We are up and out early this morning after our excellent breakfast (the staff even comments that we are up earlier than usual – pretty amazing!). Today is a bike hike to the islands where we will see traditional Cambodian life and visit a family silk farm.
The meeting place is very close to the location of the street food tour, so we know the way, and how long it will take. We arrive early (surprise!) and get our gear and bikes all set up with plenty of time to kill. Amom, our guide, suggests we walk through the market at the end of the street, we try that – but it is a ridiculous zoo – with all the locals shopping for their food. It’s just too crazy and tight and hot – so we ditch it and head back to sit in the bike shop until everyone on the tour shows.
It doesn’t take long and we’ve got our 10 people all saddled up. Then off we go – cycling through the streets of the city. ARGH! This is the only part we’ve been leery about – but at least it is Sunday morning. Even so, it’s still a little harrowing, especially at the Ounalom Wat intersection where it is hard to walk most times, and then again at the traffic circle heading to the bridge at Diamond City. But once across the bridge, it’s a much more relaxed jaunt down the dirt hill to the first ferry we’ll take across the river.
It’s a pretty big ferry, and we all get to walk the bikes on, then go upstairs for the ride. It’s cool in the shade up there, and the river breeze is marvelous. Amom gives us a great overview of the rivers, the life here and how the farmers depend on the river so much. She also tell us how the rivers change colors when the waters come in from the Mekong. You can actually see it happening – the demarcation line – as we are sailing across the confluence of the two rivers.
It’s a nice 20 minutes crossing the waters, watching the shore where we will disembark come closer, and the city move further away in the distance.
We all grab bikes, not enough time to grab our own (as you can see in the above picture, the craziness of off loading the ferry), and trundle up the hill to the little village above the ferry stop. Trading out to get our own bikes back, we start to pedal through villages and farmland, along paths and little roads, then bigger roads, then alleys and short cuts…
… until we get to a place on the river with a huge gorgeous home where we stop to admire the building – and watch the adorable little kids picking mangos off the ground once mom has dropped them from the tree. it’s also a great place to see the juxtaposition of rich luxury and old school traditional ways (the guy washing the clothes with the back drop of modern Phnom Penh).
Off we go again, through the lush island countryside, passing back down the bike line when to watch out for motos, when it is bumpy, when to avoid cow pies – only to stop at a cow pie maker! In the middle of our path, at a little outpost is the cutest little calf – plus 2 big honking mamas! The Brahmin cow, a cross between Cambodian and Indian cow, these are the lifeblood of the farmers and are treated incredibly well. They don’t produce milk, but meat. These cows are breed and the owner gets the money for “stud” fees . We get our glamour shots with the cows – but we don’t have to pay – fortunately!
Back on the bikes we make our way through fields along the river, pedaling in little ruts (that make me fall, and the Aussie chick behind me wreck into me because she is following too closely!), then finally stop along the river in a little field that has corn and also tomato plants growing. Everyone gets a group picture, but somehow our camera gets missed – so we get an Ed picture!
As we are snapping our shots, a couple of herders come with their cows to wash them in the river. Amom explains they wash them twice a day, but I miss the reasons why.
A little more pedaling and we end up at the family silk factory, which is very small and very family oriented. We get our fruit break here and have jack fruit, watermelon, dragon fruit and mango. Plus cold water. Very refreshing. Plus, we all get to know each other a little better. We have 3 folks from Boston, just arrived yesterday from a few days in Singapore. A couple from DC who are living here in Phnom Penh – she has a 2 year tour at the US Embassy as a micro-biologist. Mark, from China, the Aussie girl and Melanie from Germany. After chatting a bit, we get to tour the factory, with the silk worms in the mat basket, the husband who cleans the “poop” out multiple times a day, the little worms as they grow, the tree branches they use for the cocoons, the cocoons themselves, and the cages they keep the worms and cocoons in to protect them from predators.
Of course there is always help! LOL. This precious little one, 22 months old tries to help with her spoon and picking out the worms – but Dad’s not having any of it. Especially as she is close to chopping the worms in half with that spoon! Very sweet.
Next we move into the production facility, where sisters and mothers are all looming the spun silk into various fabrics and wardrobe pieces. It is always fascinating for me to watch them work that loom. The precision and attention it takes is amazing to me. I’d forget a stitch or loom move within minutes, but they sit there for hours and meticulously, repetitively spin their beautiful silk material. Fabulous! And especially nice to watch Grandma with baby teaching her how to spin the yarn.
We are all given the opportunity to look at their products and buy something, but only Mark (from China) does so. Everything is beautiful, but honestly? I’ve already got too many scarves I don’t wear. And I need to replace some of my more “disposable” ones in Thailand – for a fraction of what these will cost – even though I know these pure silk scarves would be a bargain here.
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