Thanks very much to Blanca who actually mailed us these Cambodian boat journey photos ages ago but which we only recently retrieved from a semi-redundant in-box! Now getting out and pushing trucks, buses and assorted vehicles stuck in the mud is part of adventure tour mythology but on the Cambodia Overland tour in question we thought we’d better go one better and ask our group to get out and push…..the boat!
Stuck on the Sangkar River The captain had tried to cut a corner a bit too sharply and got stuck in the mud on the riverbank so, somewhat embarrassed, he had to ask if we wouldn’t mind helping out. Gallantly he did suggest the girls stay on the boat and use bamboo poles to push off from the bank, whilst the guys found themselves in about 3 inches of water and 1 foot of mud!
1, 2, 3….push! Anyway, I’m sure the minor inconvenience was more than compensated for by the fun, sense of adventure and good photo opportunities and I’m convinced this would have been one of the most popular stories to tell on the return home.
During the dry season water levels on the Sangkar River between Siem Reap and Battambang can get very low and often we have to change from boat to pick-up truck, cross country, for the last stretch of the trip.
Another fine mess….. This too, given the right weather conditions – i.e. unexpected downpour during the dry season – can create quite a bit of potential ‘adventure’ and thanks again to Roland for digging us out of this one – have to admit I thought we were never going to do it!
Also heard rumours of having to push the boat on Laos’ Nam Ou River during the dry season and we did get stuck in the middle of Thale Noi on one occasion too! We don’t do it on purpose – honest – but maybe we should?
This Cambodian boat journey features on several of our Cambodia, Cambodia-Laos and Cambodia-Vietnam tour itineraries; please check here for further details.
(Thanks and apologies to Blanca for the delay) – Cheers!
