DAYS 45-46 KRATIE,CAMBODIA IN SEARCH OF THE IRRAWADY DOLPHINIt was the crack of dawn when I set out

DAYS 45-46 KRATIE,CAMBODIA IN SEARCH OF THE IRRAWADY DOLPHINIt was the crack of dawn when I set out to the next destination on mytravels: Kratie. Kratie is not an obvious stop on the traveller circuit. Other than theIrrawaddy dolphin, and the Lonely Planet claim of being home to the ‘bestMekong sunsets in Cambodia’, there was not much, apparently, going for Kratie. That being said, anything which followed Angkor Wat and its surroundingtemples would inevitably be an anti-climax. So it may as well be Kratie.Kratie is as far away as it is possible to be from any major city inCambodia. The main reason I was going to Kratie was that it formed a convenientbreak between Cambodia’s Siem Reap and Four Thousand Islands in Laos.But because Kratie is off the beaten track, and less frequented bytourists, I was really hoping that this little excursion would give me theopportunity to meet Cambodians in their element. Maybe I would finally get thatauthentic traveller experience I was searching for?I arrived at the U-Hong II Guesthouse in the dead of night, accompaniedby intense rain. Luckily I had access to Google Maps on my iPad and was able toget the local minibus driver to stop at just the right location. The wonders oftechnology.At $4/night (£2.35/night) this was probably the cheapest place I hadstayed at on my travels, one of the perks of visiting off-the-beaten-trackplaces. And I was given a spacious room, not a dorm.The following day, the rain having abated slightly, I rented a scooterand explored the area. It made sense to begin withKratie’s number one tourist draw: irrawaddy dolphin spotting. On the way up Icame across an old man enjoying a spliff under a tree. He seemed relaxed as hepeered at the river and its many islands.I could only guess that he was waiting for his wife who would be one ofa dozen ladies, some topless, having their hair shaven only metres away. Atleast I thought they were women. At that age, and without hair, gender was purelya label.After absorbing the scenery here and thanking my new spliff-smokingfriend for the chance to take his photograph, I moved on to the dolphinspotting port. I was put on a boat straight away. Unfortunately as this isgenerally a less touristy town I was the only one on this little vessel. To topit off, the boatman was unable to present a smile or any English.What was meant to be the most interesting part of Kratie was in the enda bit of a damp squib. Although the dolphins were spotted, they were mostly ata distance and rarely surfaced beyond a few inches. In truth I wasn’t expectingto see much, but it was fun being so close.On finishing the tour it started raining very heavily, and I shelteredwith a group of old Cambodian ladies. As we waited, the Cambodian womencouldn’t help noticing that our skin colour was the same. How magical, how rarea treat for me not to feel like a minority. As they looked at me, smiling, Isaid “I am a Cambodian”. They didn’t believe me of course, but we shared in themirth of that joke. At least I think they were laughing with me.Once the rain had cleared Ivisited the 100 Pillar Temple (Wat Sor Sor Mouy Roy), previously destroyed byPol Pot, subsequently rebuilt in 1997 with 116 pillars. The internal paintingswere tremendously detailed and contained friezes blending Hindu and Buddhistmythology.The most interesting image I took at the temples however was of a groupof young monks, one with a cigarette in his hands. In Cambodia children areexpected at some point in their life to become monks, so it is perhaps notunusual for them to carry on their ‘sinful’ habits.On the way back from the temple, which was further way then I wasexpecting, I got to spend some time travelling through the unique houses of theKratie people. Set on stilts, to avoid the floods, these looked like fun placesto grow up.I eventually stopped at one of the road side food stalls. The LonelyPlanet guide recommended buying one of Kratie’s specialities Krolan, a mixture of sticky white riceand coconut milk punctuated by a few black beans, all inside a bamboo stalk. Itwas a great little snack, and I got my second genuine interaction with a Cambodian.Here I am making an unflattering attempt to eat Krolan:Before I finished my touring for the day I visited Wat Phnom Sambok,another temple, this one positioned on a steep hill. The staircase was linedwith replica monks along the entirety of the 358 steps. It should have had a nice panoramic view of the surrounding area, butthe pesky trees thwarted that. I have only come to know now that I missed whatwould have been the highlight of that visit, scenes of hell painted like some vision of Dante’s inferno on the interior walls of thetemple. Here’s another tourists’ photograph:And there ended my journey to Kratie. I was pleased to have got somelocal interaction and seen some nice sights along the way. The next day I wouldmake my way to 4000 Islands and begin my Laos adventure. -- source link

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