Fishing, Cambodia Style......

Mr. Sarann took me to the big morning market.  Fruits, vegies, fish, pork, chicken.  An interesting market...much like others where everyone in town is buying their food.  There are no "supermarkets" in the places I traveled, maybe with the exception of Thailand.

Fish and rice are the staples of Cambodian food.  

After an hour or so at the market, I asked Mr. Sarann to take me to the Cambodian Cultural Village, an major tourist trap in Siem Reap, where traditional Cambodian villages are recreated.  Interesting, but not more than recreations.  I was bored.

Mr. Sarann was yaking on his cell phone...then he turned and asked me something about going somewhere....I did not understand what he said, but instinctively said "sure, lets go."

just like that we were heading out of Siem Reap and in 20 minutes we were in rural Cambodia.    We drove nearly for an hour - maybe 20 miles outside town.  I took off my shoes, put on sandals, kicked back in the tuktuk and watched rural Cambodia pass.  We ended up in real country.  there was nothing but rice fields and terribly rutted roads.  

Eventually, we had to disconnect the tuktuk from the motorcycle and I rode on the back of the motorcycle for another mile or two.  We ended up at his mother in law's house in the rice fields.  It was rural Cambodia.

Again,he got on his cell phone and started yacking.  He said "We go."

Back on the back of the motorcycle and down a rural, farm road 1/2 mile from his mother in law's house we finally stopped.  the road was so rough i had to get off the back of the motorcycle every 100 yards or so, walk, get back on, etc.  eventually we got to this big hole in the middle of the rice field.  there were maybe 25 Cambodians at the hole.  Several families were dredging this little lake that was full of fish.

The road was unbelievably rough, rutted and riding in the back of the tuktuk was like riding an amusement park ride.  It shook me to the core of my inner being.  False teeth, if I had them, would have been on the floor of the tuktuk..

After the monsoon, all the fields dry up and fish end up in one of these small holes that have been dug.  They pump out the water and gather up the fish.

In the rural areas, you often see these traditional water buffalo carts.

Everyone had a job.  The little girls sorted the little fish.  The little boys helped pull the baskets of fish up form the depression or hole then wash all the mud off them.  The women were sorted the fish and emptied them from the baskets nto the tarp.  the women would also periodically move all the fish around the tarp so they would stay alive.  The men were down in the hole.  

I depart Siem Reap in 13 hours.  Then 27.5 hours of travel.  Home in about 42 long travel hours.

I am going to miss being on walkabout.