When faced with the decision of whether to go boating or spend the day talking about human trafficking, I chose to go boating. Was this the best idea? Yes and no. Yes because it was tons of fun! No because I got a wicked sunburn. Oh well…totally worth it.
Some local Cambodians took us down the Mekong River, the main river in Cambodia. I was a little nervous at first because I was worried about cleanliness. The worries faded quickly. After about an hour on the boat, we stopped at a little village just off the river. It was a small, silk weaving community full of kids trying to sell us scarves…go figure.
After we watched some of the older ladies working on the looms, we decided we might buy some of the merchandise. But, it’s different in Cambodia (shocker, I’m sure). Instead of leaving you alone after you make a purchase, they keep trying to see you more stuff! So, we ended up spending more time and money than we planned to. BUT, as we were walking back to the boat, we hear the hum of a motorbike. We all turned around to look. It was one of the older girls trying to sell us more scarves! Tom was impressed, and of course, bought more…SUCKER!!! J
We finally made it back to the boat for some lunch (sans the fish) and swimming. Even though being in the water was nice, clamming was the best part. Yes, I said clamming. There are millions of little clams (the size of quarters) all over the floor of the river. So, you dive under and grab a handful, wash off the sand, fry them up and you’ve got supper. Well, our tour guide, Wang, and his family had supper.
How many people can say they’ve been swimming/clamming in the Mekong River? I can!
