My friend Phanna and I
decided to head back to
his hometown of Kratie
(pronounced Kratchey) to
visit his family and
find and photograph the
rare and mysterious
freshwater Mekong
Dolphins.
Leaving from the
riverfront in Phnom Penh
at 8AM, we soon wound
our way through the
weekend traffic exiting
the city and headed
north along the Tonle
Sap River.
Crammed
into the proverbial
Cambodian Toyota Camry
taxi with seven others
($35-40 per taxi for the
trip from Phnom Penh to
Kratie), I was allocated
the space in the front
seat jammed against the
door, setting on my feet
as there wasn't enough
room for both Phanna and
myself to set on the
seat and also allow
space for the driver to
shift gears during the
more treacherous and
traffic laden parts of
the journey.
For the next 5 hours,
with my upper torso more
outside the cab than
inside we dodged in and
out of traffic, honking
the horn constantly at
the never ending
streaming obstacles of
humanity, animals and
vehicles. To put it
mildly, a rented taxi
jammed with seven other
brave souls is probably
not for the faint of
heart as the first hour
of the trip is a
constant game of playing
chicken and is probably
better travelled with
your eyes closed and
fast asleep!
As I chose to keep mine
open (since I was
hanging out the window
anyway), the 1st of the
inevitable southeast
Asian traffic accident
appeared only a half an
hour later with a
motorbike lying on its
side and a young woman
laying in the arms of
another woman next to
it, crying and sobbing.
Passing this scene we
continued north and at
09:30 AM made the first
of several stops, this
one at a very crowded
restaurant. After a 15
minute break during
which I had some soup
and tea, we turned east
on Highway 7, headed
towards Kompong Cham. At
10:20, nearly two and a
half hours after leaving
Phnom Penh, we started
over the new Japanese
built bridge and were
crossing the Mighty
Mekong.
As many times as I have
seen and travelled on
this river, it has never
failed to leave me in
awe and this time it is
no different, for as we
climb quickly into the
sky on the bridge, the
river beneath you seems
to dominate everything
for as far as you can
see, spreading itself to
what I estimated to be
over a kilometre and a
half wide and running
north and south for as
far as the eye can see.
It
is now September, the
height of the rainy
season and the river is
full and straining its
banks. The current is
wicket; rushing towards
Vietnam at speeds that
require most barges,
ferries and other
vessels to hug the shore
lines in their efforts
to stay out of the
fastest parts of the
river and make some
progress against the
torrid current.
Most people don't really
understand the size and
power of this river.
Here in Cambodia however
they do as it is the
only place in the world
where another large and
powerful river, the
Tonle Sap, has its own
southerly flow reversed
at the confluence of the
two rivers in Phnom Penh
due to the shear power
and strength of the
Mekong River's waters
rushing to Vietnam, the
Mekong Delta and the
South China Sea.
During this period as
the levels of the Mekong
rise, the Tonle Sap is
backed up and the river
reverses direction and
starts flowing northwest
with the lake enlarging
from 2,500 square
kilometers to over
13,000 square kilometers
with the depth
increasing from 2.2
meters to over 10
meters.
It now isn't long before
we exit Kompong Cham and
the road improves
dramatically as the next
leg of the journey has
been rebuilt with the
assistance of an Asian
Development Bank loan
and quite frankly, they
have done a damn good
job as the road is
smooth and more
importantly, very wide
and straight.
Along this section, I
start to notice new tree
farms around almost
every bend, laid out in
perfectly straight lines
that go on for hectares
and hectares. As this
region in past years has
been a target of massive
logging operations and
pulp and paper mills, it
is refreshing to see an
effort to replenish what
nature once gave us.
I do notice however
numerous trucks still
filled with logs either
setting along the
highway or travelling in
various directions. It
is obvious to anyone but
a blind person that
logging is still an
economic reality and
seems to be still
occurring on a rather
large scale although
supposedly outlawed some
years ago. Maybe
someone has a special
permit?
I also take note that
the soil here is
obviously very fertile
and the vegetation very
lush and thick. This is
quite a contrast to the
land in and around the
temples of Angkor and
the town of Siem Reap
which is difficult to
impossible to grow
anything on and during
the dry season becomes
incredibly hard and
baked, seeming to turn
almost into stone.
