Cambodia
ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា
Aboard the Toum Teav I - Day One
លើ​ទូក​ទួល​ទុំទាវ I - ថ្ងៃទីមួយ។

From a Pottery Collective through the
Floating Fishing Village of Kampong Chhnang to the Port of Kampong Tralach

Breakfast on the boats each day was Western food, but at least it includes chocolate croissants. Lunches and dinners are a mixture of Western and Cambodian and quite good. Our first full day on the boat included excellent lunch with barbecue chicken. 

In the morning we pulled into a small port and rode in tuk tuks to an area that included crafts people and palm sugar production. We watched a 70 year old man climb quickly up a tree using a bamboo ladder. He's only fallen once back when he was young. It takes many hours to boil the palm tree sap down to granular sugar. They reduce it by 90%. It tastes really good too, but it would not make it through customs.We saw a woman spin a clay pot with no spinning device she just walked around and around in circles and then the other way around and around to create a perfectly round pot out of a big lump of clay. Their kiln is underground. They make 25 cents for each pot, and she can make about 40 per day. They take batch orders and a truck comes periodically to pick them all up. We also saw them make ovens out of clay. They're more like a conical funnels that make much more efficient use of firewood or charcoal.

As we walked along the marketplace, our guide bought some clothes for his 2-year-old, we also got some fresh cane sugar juice using one of our bottles.

Back on board, Max played backgammon and casino with Per. 

We also passed a floating fishing village populated by mostly Vietnamese. Many boats and water hyacinth. Then we were host to at least 1 million mayflies. Probably more than that. Lots more for sure. At least the bats had a big mayfly feast on the water. 

We arrived by tuk tuk to this small pottery collective where they make pottery, compact ceramic ovens, and palm sugar.