Another Great Day Out

On Saturday we had a day off school as it was Pchum Ben and so Thea organised another "Day Out" This time 11 of us set sail with the help of our trusty guide Gideon and his other brother friend whose name unfortunately has escaped me know to us as captain
It was a traditional long boat used to carry both cargo and people with an enclosed part and rush matting seating area at the rear  (first class). The boys of course chose to sit aloft the vessel until it became too hot and then they joined the cissies and had a snooze!
Our first port of call was to an l island inhabited by a small community of about 150 people of whom 25 were children they must have known we were coming as most of them were on the shore to welcome us the incentive to stay could have been the goodies we took with us as small gifts.
We had a short walk to the village most of the buildings were very simple wood and rush constructions on stilts which are traditional and very functional as protection from the river and rains In the past during the rainy season the villagers have to leave and take shelter in Kampong Cham until the floods have subsided however this year this has not happened the rains are very late and also the Chinese have been building dams on the Mekong which may also be having an impact.
The village elder was very pleased to tell us a little about their way of life and asked us to share it with others. The community has received help from The World Food Programme and there was lots of evidence of cultivation on the island with most homes having their own plant nurseries or as we would call them in the UK allotments. There seemed to be good grazing for the cattle which looked the healthiest cattle I have seen in Cambodia to date.
The village had a small elementary school which has one teacher the older children travel to the mainland to school they are currently trying to get enough money to build a new school which is in stilts but so far this is only partially constructed
The children were very lively and chatted away to us and in our very rudimentary kamai we were able to communicate.
Although clearly very poor with not a toy in sight they seemed healthy and happy.
After the village we continued up river to the Kampong Cham equivalent of Blackpool Pleasure Beach well not quite!
The "resort" as it is known is set around the temple we had to climb a very impressive 201 step staircase to reach it I was one of the last to get to the top as you can imagine!
After paying a $2 entrance fee ( a small fortune for poor volunteers) we had our pick nick with all 11 of us sharing what we had even branstone pickle
After that we wandered around the resort with Gideon giving us a commentary There were wonderful views from the top right across the Mekong and beyond there was also the remains of a 6th century wat   as well as the more modern versions.
After this we returned to the boat and enjoyed a leisurely trip back home having had another "great day out"
How I am going to miss all my pals when we go our separate ways in one weeks time