Butterflies and Boats

And so ended our official tour of Cambodia.  We were on our own in Siem Reap for two more days, one day in transit and two more back in Phnom Penh.  We decided there were a few places and things we wanted to see and do before leaving the lovely country.  With our remaining time in Siem Reap, we were going to the Banteay Srey Butterfly Center, Tonle Sap lake and the central market.  All equally important, of course.

We arranged with Tevi and Exotissimo to have our temple driver, Mr. Paul, take us to the butterflies and the lake.  We were hesitant to stick with him because he was an incredibly slow driver.  We were passed by everything from scooters to semi-trucks with great frequency driving around Siem Reap.  Tevi assured us that Mr. Paul was driving like that to show how much he cared about us (what does that say about Mr. Guerilla's fast driving?!).  She also promised us that he would be speedier.  While Mr. Paul could never be described as a speed demon, he did get us where we asked in a somewhat timely manner.

First up was a morning at the Banteay Srey Butterfly Center (called BBC).  Our guide walked us around the facility explaining their work and the butterflies.  After his overview, we were free to walk around and try our hand at nature photography.

 

It took some effort, but we communicated to Mr. Paul that we wanted to go to a restaurant called Green Star.  Since he spoke very little English (we made sure ahead of time that he knew the word "bathroom"), a phone call to Tevi saved the day.  He took us to the NGO for a tasty lunch.  Well, honesty, everything except my main dish was delicious (maybe ordering duck was a bad decision).

Have you ever tried to eat corn with chopsticks?
This was worth the effort!

After refueling, Mr. Paul took us outside of the city to the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, Tonle Sap.  Since we're currently in the rainy season, the lake is near its largest size, and the river of the same name flows backwards to expand the lake.  We arrived at the tourist dock, and Mr. Paul arranged for us to take a motorboat tour of the area.  Our group of four was quickly ushered into a boat that could easily hold 20, and we were sent on our way.

Our driver and guide took us through one of the floating villages on the river on the way to the lake.  Where our boat took us would normally be an asphalt road during the dry season, but instead we were passing trees covered in water up to their top branches.  The families in the village also move between the seasons.  They park their boats on the lake for the dry season, but they need to move to the river for protection from the weather in the wet season.  Their entire lives are on boats, including the family pets.

Visiting the crocodile and fish farm

Local Market going from boat to boat

Girls selling eels out of their boats

These children were bringing snakes up to the boats and almost throwing them into peoples hands.

Boat front as we left the river and entered the lake.

Fish drying in the sun

Mechanic's shop

Although the sights were beautiful, the tour left a bad taste in our mouths.  One of the stops along the way was at what we were told was a community market.  When we arrived we were pressured into buying a 50 pound bag of rice to take to a school for orphans where we would be going next.  None of us have any problem with making charitable contributions to a good cause, but something about this sales pitch didn't feel right.  The market only contained the bags of rice, boxes of noodles (which we were told were less expensive but weren't as nutritious as the rice) and a couple of coloring books.  We agreed to buy the rice and took it to the school where we were told the children would be grateful.  The children were, of course, indifferent to our gift, but they did enjoy interacting with us and having their pictures taken.  Maybe we did the right thing.  Maybe that bag of rice makes several trips a day between the market and the school and back again.  We'll never know, but we certainly weren't comfortable with the process.  Oh well.

At least the kids look happy

At the end of the tour, Mr. Paul took us back to the Tara Angkor hotel again.  We needed our rest since we had a big day of shopping ahead of us.