Neil went to Cambodia, all by his lonesome, and he has written several blogs about his experiences there.

His journals and photos have been posted to our education site, and they can be accessed by clicking HERE.

This is the first installment:

A man towing canoes in a Vietnamese floating village.

[Photos by Neil Dana]

Vietnamese Floating Village

The Vietnamese Floating Village was intense and filled with local color. Just the 30-minute moped ride out there was unbelievable! Again, the countryside here is magnificent. Another thing to realize is that the Cambodian people are extremely poor, and Cambodia is the poorest country in Southeast Asia. So you have friendly, smiling people everywhere who are barely clothed and living in wooden shacks covered in dust. A quarter of the very young children I see running around are naked. Many people look as if they haven't washed themselves in weeks. There are also people in very elegant silks and colorful robes; in fact, many of the younger girls ride around in a sort of pajama-type outfit. And everywhere you look, you will spot a monk or two or three or four. They are impossible to miss with their vibrant orange and purple robes.

Once I arrived at the beginning of the docks, I was so enthralled with everyone and everything that I didn't even bother trying to find a boat ride for the next 45 minutes. I just walked around looking at all the different vendors and people working: women selling fish, men chopping ice and putting it into an ice crusher, little boys carrying around empty gas cans or large water containers, men drinking and playing billiards, people putting gear into their boats, and women cooking and eating. The docks were crawling with people. These “docks” were basically just the abrupt end of a dirt road, not docks like at a marina you might find in the United States. This is where the waterline is right now. In a month or two, when the rains get really intense, the water level rises drastically, as is evidenced by the houses built on 5-10-foot-high stilts!

After a while, I pursued finding a boat ride. There are many people with boats; however, the people who take you out on a ride to the village for sightseeing are part of a local organization. It's basically a way to ensure you don't go and only pay $1 to some guy with a small boat to take you out, and in doing so hurt the local tourist economy. Instead, you have to pay $10-$15 to a guy who is a representative for one of the many companies there, and he will give a percentage to the actual boat drivers. This whole town is really wired when it comes to raking in the tourist dollar. In fact, there is a hotel here that has rooms starting at $350/night, all the way up to $1900/night, no joke!! I do think this is good though, as tourism is one of Cambodia's main sources of revenue, and, in Cambodia, you can buy everything in U.S. dollars, which is a better deal for us. I saw many people who had changed money to Riel, and they were losing a bit on the local exchange rate.

So, I tried talking to a couple different operators and ended up paying $10 for a two-hour ride out to the Vietnamese Floating Village. The boat was empty but for the driver, myself, and a boy who was watching the engine and helping to avoid obstacles in the river. In fact, I was the only traveler I noticed in the area. I guess this isn't as popular a destination as the ruins. So, off we went, slowly cruising down the narrow winding river, which leads to an estuary that turns into the enormous Tonle Sap Lake.

Right from the get-go, the river was filled with boats and people. There were people standing and paddling their canoes, some of which were filled with all kinds of goods for sale, from food to bamboo or other materials used for building. The range of boats was really interesting as well, varying from canoes, to small motorboats, to small, moving houseboats, to stationary houseboats, and to schools and a police station on stilts over the water. You even see pigs, dogs, and cats on these boats. There are women bathing their children, cooking food, and doing the same basic things people do all over the world. It is really interesting, because it is all on the water, and, hence, the pace of life is much slower. When in town, the tuk-tuks and mopeds zip by, and the streets are bustling with energy and dust. Out here on the water, people revolve with the natural movement of the river, and the river barely moves.

On the water, there were Cambodians and Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese people wore distinctive, pointed hats, which were always easy to recognize. It is nice to see the Cambodians and Vietnamese getting along with good relations. I was talking with Richard, and the only people he said the Cambodians detest are the Thai people. They have been fighting since their history began. In fact, it was the Thai Empire's Kingdom of Ayuthaya that sacked the Khmers back in 1431.

So, as we puttered down towards the lake, we stopped at a fish farm on the water that also turned out to have crocodiles. There was also a girl who had a python or boa constrictor at her disposal. This seemed to be the spot where all the tourists end up, seeing as there were souvenirs there and drinks for sale. It was the most mellow souvenir shop/crocodile farm I have ever come across. After that, I got back onto the boat and headed around the village some more. It literally is a floating village, and everyday, these people live off of the water and trade the goods that people bring in from town and the lake. These people have moved into the water because there wasn't enough land available for them, and they have created a vibrant community. This is their life, quite, tough, and poor, yet peaceful and very scenic as well.

I feel very fortunate having come to Cambodia, and seeing this village was only the beginning of a series of incredible experiences. After the boat ride, I reluctantly jumped on the back of the moped, wishing I had more time to hang around the docks, and buzzed away from the floating village. I only had a short stay in Cambodia, and there were so many other places I wanted to visit, which brings me to my next stop: the Land Mine Museum.

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