Phnom Penh - Onto Angkor

Phnom Penh (Cambodia) to Siem Reap (Cambodia)

So this morning I left Jase at the Hotel Indochine on the banks of the Tonle Sap and  took myself a tuk tuk down the street in order to get myself onto a ferry in anticipation of 5hr+ journey down the river and across Tonle Sap lake (the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia). So, there I was at just before 7:00am, buying myself a baguette, some cheese and bottle of water in preparation for what I anticipated might actually be a boring journey. Amazingly enough though it was far from that.

Just after 7am we headed out from Phnom Penh, the ferry managing to pick up a fair bit of speed, with both  entry doors remaining open, and surprisingly, that's the way they stayed. So eyeing off the obvious opportunity that was presented, out we all got, and when I say 'all' I mean the westerners on this ride, and headed down the sides of the ferry for a better vantage point. Now the amusing thing with moving around this ferry was that the approach to doing so meant walking around the periphery of the vessel on perhaps a half metre walkway with only the smallest of hand rails to act as your saviour between staying on board the ferry (travelling at a rate of knots mind you)  and an inglorious fall into the Tonle Sap. I can only imagine as to how many times that event has actually occurred.

The further ground we put between us and Phnom Penh however, the more interesting and diverse the landscape became, and perhaps, the more 'typical' the scenery became. This is what I imagined Cambodia to be, flat green plains used for farming, small basic housing with thatched roofs, families by the river either fishing, doing their washing or conducting their day to day business. The surreal thing about blasting down the river and virtually through someones backyard is that you still feel strangely detached. Almost like you're in a zoo, observing people from behind a 'protective barrier'. That perhaps sounds strange but considering the ferry was filled with tourists it really felt like a ride in a theme park. I guess sometimes you find that the real problem of travelling without allowing yourself  the necessary time to immerse yourself in a culture is placing yourself by default into what I've termed the 'Disney syndrome'. Having the experience but not understanding it for what the actual reality that it holds.

In any case, I don't have enough time to finish this now, will come back to it in a jiffy.