Irrawady dolphins in the Mekong near Kratie, Cambodia

Phnom Pehn, Cambodia-  What do freshwater dolphins, sticky rice in bamboo and stilted mosques claim in common?

These were all found just off of the national highway in Northeast Cambodia thanks to our intrepid guide and driver.

The dolphins, which are impressive in their own right, were part of my daughter’s Cambodia itinerary.

Bliss on the river

Sitting in the middle of the massive body of water that is the Mekong river, with the sound of water breaking over the rapids upstream and the rhythmic exhaling of the dolphins surfacing every few minutes, was the sort of blissful family moment you get about once every teen calendar year.

Bridge to Kampong Cham

Our return to Phnom Pehn included a stop in Kampong Cham, Cambodia’s third city with a population of around 65,000, and a shiny new bridge across the Mekong river.

Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to explore this low-keyed town with a picturesque waterfront.

As we drove out of town to the Phnom Pros Temple we appreciated the green spaces and vibrant street culture of Kampong Cham and made a note to return here on a future visit.

Phnom Pros Temple

The Temple was our final stop on our 12-hour whirlwind tour and we took in the sunset view of the surrounding area while a tribe of small monkeys plied us for food.

The next morning at 7 am, we said our goodbyes to Phnom Penh and the mighty Mekong and hopped in a minibus for the (supposed) eight or nine hour trip to Koh Chang Island in the Gulf of Thailand, and that is a tale for another day.

Phnom Pehn family truckster

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – Just back from a 10-day visit to Cambodia and Thailand and ruminating on my family’s adventures.

Among the amazing sights in Cambodia were the obligatory gravity defying scenes of whole families as well as just about any other household appliance or ware imaginable, slung over the saddle of Khmer Rouge era scooters and sputtering down the road.

But what was even more amazing in retrospect, was the range of transport we both saw and used in travelling across the better part of Cambodia, and the Southeastern corner of Thailand.

A brief survey includes: Motodop (motorbike taxi), TukTuk (motorbike rickshaw), rented motorbike, taxi, minibus, ferry boat, pirogue, longboat, pickup-truck, and my favorite…elephant (see gallery pics below).

Bicycles were easily rented in Phnom Penh and I noted several day tours advertised. Unfortunately given the short time frame for our visit, family considerations (protests) and the hectic traffick in Phnom Penh, Bangkok and other areas visited, I did not explore this avenue (next time).

Rice fields near Cambodia/Vietnamese border

Cambodia is roughly half the size of Germany territorially speaking, with a highway system that while greatly improved recently, still reflects the largely rural nature and grinding poverty that characterizes the country – until five or six years ago the quickest route from Phnom Penh to the central and Northern regions of the country was along the Mekong river on the so called “Bullet Boat.”

I was in fact sad that the Bullet Boat no longer runs up the Mekong, at least not for daily travellers; the only other option for slow travellers wishing to reach the non-descript villages along the river is to invest several days time in learning local minibus routes, or to rent a car and driver and ask him to drive into the hinterland…which is what we did.

As it turned out, our driver spoke a good deal of English and doubled as a guide to the images of rural Cambodia laid out around us. He also had a better idea of what we would find interesting, than we did picking towns off of the map and from the guidebook.

Highpoints included the rice paddy vistas going Northeast from the capital towards the Vietnamese Border, and a window into some of Cambodia’s minority communities as we went further North – including a surprising number of mosques (some on stilts emphasizing their dual identities).

Sticky rice vendor near Kratie in Northeastern Cambodia

Outside Kratie, our original destination, the National Highway turns into a sleepy lane winding along the Mekong River past roadside stalls selling bamboo stalks filled with sticky rice and other local specialities.

It was hard to believe this was the principal international route to neighboring Laos. As we took in the sights, our driver, Naret deftly led us to a small dirt turnoff overlooking the river, “Here are the boats for dolphin viewing,” he announced.

Tales of dolphins and travel in Cambodia and Thailand to be continued…