Sunday morning (very early), I set off for the boat ride to Battambang. After driving around Siem Reap in a mini bus for over an hour and the last stop being 10 feet from my hotel where I started an hour ago - we went to the pier/boat stop. There was the usual scramble of people selling food, trying to carry your bag, begging for money etc. We then boarded a very small boat.

I say small, it wasn't that small, but for the amount of people crammed on, it was tiny! We then set off across the open waters of the Tonle Sap Lake, and at that time of a morning with a completely open boat, it was bloody freezing!

After a time we entered the small, narrow waterways. I think because the other parts were too shallow for the boat to go through, but who knows. We squeezed down sunken tree and bush lined rivers, being battered by the branches and sticks and brambles. It got quite dangerous and painful at some points!

We also sailed through many floating villages. Places that are completely on the water, miles and hours from land and 'civilization'. On approaching these villages the boat would sound his horn and people would come dashing over on their boats, depositing people, goods etc. We then went to the next village and more people got on and some people got off, and so it went on.

We also saw a lot of wildlife, mainly waterfowl and other birds, with great scenery of just still water for as far as the eye could see.

Luckily I took snacks as there was no food or water on board. After a few hours we stopped at a floating shop for more snacks and water.

The sun came out towards the afternoon and it became a pleasant journey, though still with the odd attack from trees and branches. We saw more villages, some built on the riverbanks where their livelihood and way of life is fishing. Children as young as 5 were in the big boats rowing out to the middle of the river to pull up nets, remove the catch, and re-lay the nets, and scenes like this went on for hours. The houses are usually on stilts and made from old wood, corrugated iron, some just had a few sheets of plastic covering held up by some sticks of wood. Some of these people have nothing, but I guess that's all they know and will probably never venture far from the place they were born. All the children ran to the bank to wave to us, which is odd as the boat runs every day, but we were still a source of amusement and amazement. Also odd that such a frequently used waterway was still so overgrown. But this is Cambodia, nothing need have a reason!

Eventually, after 8 hours on our 5 hour boat trip (the London Underground Minute strikes again), we arrived a bit disheveled, a bit sun burnt, and very thirsty to Battambang...

(Also, I am trying to find a computer that will let me upload pics from camera, but I may have to invest in a lead to link it directly. So hopefully will do that over the weekend)