After the amazing Angkor site in Siem Reap, we leave towards Kratie, 250 miles away.
It is time for Chris and Isabelle to finally experience the Asian public buses 😉 . We booked 4 seats in a minibus. The pick up time was supposed to be at 6:30 am at the guesthouse, but the minibus will only arrive a little after 7 am. 30 minutes late isn’t uncommon. Contrary to Laos we don’t have to rush to get a seat as there are still several seats available. We are the only tourists with another couple. But once we get in the bus we drive all around Siem Reap to pick up more locals. At some point the kids have to sit on their parent’s laps because there aren’t enough seats for everybody. We also pick up plenty of packages that the driver will drop off in different villages on the way. Yes, here the public buses also work like UPS.
It is 8:30 am, we finally picked up everybody and are almost outside the city when we have our first break! Everybody jumps out of the minibus for breakfast. We are still in Siem Reap and realize this is going to be a looong ride.
After a 30 minute break we finally head towards Kratie. The AC works very well, which is a first for us. And the road isn’t too bad. No construction or van issue in sight to slow us down. Which is as close as we get to a miracle after our 30 days in Laos.
At 11 am we stop in a small village. First lunch break on the side of the road in a tiny local restaurant for Matt’s parents. Here nobody speaks English and we don’t really understand what they have to eat.
But luckily we are far from the frogs in Luang Namtha. Here everything turns out to be pretty tasty!
We continue our trip until we get to a village where we understand that the minivan is going to have to board a boat to cross the Mekong river. We board on a very old school ferry with other minivans and dozens of motorbikes.
The way across is pretty quick (it took a lot less time than getting everybody on board) and the way up from the river bank to the street is pretty steep. Some people in front of us have to get out of their minivan to climb to the street level. Miraculously ours has enough power to drive us up without asking us to get out.
We arrive in Kratie around 2:30 pm, after a 7 and a half hour journey.
Kratie is a town located by the Mekong river. A lot less touristic than Siem Reap, there are only very few guesthouses and restaurants. The main reason we stop here is to go on a kayak tour the next day to see the Irrawady dolphins (the same ones we saw in the 4,000 islands). We go to confirm our kayak booking in the only agency in town. Before sitting down to have something to drink. The temperature outside is above 110 degrees, impossible to go visit anything right now.
After a quick tour around the night market, where we can buy different produce but can’t really have diner, we sit down in one of the only restaurants in town. This town is a lot less touristic, which feels great after a few days in Siem Reap.
The next morning we meet at the kayak agency at 7 am for a small breakfast before hoping in the tuk-tuk to the starting point. We are only 7 in the group this morning, with a French couple and a guy from Austria.
The kayaks are attached in the back of the truck and we sit right besides them. A bumpy 35 minute ride.
When we arrive at the starting point, our guide Ben, tells us more about what we will be doing this morning and gives us a quick security briefing. The current in the Mekong is pretty strong here, so we are going to have to peddle hard to get to the other bank.
After all getting in our kayaks, off we go for at least and hour. And Ben wasn’t kidding about the current, we really have to peddle hard and our arms get tired quickly. Way harder than what we did in the 4,000 islands.
Once we crossed the Mekong we stop on a sandy island to go for a swim and have a little snack. Here Ben takes the time to talk a little bit more about the Irrawady dolphins. There are only 92 of this protected species left. And this particular region of the Mekong is home to 35 of them. So our chances of seeing some should be pretty high. He also explains that during the rainy season, the island on which we are standing is completely under water, like most of the little islands we see around us.
We have a nice Krolan for snack, which is a specialty of Kratie. It is basically sticky rice with coconut milk and red beans cooked in bamboo sticks. Excellent !
After a nice refreshing swim and this excellent snack we get back into our kayaks. We navigate through the flooded forest. Which is huge trees that grow directly in the Mekong. We can see their huge roots, pretty impressive.
Then we finally get closer to the area where we can see the dolphins. As soon as we get there, Ben sees some dolphins from afar, and ties the kayaks to a pole so we can sit and watch them. We were a little far but we’re able to see them come out to breathe and play a little bit. It was quiet, and we were all alone just sitting there and watching the dolphins. A great moment being able to observe these creatures in their natural habitat.
We couldn’t unfortunately take a pictures of them that close
With all the kayaks tied together it is the perfect moment for a group photo.
Before getting back on the tuk-tuk that brought us back to Kratie.
In total we did about 8 miles, with a lot of side current and waves. It was hard on the arms but we made it. Ben was an excellent guide with a great sense of humor and very good English. We spent an amazing morning.
We arrive in Kratie at 12:30 pm and take the opportunity to have lunch at the restaurant of the kayak company. During the afternoon we stay at the guesthouse to rest. We are tired from the kayak this morning and the heat in the afternoon is killing us.
In the evening we find a nice restaurant where we can admire the sunset on the Mekong.
The next day we leave Kratie to get to Sm Monorom, where we will do a 2 day trek in the jungle and go see an elephant sanctuary.