Kampong Tralach & Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia
Rise in the darkness of the early morning and hear the world awaken. Salute the sunrise for it brings promises of a new day.
Nosed into the steep clay bank of the Tonle Sap River, the residents of the Jahan stirred slowly. An orange moon played hide-and-seek from behind a cloud, seemingly shy, unwilling to share its glow with our seeking eyes. Crickets chirped a soothing rhythm, not quite in sync with a Buddhist chant echoing from the village of Kampong Tralach. Crowing roosters and barking dogs joined the chorus while the underlying beat was the sound of plodding hooves moving toward our vessel. Long before the crimson sun popped into the sky our morning transport stood patiently waiting. Bathed in golden light the earth took on an intensity that rewarded us for arising early. Verdant rice fields hosted a myriad of birds, their plumages ranging from the pure white of great and little egrets to the ebony of curious black drongos with their strange bifurcated tails. Pale pink lotus flowers waved like flags above platters of leaves clustered in adjacent wetlands. Slowly our ox-drawn caravan passed from the rural countryside into the village itself. The market was already bustling at 7:30 in the morning. In spite of the local holiday, three classrooms of students gathered to greet us and trade songs and high–fives, as they showed their excitement about the opportunity to learn the English language.
Feeling our way further north on the Tonle Sap River we reached the limits of our draft and transferred to smaller local boats to carry us to the pier in Kampong Chhnang. The pulses of the river can be read in the residences of this region. How does one deal with a river that not only rises and falls with the changing of the seasons but reverses direction as well? Most are familiar with the vagaries of a stream flowing from a basin, each drop of water eventually making its way out to the sea. But who can imagine the volume of water necessary to reverse a tributary’s path? Fisherman revel in the bounty delivered to their doors. And it is in looking at these doors that we notice they are either far above, not just on a river bank but on sturdy stilts, or the entire house is a boat that can simply move away.
Inland, we discover the river has in the past delivered layer upon layer of fine sediment, tucked up against a prominent rocky hillside. It is here that the people of Andaung Russey Village discovered their vocation. Clay makes wonderful pottery and cooking ovens too. Sugar palms adorned their yards not just offering shade but providing sweet sap to be converted to sugar and even alcohol.
Many might say that sunset came too soon but we welcomed its golden cast and from the decks watched the colors change until the final scarlet flash when the curtain of nighttime fell.
