I went for a half day bike tour to islands in the Mekong-Tonle Sap river, where we visited a silk workshop. A subsequent post will show pics of the process. It was a welcome respite from the noise, dust, and pollution of the city, and it was nice getting on a bike for some excercise, however brief it was. One of the participants from Australia rides 10k miles per year, leaving at 5 AM for a two hour daily jaunt. All flat terrain. And I was bragging about my 2K this last season!
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| Leaving the city on our way to a ferry |
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| The biggest boat we were on |
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| More typical of the inter island transports |
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| The kids throughout were friendly, screaming hello, hello, hello, until they got a responding refrain from us. Their enthusiasm was infectious. |
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| He was fussing with his inner tube tie downs, and didn't know the bike was too big for him. |
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| Not all the kids' bikes were as clean and well tuned with all parts as ours. |
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| Half the population of Cambodia is less than 25 years old |
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| A game of marbles, where money changed hands, and one child was in charge as dealer and keeper of the marbles. |
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| Corn, sugar cane, mangos, bananas, squash, rice are some of the crops I recognized. |
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| Byways in the backwater |
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| Simple country life |
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| Our tour guide gathered all our cameras for a group shot with each one. As a kid he got a scholarship to learn English from an NGO, and they found him a job in a bike shop, cleaning and repairing. He has always loved bicycles, preferring them to motorbikes. A couple of years ago he was promoted to tour guide, and loves his job. He said maybe in ten years he can open his own bike shop. He now races, with his brothers on mountain bikes, and has won some contests. He has to go 20 miles out of the city to find suitable hilly terrain for training. |
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| Mostly Australians, a couple from Austria, and yours truly |
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| No farming scene is complete without a cow |
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| Blind man on ferry singing into a small portable amplifier |
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| Visited one of the ubiquitous temples |
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| Monks at lunch |
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| Bamboo fan to cool down while eating fruit |
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| Dragon fruit, longan, mangosteen, and banana |
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| Back at the hotel an employee brings her daughter to work, as do many of the staff |
I was wondering whether the simple country house on high stilts had a good reason to be elevated like that. Does water occasionally flood the region making these stilts necessary and not just picturesque?
ReplyDeleteI asked. Flooding during the rainy season is one reason. Underneath provides protected storage space, and provides protection from snakes.
ReplyDeleteSee link
http://www.cambodia-entertainment.com/http_v2/cem_cambo_var_wildlife_snakes.html
I'm really enjoying your pictures. The portrait of the little girl is really good.
ReplyDeleteDo you miss "Powerscribe" yet? :)