Monday 10 November 2014

Day 26: Phnom Penh to Kratie & Irrawaddy Dolphins!!



Sat, Nov 8


Left early to avoid heavy traffic and the police roadblocks.  Dirt roads were the worst just outside Phnom Penh with potholes still filled with last night’s rain.  After getting through that, the rest of the way was mostly paved roads with sporadic potholes.  The best roads came on the last 160km when we decided to skip the shortcut rumoured to be pretty rough and take the longer way for a fast extra 90 km.  Pulled in to Kratie just before 2:00 and found a hotel overlooking the Mekong.  
There's a driver on that bike somewhere!

Dusty chickens


We drove up-river to see the Irrawaddy Dolphins and the sunset by boat.  They are a threatened species of the world’s only fresh-water dolphin – WWF says only 78 to 91 still survive in this area (others can be found in Malaysia and Burma).  Once in the boat we were shocked to see many dolphins swimming in the vicinity.  Cambodia has made efforts in recent years to protect the dolphin and educate local fishermen and boaters of the need to preserve the dolphins.  We were thrilled to see several of them as they have fascinated me ever since we first heard and read about them.

Dolphins in the setting sun
Sunset over the Mekong



Left:  6:50

Arrived:  2:00

Total driving:  6 hrs

Total distance:  326 km













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