Kratie, Irrawaddy Dolphins, Motorbike Day, Burnt Arms

The day before we had a long journey day starting at 5am and finishing at 8pm. We went from Kep to Kratie.

We had a lie in until 9am today before getting ready. We handed our dirty washing in to be cleaned and hired a motorbike. We planned to go visit the ‘100 pillar pagoda’, a temple in a district around 1 hour away.

The drive was pleasant with paved roads and no traffic. After an hour we reached the village with the temple and found a place to eat. It was our cheapest meal yet in Cambodia and definitely our most authentic. Robin did not care much for her curried Mekong fish and my ginger chicken was mostly off bone shapes and a chicken heart!

We visited the pagoda and strolled through the grounds. Supposedly there was a turtle sanctuary but we saw no evidence of such. One review a couple months ago said the same so perhaps during off season they go somewhere else?

In the way back we tried to visit the Kampi rapids for a swim. However, with it being the end of wet season, the water level was far too high for a safe swim so we passed.

A little drive later we reached the dock for dolphin boats. We had an hour on a small propeller boat seeking out the Irrawaddy dolphins. They have stunted noses looking like they just ran full speed into a door. We got really lucky and experienced around 7 dolphins playing and catching fish. At one point I asked what do the dolphins eat. We then saw a fish fly out the water and swim on the surface as fast as it could before we witnessed a tail and a fin devour the fish. That answered my question. The Irrawaddy dolphin is critically endangered with around 300 left in the wild with 80 in Cambodia.

We drove back and noticed that our arms, especially mine, were looking a little red. Driving over 3 hours with the wind disguising the heat was not a good idea without long sleeves.

-M