Our day Out

Sunday was our only day off from class so I decided to organise a day out. At 9am Gideon and his brother friend turned up on the dot of 9 with their two "tuk tuks" to take 8 of us Thea Johanne Leandra Andre' Dave Janet Vicky and me on a tour of Kompong Cham Province
We went over the mighty Mekong river taking the magnificent Kizuna Bridge or I should say spean Kizuna along road 7 over another bridge where we had our first pitstop.
By the roadside werefood stalls selling a huge range of river fish and river snakes.From the vantage point of the bridge we were able to see the fishermen at work whole families live on the water in boat houses.The river is full and Gideon told us that they just about make a living.
From there we travelled to a rubber plantation and met some of the workers there we tried out our very basic K'mai and they told Gideon that no foreigners had ever spoken to them in K'mai before. The work is hard they each look after/tap 500 trees each and they are paid according to how much/kilos of rubber they collect it is also dangerous work as the woods are full of deadly snakes like cobras so I was very careful where I stood!!! but the workers regarded them as their friends because if they caught a live one they could sell it for food for up to $40 a small fortune.
On then to the very smelly rubber factory where the manager talked us through the production process not much evidence of health and safety despite working with various substances including acid.
All the rubber is exported to China and Viet Nam for use in tyres and condoms so now you know.
After this we travelled through some particularly beautiful agricultural land growing rice peanuts and bannanas to name but a few the land is incredibly fertile after about 20 kms we turned into the small village of I think "detisserant" where we had the great privilege of meeting with some of the women and children involved in a local craft development scheme sponsored by an NGO. They were making hand woven cotton scarves which are in common use here as head and neck protection from the sun.This was another opportunity to try out our K'mai which made all the children giggle uncontrollably They are so happy despite being poor which made me reflect on whether we have got things so right in our country.
Wherever we went all the children would shout friendly greetings they are really gorgeous.We stopped for lunch at a road side cafe and sampled real Cambodian food I had river fish with ginger and soya beans and it was delicious.
On then to The Wooden Watt or to give it its proper title Mohaleap Monastairre Antique This magnificent temple is one of only two to survive the Khmer Rouge it is nearly 200 years old the icing on the cake though was being welcomed by a lady who was hosting a party in celebration of opening a family tomb but we were given drinks and sweet meats to eat and stayed there for some time listening to the Cambodian musicians it was magical.
The Watt itsself was very beautiful and spiritual it is a miracle that it is still there
On the way home we went through many villages and saw first hand what life in rural Cambodia is like where modern life and old customs are trying to co exist.
We also encountered some of the younger and more energetic members of our group who had decided to cycle to the wooden watt but were feeling the effects of not eating and the mid day sun so after ministering to them we made our way home stopping to have a drink and sample corn on the cob which is sold at the road side and was fantastic (much bigger and juicier than ours).
Our guide Gideon was clearly very proud rightly so of his country and keen for us to see more of the real Cambodia and the issues it faces. Both he and his brother friend gave us "A great Day Out".