A Day of Rest

We have a day to ourselves today; nothing planned except some R&R!  We take a very leisurely breakfast in what has now become ‘our spot’, at a table in the sand, looking out over the landing stage and small beach.

Before wandering back to our tent, we get chatting to Paolo, the hotel manager, who is very enthusiastic about all things conservation and particularly about how the hotel is integrated into the local communities. We find out that they sponsor ‘boat pooling’ schemes to provide diesel for the villagers to get their children to school.  No 4x4s at the school gates here, it’s all done by boat!  They also sponsor equipment in the schools and employ locals in the hotel.

Just before heading back to the tent, we take a look at the kitchens where all of our food is prepared.  They are in a big, open sided building – the only one that is not made of canvas in the hotel – and open for anyone to watch what is being prepared and even get some tips on preparation of the local food.  Paolo then tells us he can give us a masterclass on preparing ‘kroeung’, the paste that forms the basis for Fish Amok, a traditional Cambodian fish curry.  Fortunately, after showing us the ingredients, he let me video him telling us how to make it!  So, I now have the basis for Cambodian curry paste and Fish Amok recorded for posterity!

Back to the tent for a freshen up before taking a Kayak around the island but on the way back we were stopped in our tracks by a visitor to the end of the pontoon that we go down to get to our tent… Corinne had spotted a bright green snake across our path, around a metre and a half in length! After taking some photos we asked the staff for some assistance as there was a good likelihood it was venomous.  They were not sure what it was and were as surprised to find it there as we were! With a bit of subsequent investigation, I think it was probably a red tailed green ratsnake.  The hotel staff seemed to prefer prodding it with a Kayak paddle in order to move it on, whilst keeping it at a distance.  I’m not sure this is the most recognised method for dealing with snakes but despite being a bit upset at being prodded, the snake made its way into the trees and presumably spent the rest of it’s day high up in the canopy, which would appear to be their normal habitat.

After all of the snake excitement, we jumped in a Kayak and headed off around the island for a quick bit of exploration.  We are surprised by how many families live on this tiny little island in the middle of the river – every so often the dense vegetation and palm trees would give way to a little inlet, wooden shack or beach and most of them led to a family living in simple conditions, usually in a hut on stilts made from wood with corrugated metal roof or sometimes palm leaves.

It only took us around 40 minutes to circumnavigate the island, despite Corinne’s attempts to ‘help’ paddle the kayak!  The rest of the afternoon was spent peacefully wiling away some time, reading and for me, catching up on blog writing!   Apart from the occasional passing of a small boat carrying a fisherman to his fishing grounds, there is absolutely no noise here except for the birdsong, cicadas and noises from unknown (to us anyway) animals in the forest, never to be seen but often making their presence known.

Before long, the afternoon had slipped into evening and with it our ritual for the lighting in the tent to avoid the mosquitos.  Dinner was the usual Tom Yum soup followed by banana blossom salad and a barbecue of prawns, squid, Hungarian style sausage and vegetable skewers.

It’s an early night tonight, as we have taken to rising for the sunrise at just before 6am and I want to see if we can capture another one successfully in a photo.