Some early birds got up and snuck one last visit to Phnom Penh—they had to be up early as Jahan was leaving for our next destination at 7 a.m. Our destination was Kampong Chhang or the “Pottery Village.” As always the journey can be the greatest part of any expedition. On our journey the river became much more narrow, the human occupancy dropped, and the foliage increased—this was prime birding conditions. We were able to see varied species including egrets, terns, sparrows, and kingfishers.
The birdwatchers needed to take a break for Dr. Jean Michel Filippi’s presentation “50 years of Cambodian Modern History!” Dr. Jean is as informative as he is entertaining, and it was fascinating to hear of the ins and outs of his work and to get his angle on the astonishing recent happenings in this region.
After Dr. Jean’s presentation the birding conditions only improved, it was time for all twitchers on deck! The number of species of birds we saw only continued to increase and the cameras could be heard snapping away right up until lunchtime!
After lunch it was time to go on an expedition to Kampong Chhang. We were able to see life as it has been for generations. We were able to see pottery work being done exactly the same way it has been for at least 2,000 years.
On our way back to our floating home Jahan, we cruised through a floating fishing village made up of people of Vietnamese origin. It was a beautiful time to so as the sunset painted the village’s floating homes a golden red!
