Day 2 in Stung Treng

I had an ok sleep last night, but the room was still a bit hot, and had no windows. I had the fan right on me, so that was great. It just wasn’t a really ‘good vibe’ room, I think. Anyway, it sure did the trick compared to the first one I was shown by that man.

This morning, I got up and put my things together to be ready for the girl to come from Le Tonle Guesthouse to pick me up. She showed up right on time and was so sweet. She took me to the Le Tonle Guesthouse which is absolutely charming.

My bed complete with netting

View from back to door

View off balcony outside my room

View into the Guesthouse reception

View from front gate, looking in

Sign outside the guesthouse

I check in, was shown my lovely room, complete with firm mattress and mosquito netting which was a great bonus. I love the room, students who run it, and Natalie, a volunteer from Switzerland who has come for two months to help run the guesthouse. She speaks French as well but is from Geneva. She took a leave from her Human Resources job for six months to travel and volunteer here. She is so nice and has really good English. The students and Natalie made me feel so welcome, and asked if I had eaten. I had not, so I agreed to be served a traditional Khmer coconut and lemongrass soup that the students had made. It is served with raw noodles, and vegetables that you put into the soup. It was delicious and hit the spot. 

My lunch

Traditional Khmer soup

After lunch, I went to my little sight where I was yesterday, to finish my drawing. It is cute and will certainly remind me of Stung Treng. Then I came back to the hostel, put my stuff away and went for a long walk in another direction than I did yesterday. It was really peaceful and lovely. Many friendly locals saying ‘hello’ as I passed by. Really nice people. Here are some of the sights I saw on my walk today. Glorious colours, shapes and photo opportunities.

An old Wat 

Inside that Wat

Just caught this before he turned

The trees here are so pretty

Help.....Police?

Billboard you see everywhere

Another Wat

Grounds of 2nd Wat

On my way home, I saw a massage sign and decided to go inside. I stayed for a one hour massage, but the girl who did the massage acted like she would have preferred to be doing anything but the massage. I finally asked her if she was ok, and since her English was limited, she didn’t really understand. Then I said, I’m ok, you’re not ok. I think she got it, because after that, she seemed to put a little bit of effort into the massage and warmed up very slightly. Anyway, it was an adequate massage, but nothing to write home about…….ahahaha. I am though.

I came back to the guesthouse and showered as it is sticky and hot here, plus the sunscreen and mosquito repellant are pretty gross by the end of the day. Then I blogged on the balcony, that you saw above, with the ceiling fan going to keep the mosquitoes away. It is just lovely here.

Tomorrow I made plans to take the minivan to Kratie, as there isn’t really much more to do here except walk around. The town is very small and I have seen quite a bit. There are busses every day, so I inquired here about it, and they set it up. The minivan will come here to pick me up and Kratie is only 2 hours away, so that’s not bad.

I found a forum on Tripadvisor where the people raved about a Cambodian run, English speaking company that organizes tours from Kratie. I emailed tonight about one called Classic Lifestyle and Dolphins. It is a full day trip that takes you to visit rural life and see how tobacco, noodles, palm sugar and rice whiskey etc are processed. You visit a local family that cooks lunch for you in Khmer style over an open flame and you sit there for a while chatting and asking any questions. The house is on stilts in the traditional style as well. After that, you take a boat cruise up the Mekong River and see floating villages on the way to where the Irrawaddy dolphins are. They guarantee sightings, but the forum said that it is extremely difficult to get photos. I will see how it goes, but might opt to put down the camera so I can see them myself, if it’s too difficult. Anyway, it sounds really cool and would be nice.

They made me a booking at the Le Tonle Guesthouse in Kratie for tomorrow and the next night. They may not have a third night available if I decide to stay, but that’s ok. Kratie is a lot bigger than Stung Treng and there are lots of options there.

So that’s the plan for tomorrow. Hope you have a great day. I am looking forward to a great sleep. More tomorrow from Kratie.