After a couple more
stops along the way to
let the obviously
pregnant woman passenger
in the rear seat to
throw up and to fuel up
(and throw up again), we
pull into Kratie town at
1:20 PM, which quite
frankly does not leave
one with a terribly
wonderful great
impression as the
buildings are drab and
the road turns to dust
and rock again. This
however is the wrong
impression as the town
turns out to be a
wonderful, quaint
backwater that reminds
me in many ways of Nong
Khai in Thailand (that
sets across the Mekong
from the capital of
Laos,
Vientiane).With
only a couple minutes
more, we are pulling up
in front of Phanna's
parent's home and they
quickly greet us with
smiles and hugs.
Panna's father turns out
to be a very fascinating
and extremely well
educated man who has
served in various
capacities in the region
including being
directors of the World
Food Program and the
Kratie Province Rural
Development Agency. It
isn't long before maps
are flying out of
drawers and I am getting
a briefing on plans for
the development and
potential for the
province.
It seems the local
officials think that the
economic salvation for
the province after the
"legal" demise of the
logging industry is
agriculture,
specifically dairy
farming. A map that I
now have shows me 6
massive tracks of land
to the east of the
Mekong and to the east
and north of Kratie.
The area encompasses
over 34,000 hectares of
land and lies
approximately 20
kilometres east and
north of Krati bordering
areas along the Prek Te,
Kampi and Prek Kakol
Rivers. Land prices are
discussed and quite
honestly, I find the
prices mentioned to be
amazingly reasonable
given their location,
fertility, proximity to
Vietnam as well as river
transport via the
Mekong.
After a spot of late
lunch, Phanna and I head
off with his brother in
law in (you guessed it)
another Toyota Camry.
It seems that this model
from Toyota is
everywhere in Cambodia
and in reality it is,
from the beaches of
Sihoukville to the
trashy border town of
Poi Pet, to the temples
of Angkor, they are in
fact everywhere! Just
why or how has to be a
story in itself and it
is hard to imagine where
Toyota could have this
model somewhere else on
earth as they had to
have all been shipped to
Cambodia!
This time however, with
5 fewer people, the trip
north out of Kratie is
quite pleasant and with
the air-conditioning on,
free of dust and the
usually inevitable grime
that accumulates on your
skin and face from a
Cambodian road trip.
Our
destination for this
late afternoon trip is
the extremely rare and
very famous Mekong River
Dolphins. Although no
one knows where this
species came from or how
they managed to come so
far up the Mekong (and
adapt themselves from
salt water to fresh
water), they are in fact
here and living in
several different pods
(groups) in the waters
of the Mekong.
The one pod we are
headed for is called the
"Kampi Pod" and seems to
frequent where the Kampi
and Mekong Rivers come
together. It seems this
past season (2004), with
the Mekong being the
lowest it has been in
over three decades, that
the population has
declined from the
estimated 100 or so
earlier in the year to
less than 60 (according
to some locals) due to
having to move from
their normal feeding
grounds into unfamiliar
and dangerous waters
where they were caught
up in nets or
injured/killed by river
vessels.
This
species of dolphin is
more formally named the
"Irrawaddy" and has a
rounded head with no
beak, and a flexible
neck. They can vary in
color from dark and
light blue- grey, to
pale blue. It is grouped
as an oceanic dolphin,
although some dolphins
may live in the
freshwater of rivers all
their life (such as the
Ganges in India). This
species of dolphin has a
small triangular shaped
dorsal fin with a
rounded tip, below the
centre of the back , and
is a slow swimmer -
usually moving in small
groups. Irrawaddy
dolphins are very
similar to the shape of
the Beluga (toothed
whale), and to the shape
of the Finless Porpoise
with its blunt round
head, so they are
sometimes difficult to
tell apart. They can
have up to 40 teeth on
their upper jaw, and 36
teeth on the lower jaw.
Adult Irrawaddy dolphins
can grow to between 2.1
and 2.6 metres long,
with new-borns about 1m
in length and a fully
grown Irrawaddy dolphin
weighing between 90 and
150 kg. At birth they
are as much as 12kg.
Although some travel
guides indicate that the
best time to see them is
between the months of
December to April,
Phanna and I have no
problem finding them
immediately as Phanna
had for many years been
a tour guide while
growing up and was
intimately familiar with
this area of the Mekong,
the dolphins and their
feeding grounds. After
renting a boat and
driver for $6 at the
dock just south of the
Kampi River, within
minutes at least 2 if
not more, broke the
surface next to our
small boat and with
regularity over the next
half hour we observed
them as our young boat
handler managed to keep
us on "station" with the
engine off, just meters
from the entrance to the
Kampi River. (See the
bottom of this article
for more information
concerning this
wonderful creatures.)
