By Matthew Smith
Our journey out of Kratie began with a visit to the local floating village. The people of that village live much of their life on these bamboo houseboats in he middle of the Mekong.
After the floating village it was a long hual to our next camp at the end of a long sandy beach. The river village along the beach was a picture of river life. People were genuinely happy despite long hours on the river tending bank side crops and setting fishing nets. The village was home to a group of 50 children playing by the river side, and all of them were yelling "Hello!" as we walked the beach.
The next morning we departed and taught a class at the next village we found.
Later that day we found camp on the river bank under a large farm field. Garrett and I cooked on the Kelley Kettle and made a delicious dinner of pineapple and rice with steamed cucumbers.
The next day we set out early. At about noon we set up for a second class. This class was primarily children and teenagers at first but more came. We were even able to get some of the women involved. The classes are evolving and we are getting better at using less words to get the point across in order to over come the language barrier.
After class, we paddled the rest of the day to Kampong Cham.
There are few rivers considered to be truely mighty rivers. The Amazon is one and it it considered so due to it's size, ruggedness and wild spirit. The Congo is considered mighty due to it's incredibly rough water white and powerful nature. I see the Mekong on the other hand as a giver. Having to paddle this far I see that the Mekong's strength comes from it's ability to support millions of people throughout Cambodia. The river gives security, nourishment and joy to thosel who live on it's banks.