Cambodia: Kratie

By this point, I am fairly accustomed to the border crossings over here - the bus assistants who want to take your passport and earn some money by handing it to the border guards instead of you, the "stamping fees" pocketed by the officials, the overall sense of confusion because you don't speak the language of either country that you're going between and my favorite: the temperature check. Fortunately, the worst that usually happens is getting tricked out of a few US dollars, but still I tend to get anxious on the day of a crossing, never sure what obstacles/touts will await us.

The mighty Mekong - central vein of the region.

This time we had some excitement even before the border. Crammed in the back row of a minibus with 3 other adults, I marveled (as I always do) at how fast they drive here, overtaking anything in their way as if swerving through a video game. Looking out the window, I noticed a large purple and gray object tumble off the roof. "Hey, that's my bag!" I yelled to the driver and he took a while to slow down and get out to go fetch it from the roadside. In a stroke of luck, it did not land in cow poop or hit a small child and my computer did not break in half - for all of this, I am grateful.

Center market.

Khmer curry.

For the crossing itself, we managed just fine - paid the bribes, waived off the temperature check and found ourselves back in Cambodia on a hot, stuffy bus packed mostly with other foreigners. It was one of the bumpiest rides I've taken, but it was too hot to really care. I read my book (finishing up the one I chose for Laos, which I really enjoy: The Ravens by Christopher Robbins about the pilots in the 'secret war' in Laos) and enjoyed the scenery while engaging in some light core exercise in an attempt not to fall off my seat. All the passengers were in a sweaty daze when we were rudely interrupted by a very loud thud coming from the rear of the bus. I think I've been watching too many actions movies because I imagined that the steel of the bus was being ripped up and it was splitting in half. Apparently the others had a similar thought because everyone in the back stampeded to the front in a momentary frenzy. Luckily, it was just a popped tire and we were able to pull into a nearby rest stop while it was repaired. I came away a bit shaken up and in need of a beer. After a short time at the rest stop, we only had 10km to go before arriving at our destination, Kratie, where Sam and I were able to have that beer and revisit the excitement of the day. He was markedly less disturbed by the popped tire and told me that I couldn't refer to it as a "near death experience." I know he's right, but it was still scary!

Vietnamese temple on Koh Trong.

Folks on Koh Trong.

Kratie town seen from Koh Trong island.

Kratie is a typical town of the region, nicely situated on the Mekong with a small, growing tourism industry. I was excited to be back in Cambodia and eat the traditional Khmer curry and fish amok - Khmer food took a bit to get used to, but now I love it and even crave it. While here, we gave the small handful of restaurants a try, walked around the market and took a boat to Koh Trong island across from us in the river. Knowing that it was the  60th anniversary of Cambodia's independence from France, we asked if there would be any celebration (hoping for some 4th of July-like action), but all we got was, "maybe there is a party in the pagoda." A phrase I never imagined hearing of course intrigued me - I would love to go to a party in a pagoda. It was disappointing to see that the party was just some loud music coming from the pagoda with no attendees.

Generator on the left; light bulb on the right (in the tree).

Island dogs.

Ferry pier.

Sunset on the pier.

Sam and I made friends with the manager of our hotel and his "brother" (everyone is brother and sister over here) and we decided to go to the local nightclub - So Cool Club. It was like any other club - cover charge, marked up prices, loud music - except that the dancing was like that at a 6th grade mixer. Mostly small groups of either guys or girls, no one touched each other and the hands were kept out front in a swinging motion around hip level. It was a fun time and we loved the local experience, though we were really tired this morning. Overall, it was a great stay in Kratie and I'd love to come back and explore the surrounding area on another trip.

Outside So Cool Club.

Inside So Cool Club.