Battambang to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Thursday, May 8, 08
35 of us start the trip to Siem Reap at 7:00. This boat is long, around 30 ft, but narrow with seats along the sides. We will boat down the Stung Sangker to a large lake, Tonle Sap, and across into Stung Siem Reap. Baguettes and cheese for breakfast and we are off. Life jackets? There are four on the boat. This boat is homemade with a large engine behind. Past a collapsed bridge, we work our way through the cement. Soon after, we snap something and come to an abrupt halt, or float.
We are offloaded to sit on the bank while the crew works out the difficulty. They are working on the propeller assembly as we passengers are learning each other's names and countries. Some wander off looking for a toilet and others search out a drink.
A Khmer walks to the river's edge with a dog, burns and scrapes off the bristles and butchers it in the water. I'm eating vegetarian tonight.
At the 1 hour mark a mutiny is brewing. Two Dutch women want to hire a truck,'there are none around, and find our way back to Battambang with a taxi ride from there. Others are for giving it another hour. At the 1 hr. 10 min. mark the engine is started and the boat is out n a test run. All they have used is hammers and a crow bar - nothing delicate. They disappear upstream with our bags, so there goes the mutiny.
The entrails are now being cleaned. It's an art.
Without the breakdown I wouldn't have noticed the 2 AK47s which are off loaded. They look too rusty to be effective - our guards.
Oh, there it is. The boat has returned - 2 hours of waiting.
On board, we continue. fishermen are throwing nets as women wash clothes. A lady dips a bowl into the river and satisfies a thirst. Two boys have made a slide down the bank splashing into the dirty water. 3 young men are snailing - How else do you catch snails?
Everyone n board is sporting sores, scrapes or bites. One Brit young man has a serious eye infection. He is advised to see a doctor. The foreigners on board are Brits, Dutch, Aussies, French and me. Books are out. Card playing begins. We are settled in for the long ride. Wind is ameliorating the heat. We scrape over a rock but continue.
Coming around a corner, a boat our size is suddenly and instantly on us. the other boat has a man in front, as we, who quickly pushes us with a pole sending us into the brush on the left bank. now, it's our turn to pole ourselves off and on we go. Some of the younger set have been hanging their feet over the edge. Now it becomes apparent why this isn't a good idea.
We pass crocodiles in cages, fishing nets and fish traps. Water hyacinth block the way and we plow through needing then to stop and clear the intake, this engine is water cooled. Around 1:30 we stop for a refreshment break. The toilet is a hole in the floor.
On, through more hyacinth as sprays of water drench those in its path. Angela, an Irish woman, is sitting next to me and nods off. Briggs and Stratton engines are set up to drive smaller craft. Such ingenuity is hard to find except in the third world.
Between 2:30-3:00, we deposit people and load at homes and shops. The congestion eases.
3:15, we leave the river for Tonle Sap Lake. Just prior to entering Stung Siem Reap, the boat again loses the gear, same as the morning. That's it! The crew of three is poling us along. Two girls 8 and 12 arrive in a small boat and sell us beer and cokes for $1-2 each. Jackpot! We ask for a lift from them and others - no deal. Where are our friends with the AK47s when they are needed? Oh, they off loaded back a ways. Drat!
The group is smoking and drinking, the mood is festive. The sun, low in the horizon, is beating fiercely - 4:30.
Cavalry. Rescued by a boat sent from Siem Reap, we are secured and in tow, if they can keep the engine running. A Brit has his IPOD hooked to some speakers and is playing a song - Follow Me!
5:00 - We de-boat. Siem Reap is a 20 minute tuk tuk drive away.
Tomorrow? Angkor Wat!