18 Dec. 2013
We were able to hire a ride from Ban Lung to just up river from Lumphat on the Srepok River to start our expedition. We assembled the Pakboats canoe on a good grassy spot by a bridge which was under construction. We drew a crowd but most people had to keep working so we still had plenty of space to assemble the boat and organize some gear. It wasn't long before we set out on the river with all the construction workers waving at us from the bridge above.
Once we passed Lumphat, we paddled quietly near the south bank, listening to the birds whoop and sing in the jungle. As we moved silently down river, we came upon a group of monkeys. When they became aware of us, they moved away, jumping impressive distances from tree to tree.
19 Dec. 2013
Not long after breaking camp and heading down river, we decided to paddle up an interesting looking tributary. We paddled up the narrow waterway until small rapids and shallow water stopped us from continuing on. As tempting as it was to go on by foot, its probably best we turned around there or we would have gone miles up the tributary and made no progress down the Srepok.
We decided go to shore to set up a dry run of our CPR and choking emergency class just to make sure everything was in the right place before we went into a village. While setting up, a man and his cows happened to find us. I figured we might as well make it a real class so I called him over. Some passing boats saw us as well, and before we knew it, we had students! It turned out to be a really good class with great participation.
At camp after dark, Matt went down to the river for water and came back with two smashed, half empty bottles of mud. When I looked at the bottles with an obvious look of "What the heck is this?" on my face, Matt replied with "What, thats how the river is." The river really was brown, though not mud, and I asked him if the river was half empty too. The truth is that he didn't want to go into the river past the shallow shore line for water, and I don't blame him. It can be unsettling in the water at night.
20 Dec. 2013
I cut my thumb on bamboo and had to use our Adventure Medical Kit for the first time. I spent as much time paddling on my left side as possible so I could keep my right thumb away from the water since my cut didn't want to close.
We went into a village to teach a class but there weren't many people there besides a group of women and a lot of kids. Women are generally less likely to participate, especially if there are no men. I think most of the men were out working, but after walking through the village I found an old man at his house. I called him over, showed him the intro video, and he followed me to where we set up the class. After he came, we suddenly had more participating students and a whole crowd of people watching. The old man was the best student, and before we finished, he was teaching people how to do chest compressions and give breaths.
21 Dec. 2013
Today was mostly flat water paddling into the wind with some short, shallow rapids. While paddling one of the long flat water sections, a boat with two people motored up to us. It was clear that they had heard of us and even knew where we had started. I guess the word gets around when two white guys in a strange boat are paddling off the beaten track.
Matt and I have both been bitten by incredibly painful ants which cause waves of a burning, stinging sensation lasting a couple minutes. They are not very friendly. In tonights camp we had many ants which is not unusual, and their bites weren't so bad. Usually when they latch on, we say ouch and flick them off, but I let one chew on me between my toes while I was pouring water before flicking it off. A couple minutes later I noticed I was bleeding where it had chewed through my skin in a couple places. Out came the Adventure Medical Kit again.
22 Dec. 2013
Not long after getting on the water we were in a set of rapids with some dead bamboo on one side. In an attempt to avoid the bamboo, we hit a partially submerged rock with the side of our canoe which bent the frame a bit. We stopped on a sandy beach to unload everything and after some re-bending of the poles we were fixed up good as new and back on the water.
When we found a village to teach in and were paddling by, looking for a place to land, some people who saw us ran away at full speed. I have seen this before, but never entered a village where people had ran from me. I obviously did't want to enter the village from where people are running away, so we went a bit further. When I went into the village to look around, people were very cautious of me. If I turned as if to walk another direction, people practically scrambled to avoid letting me get to near. They held their children close and didn't seem to blink as I passed.
I went back to get Matt and we set up the class with a large group of people watching. I went to show the group the intro video and they shifted away from me until their curiosity got the better of them. This turned out to be a very big class which everyone seemed to enjoy. We had some great participants who were ready to practice CPR on the Laerdal manikins and abdominal thrusts for choking on Matt. Another interesting note about this class is the high number of smokers using everything from bamboo pipes to green leaves and paper.
After the class, Matt gave colored pencils to all the kids who were very orderly and respectful. The adults helped to make sure all the kids got some.
When we paddled to camp, a big snake swam in front of our boat from where we were landing. Matt hates snakes, which instantly made this my favorite camp. We also had some animals in camp at night, maybe boar.
23 Dec. 2013
Today was the best paddling so far, with rapids, mazes through bushes, and some tight maneuvering around rocks and other obstacles. We wanted to teach in a village but by the time we found it we couldn't get to it because of islands and currents in the way.
We camped on a sandy island which was a nice change of pace with fewer ants. It was nice until the water started to rise, splitting our island in two, with our kitchen on one side and hammocks on the other. I think Vietnam was letting water out of their dams. I checked the water level multiple times throughout the night and eventually it dropped back down.
24 Dec. 2013
We went into a larger village than what we had previously been in and got lunch in a small restaurant. We then taught a class in front of the restaurant but participation was not as good as other classes.
After the class we paddled the rest of the way to Stung Treng and got a $7 two bed hotel room with hot water and packed all our gear in. Our canoe got a lot of funny looks as we carried it into town.
25 Dec. 2013
Merry Christmas!
The day was spent talking to family, resupplying, and resting up for the next section. Tomorrow we take a mini bus north to the Laos border to get on the Mekong. We should be back in Stung Treng in a few days for the next update.