As
we wait for them to
surface and as I make an
effort to catch them
with my Nokia digital
camera, we discuss the
area, its past,
development and growth.
It is than that I learn
that a proposal is on
the table and is
being seriously
considered to build a
dam
in the very spot where
we are watching these
creatures feed and
play.
Although I am usually
very much a realist and
know here in Asia
feeding people and
providing them food,
water and power will
always override other
environmental concerns
(as well as the
destruction of rare
animal species), I
secretly hope that this
is one dam that isn't
built.
As I watch a massive
thunderstorm build to
the north, we can hear
the rolling thunder from
its anger and I am
wondering if it and its
rains will head our
way. After watching it
and the winds for a few
more minutes, I
determine that it most
probably will not, at
least for the next hour
or so and after getting
some more photos of
fishermen and the their
nets along the river
banks, we turn the boat
south and head for the
parking area and dock
where Phanna's brother
in law is awaiting us.
The Wat of a Hundred
Columns
After piling into the
car again, I am
surprised to find we
turn left (north away
from town) out of the
lot onto the narrow,
heavily potted lane that
serves as the main road
north and south along
the Mekong. After
another 30 minutes or so
and after passing
through another village
where the road makes a Y
and forks off to the
northeast, we stay on
the section that
parallels the banks of
the Mekong and soon
enter an area that has a
very large, modern Wat
(temple/pagoda) within
easy view of the road
and the Mekong. It is
only after pulling into
this area that I
understand just how
large it is and find out
it is the largest such
Wat in Cambodia, having
exactly 100 large
columns supporting its
roof.
Wat
Trasor Muoy Roi as it is
formally called, is
famed for its excellent
wall paintings as well
as the stupa dedicated
to the Princess Nucheat
Khatr Vorpheak who
legend says was killed
by a crocodile. Although
very beautiful, I became
much more mesmerized by
a much smaller and far
older wooden Pagoda
setting on the grounds
several hundred meters
further inland and to
the east.
As we pulled under a
beautiful tree that
dominates the area where
the older Wat still
stands, we noticed that
no one was around except
for one lone monk
picking up palm
branches. It had been
raining earlier and the
ground around the temple
was wet and muddy so we
had to step carefully as
we made our way inside.
After taking my shoes
off, I was immediately
drawn to a large setting
Buddha which dominated
the pagoda but was
additionally surprised
and fascinated to find a
panoramic collection of
hand-painted murals that
rested on the walls
above the height of the
doors and windows. They
were spectacular!
As
I snapped at least one
photo of each, I
listened to the
translation from Phanna
of the monk's
description and history
of the murals and the
pagoda itself. I was
told that the temple's
name was "Preak Heak Kok"
which means "high
ground" as the ground on
which it set was higher
than the surrounding
area and was never
flooded by the Mekong
when it overflowed its
banks. Articles from
others however refer to
it as "Wat Preah Vihear
Kuk" so I am not exactly
sure what its proper
name is.
I also listened to
several stories about
its history and was told
it dates back to 1142 AD
when the original stone
temple was built on the
same spot. The resident
monk told us that the
wooden temple that
existed now was 346
years old but once again
this seems to be in
conflict with other
writers who have
indicated it to be over
700 years old. I am
more inclined to believe
the younger age myself.
Stories were also
relayed about its role
in the recent fighting
in 1983 when a major
battle took place on the
surrounding grounds.
Supposedly three monks
were killed and several
buildings were
destroyed, one of which
still has the concrete
steps leading up to an
obviously empty space,
pot marked with the
battle's scares.
There
was also another story
concerning this very old
and beautiful pagoda
that was equally sad in
that as recent as 1998
it was looted of many of
its precious artifacts
by a high ranking
government official who
was supposedly taking
the items to Phnom Penh
for safe keeping with
the intent of putting
them on display in the
National Museum.
According to the monk
however, the items might
be "safe keeping" but
they are nowhere to be
found in the National
Museum. Go figure....
As
we made our way south,
we made a quick stop at
another beautiful,
wooden temple where I
once again took a few
photos. It was all
closed up however with
the entrance gate closed
and locked so I had to
settle from some shots
from the street.
The road (actually a
lane) was once again
congested with people,
vehicles, animals and
pets even in spite of
the fact that it was
starting to rain harder
and harder as light
turned into dusk. I was
in the front seat during
this leg with Phanna in
the back, straddling the
opening between the two
front passengers as we
discussed in great
detail the Cambodian
education system.
