Two Way Freak Show

There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all
- Disney ride lyrics

I'm feeling restless.  I love my afternoons at the orphanage, and I've made a handful of acquaintances with Khmer locals and western expats, but I've seen what there is to see in Siem Reap.  The river ride between Siem Reap and Battambang is reputed to be one of the most charming trips in Southeast Asia.  I have a weekend off from my volunteer responsibilities and I book a river boat ticket.

The trip is indeed beautiful.  Its also damn slow.  I made the mistake of staying out until 1am last night, knowing full well that I'd be picked up at 6am for a 7:00 departure.  I thought I'd sneak in a nap on the river.  The seats are short wooden benches with no cushions.  No zzz's will be had today.  How will I survive this 6 hour trip?  There is a hard cover roof that creates an upstairs deck.  Some looney European backpackers decked in dreadlocks and silk MC Hammer pants are laying out up top.  The sun is maddeningly hot.  Don't they know they are white?!  I smile, perhaps contemptuously, to see them fried red at the end of the ride.

The river ride serves two purposes.  For foreigners, its a long version of Disney's Its A Small World ride.  We board at the beginning and travel the entire route, eager to see local life and color along the water way.  It IS charming.  We pass villages with houses and shops on stilts in the water.  There are little wooden "islands" with cages that house chickens and pigs.  Everywhere the children come running out to wave at us.  They've been well trained by travelers before us; they know "Hello," "Bye-Bye," and how to blow kisses.  They are mostly naked.

No one in the villages seems to wear much.  I see women in bras chopping vegetables - really quite a shocker in this country of feminine modesty.  Many men are dressed in just underwear.  Their taught, slim, deep brown bodies help to keep me awake.  Gym queens take note!: throw out your protein shakes and creatine, coz there's nothing like physical labor and a diet of fish and rice to sculpt sexy male physiques.  I'm a little sad and a little glad that my friend and traveling companion Jose is not with me now.  His drop-jawed, wide-eyed drooling stares at the native male fauna were the source of much hilarity and embarrassment.  He's half German.  There is no word in their language for 'subtlety."

For the locals, the boat serves as a bus (see video here).  They paddle out to meet us and jump on or off the river boat.  We stop maybe thrice in each village.  This is what makes the trip so long.

This was a sweet moment on the trip, two brothers catching the boat home to their village were greeted by their joyous little brother and sister.

At one point we pass through a U.N. protected wildlife sanctuary, although I couldn't tell you when.  Jungled riverbank looks like jungled riverbank.  The birds don't know the U.N. boundaries.  There are some great birds though.  I wish I knew the species better.  I recognize brahminy kites, also common in the Philippines.  Such graceful and regal creatures, they look like small bald eagles cruising the river highway.  I see birds that look like cormorants, loons and vibrant green kingfishers.  My favorite bird, the swallow, is ever present.  Their ADD'ed flight patterns bring me a paradoxical peace and feeling of home.  At one point I see two boys dashing and zagging trying to catch a duck who is skillfully maneuvering through the legs of a perturbed cow.  The boys laugh and scream and a flurry of kissing sounds emanate from the cameras on board our boat.

As we pass the millionth village and the bazillionth naked kid runs out to scream, "bye-bye!" I realize that I'm a participant in a two way freak show.  We're here for a long, thin slice of local color.  We see naked brown kids and women in bras.  We use words like,

-idyllic
-peaceful
-the Real Cambodia

They seem so happy and content along the river even though we know that they work their asses off for a handful of rice and damn well wish they owned fridges and motorbikes.

And we seem otherworldly to them - camera toting tourists with full sets of teeth, but without the common sense to get our pink asses under the cover of shade.

In Battambang there is an "internationally acclaimed" circus of former street kids that are brought in for formal education and training in circus arts.  It sounds really cool, but the metaphor hits me like an electronic fly-swatter.  I skip it, opting instead for an evening of noodles and beer at the night market.

Toilet at a rest stop on the boat ride.