After yesterday’s overwhelming temple visiting experience, it was time to simply enjoy a quiet morning by the pool. If there is one thing the Sokkhak Boutique Hotel does well, it is intuitive service. From turning on the pool’s water feature just for us or knowing we were just considering a pot of pandan tea and delivering it to us poolside before we asked (no charge either). The decision to spend some time relaxing was also to enable us to prepare for an afternoon pick-up to visit Tonle Sap.
At 3:00pm we were collected from the hotel and after a couple more hotel pick-ups around town we were a complete party of 8 + 1 child – made up of 2 Italians and 5 French. The journey to Tonle Sap took us through the countryside outside of Siem Riep with a brief stop at a lotus farm. Our guide spoke good English and spent a lot of time chatting to us and explaining things. Returning to the bus, he handed us a lotus head so we could eat the seeds, something we’d seen in Phnom Penh but not tried.
As we continued towards the lake, it was obvious that a rainstorm was brewing on the horizon, but we hoped it wouldn’t stop the sunset we’d expected. We arrived at the boat dock and boarded a traditional flat bottomed boat that would take us through the floating villages and out to the Tara riverboat moored out on the lake. The journey was fascinating, everything exists on the water with life going on exactly as on dry land. Children called out to us and waved as we passed by. The rain seemed to be holding off as we continued our journey but, after a quick visit to a crocodile farm, we were told that our young driver was worried the strengthening wind would prevent us getting safely to the riverboat. Knowing that Tonle Sap is one of the most dangerous bodies of water, due to sudden changes in weather, it was with some trepidation that we boarded the small boat. Within seconds, the boat was being thrown around and, although we could see the riverboat, it felt like it was too far to manage. However, we finally tied up alongside just in time for the wind to blow in a massive storm. The famous sunset was not going to happen, so we sat on the deck with our all-you-can-eat dinner and endless beer watching the storm light up the vast lake. The lightning was turning the sky and lake pink and orange, finally killing the wind so we could return a little more calmly. We returned via a different tributary and, despite the continuous rain soaking us, we loved seeing how calm and cosy the floating houses looked after dark.
The much welcome aircon when we arrived was now too fierce for our wet bodies but the return to Siem Riep was quick with a bonus of being the first drop off!
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