Although I have
experienced it first
hand having been a
teacher in both Phnom
Penh and Siem Reap as
well as having taught
courses at both language
schools and
universities, I did not
agree with some
institutions policies of
allowing students to
attend class as late as
they wanted with
students not even
reporting to class until
at least 15-45 minutes
after it had started.
It seems here in
Cambodia, all too often,
once a degree has been
paid for, that somehow
precludes the actual
necessity to go to class
and learn what is being
taught. In my opinion,
not the best way to
assist in a country's
development or show a
student what is expected
after graduation.
After a few more stops
along the way to chat
with friends, we
eventually enter town
and get out of the car
across the street from
the Red Sun Falling
Restaurant which turns
out to be the only
Barang (foreign) owned
bar in town.
Al from Sharkys in Phnom
Penh had told me to make
sure I visited the place
so after saying thanks
and goodbye, I crossed
the street with Phanna
and we set ourselves
down on 2 of the 4 bar
stools that were in
front of the bar.
The
proprietor of the
establishment is a young
guy named "Joe" from
Chicago in the good ole
U.S. of A. As I was
writing this article, I
wanted to try his
"special" posted to the
entrance ways' chalk
board as well as have a
couple of cold beers.
Joe was friendly enough
and filled us in on his
personal history and the
hows and whys of him
coming to Kratie. Also
told us about some of
the local expats which
seemed to number a dozen
or so and were all
involved with one NGO
(Non-Governmental
Organization) or
another.
The special arrived and
it was a pretty decent
pasta dish, with salad
and some garlic bread,
all for 7,000 Riel (less
than $2). Not bad I
thought. Not bad at
all.
Over the next couple of
hours we talked about
numerous things
including the growing
number of travelers
through Kratie on their
way north and south on
the Mekong from Laos.
Joe stated that at the
height of the tourist
season that 60-70 folks
passed through the ferry
terminal here and many
chose to stay for at
least a night or two
before continuing on
their journey. With
very nice accommodations
with large rooms being
available for $3 a
night, not exactly over
taxing on a backpacker's
budget. (Kratie however
is NOT the place to use
the Internet as prices
are between $4-7 an hour
compared to Phnom Penh's
.50 an hour!)
It got to be around 9PM
and I felt it best we
head home back to
Phannas and join his
family for a bit.
Grabbing a motorcycle
taxi we arrived back at
Phanna's home where
everyone is preparing to
go to sleep. A bed has
been made up for me in
the front living room
area which is quite
comfortable and after a
bit more conversation,
we all called it a day
and went to our separate
beds. It was only
moments later I was fast
asleep.
DAY 2 - Down the Mekong
The day woke with the
noise of the traffic
outside and the crowing
of the ever present
roosters. Even in the
"wilds" of Phnom Penh,
awakening to sounds of
occasional rooster crows
and the occasional
automatic weapons fire
seems to be quite
normal. Today however,
all I hear here in
Kratie, are chickens and
cars.
It is early and I don't
even realize just how
early until I am out of
bed getting dressed and
putting on my watch. I
guess 5:30 AM isn't too
early to start the day's
adventures and with that
thought in mind, I am
soon outside, pacing
around the area in front
of the house and along
the graveled street.
After Phanna's mother
fixes the family some
breakfast and me some
tea, there is several
long exchanges again
with Phanna's father
about the development of
the province. Phanna's
father speaks very
little English as being
a well educated and an
older Khmer, he learned
French. Phanna however
does an excellent job of
relaying our
conversation and I learn
many more interesting
things.
Time is pushing on
however and there is a
lot to see before we
catch the 10:30
high-speed ferry towards
Phnom Penh. With this
in mind, we set off by
foot as Phanna's sister
is out and about with
their motorbike. She
soon catches up with us
however and even though
she is some distance
from their house, turns
the bike over to us and
we leave her standing on
the street next to the
Mekong. Seemed a bit
odd that we didn't offer
to take her back to the
house....
Phanna and I are than
taken up with the area
along the Mekong and its
many old French Colonial
buildings, wats and
wooden pagodas. There
is also an area just
south of town on the
dirt lane closest to the
river that has more
Vietnamese than Khmer
but although it is a bit
seedy, the view along
the shore is quite
beautiful and only a
couple of minutes
through this area leads
us to another beautiful
wooden pagoda.
