is better! 45 minutes and you are not exhausted when you arrive. We love the adventure of it all.