Siem Reap to Kampong Cham
On the heels of two extraordinary and unforgettable days taking in the unparalleled beauty and mystery of the fabulous temples of Angkor, this morning allowed each of us time for reflection, relaxation at our “Indochic” Residence d’Angkor, strolling through the friendly town of Siem Reap and its Old Market, or – for some with appetites yet unsated – more explorations among the innumerable celestial temples of greater Angkor. What a wonderful finish to this first phase of our amazing Mekong voyage.
In the late morning we bade farewell to Siem Reap and ventured south through the provinces of Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham en route to our eagerly anticipated rendezvous with our floating home for the next week, the beautifully appointed riverboat Jahan. Heading south we had glimpses of local village life and passed by the many stilt houses as well as acre after acre of fertile fields of cassava (a plant from whose tuberous root tapioca is made), cashew trees, mango trees, coconut palms and rubber trees. We made a quick stop in a forest of rubber trees where our guides described the interesting process of “tapping” to harvest latex by making incisions in the bark of the tree to collecting the milky white fluid that will be refined into rubber. Rubber is Cambodia’s third largest source of income after its garment industry and rapidly growing tourism sector.
This region is entirely subject to the hydrologic hegemony of the mighty Mekong, whose ebbs and flows profoundly affect millions in its watershed. When the alluvial fan of the Mekong delta is overwhelmed by massive inflow during the wet monsoon season, the waters back up into the Tonle Sap River and transform it from a Mekong tributary into a Mekong distributary. Cambodia’s great lake, the Tonle Sap, then becomes the final repository of this prodigious Mekong backflow and as such is really a giant natural reservoir for the Mekong. This hydrologic phenomenon blessed ancient Angkor with a bounty of fish and great quantities of water for irrigation of rice and other crops.
As we approached the Mekong mainstream we discussed this life-giving river which arises high up on the Tibetan plateau, thunders south through the mountains of Yunnan, and runs through six countries in its 3,050-mile course into the South China Sea. Along the way it provides 2.5 million metric tons of aquatic food, nourishes the rice paddies which feed millions, and provides the main artery for transportation and mercantile activity throughout Indochina. Current and proposed dam projects could have profound effects on all of these processes and are currently the subject of great controversy in the region.
We arrived in Kampong Cham, Cambodia’s second largest city after its capital Phnom Penh, and boarded the luxurious Jahan with its air of elegance reminiscent of a bygone era. The “Mother River” glistened under the setting sun as we headed under Kampong Cham’s muscular bridge, one of 10 that span the Mekong. Captain Quy also took us in for a closer look at a quite different bridge: the remarkable handmade bamboo bridge which is erected each year during the dry season, only to be torn asunder by the raging waters of the wet season, and then re-built once again, year after year.
After a most welcoming and informative briefing by our charismatic Cruise General Manager, Mr. Win Min, we enjoyed a sumptuous dinner before ending our evening by cruising into the balmy night on this storied river as we rest up for another fascinating day tomorrow.