Wat
Roka Kandal is a well
preserved pagoda dating
from the 18th or early
19th century located
right next to the banks
of the Mekong. It has
traditional decorations
and is of wooden
construction and the
information inside state
that it is the only one
of its type in Cambodia.
A German NGO has helped
with the Pagoda's
reconstruction and
maintenance and inside
now there is a local
arts and crafts shop.
I was really taken with
the beauty of the
columns and the views
through the surrounding
grounds through the
beautifully framed
windows. After a bit of
shopping picking out
things for friends back
in Phnom Penh, Phanna
and I got back on the
motorbike and headed
once again south along
the wide, picturesque
streets with their
numerous traditional,
wooden framed homes.
It has now gotten to the
time where we need to
start thinking of
catching the ferry home
to Phnom Penh so we head
back north to the
central part of town and
the ferry docks.
After spending a bit of
time in the local market
and after grabbing a
bite to eat in a
restaurant across the
street from the docks,
we head back to Phanna's
house where we return
the family's Honda and
say our goodbyes.
Phanna's family with
wonderful smiles and
waves say goodbye to us
as we catch a motorcycle
taxi to the docks.
A couple of minutes
later we pulled up to
what was obviously a
developing throng of
people waiting to catch
the various ferries that
seemed to be heading out
in the next few
minutes. As it was only
10 AM and the expected
departure time was
10:30, I took a quick
hike around the block,
snapping some more
photos of both buildings
and people.
I returned a few moments
later, and it seemed the
dock had swelled to it
was in fact now
occupying the riverfront
street, with packages,
bundles, construction
material and food stuffs
appearing from
everywhere.
As
I had been told the boat
would be appearing from
the north on its way
down from the Laos
border with Cambodia, I
kept an eye in that
direction to make sure I
caught it as it neared
the dock. I wasn't
however prepared for the
site that was to come
into view and as it
turned from the main
channel and headed
towards the shore, as it
seemed that it would
capsize at any moment.
As I stared in disbelief
at the "express" ferry I
could only imagine what
the slow boat might look
like. Was this really
going to be the vessel
that was to take me and
Phanna down the Mekong?
As I had already
purchase my $6 ticket
(negotiated down from
$7) and Phanna his
(Khmer price of 15,000
Riel or $3.75), we
obviously had no choice
as we needed to get back
to Phnom Penh and unless
we waited for a weekday,
the boat probably
wouldn't be any less
crowded.
To
Chan Thel and Phanna at
the Kratie Municipal
Dock
After saying our
farewells to Phanna's
friend who is also an
English teacher and
part-time tour guide in
Kratie, we boarded the
boat, crawling our way
along the port side
cat-walk only inches
from the water. As few
people had left the
heavily laden craft, we
had to go back as far as
where the engine's
exhaust stacks rose from
out of the engine room
where we climbed up onto
the roof which for the
remainder of our journey
served as our outpost on
the Mekong.
It is hard to see the
boat under the sea of
humanity boarding the
ferry.
As we departed Kratie
port and set out down
the Mekong, it wasn't
long before we were
moving along at a pretty
good clip, far faster
than anything else we
came across.
Although everything
along the journey was
interesting, including
the numerous stops along
the shore to load and
unload passengers and
cargo, what was
particularly interesting
early on in the trip was
the mid-channel docking
at noon with another
express boat coming up
the Mekong. Done
smoothly and quickly, if
you hadn't been watching
the bow (front) of the
boat you probably
wouldn't have noticed it
happening.
Mekong Express boats
docking in mid-channel.
What was also
interesting to watch was
the young girl walking
along the very narrow
"catwalk" of the boat
selling oranges as it
was hurling full-speed
down the Mekong. What
made me wonder of the
longevity of her career
was the fact that she
chose to neither tie
herself off to anything
or hold onto what rail
there was. Her faith in
the boat's buoyancy or
the captain's capability
or maybe just Buddha was
pretty amazing....
At 1PM we had gone as
far south as Steang
Trong where you notice
steep cliffs on the
western bank of the
river. It was only a
half hour later we
arrived Kompong Cham,
crossing under the huge
Japanese bridge spanning
the waters of this
mighty river.
After a bit of
negotiating ($10 for the
rear seat), we found
ourselves a taxi and
were soon winding our
way out of the port taxi
area and onto the road
south to Phnom Penh. At
3:30 PM we passed the
Chroy Chang Var Taxi
Station just to the east
of another Japanese
bridge that spans the
Mekong in Phnom Penh and
were soon once again
where we started, the
Crystal Net Internet
Cafe on Sisowath Quay.
