Early rise this morning, up at 5.30am then off to the boat for the morning market, I grabbed some yogurt and had some fruit from the night before for 1st breakfast, it is a pleasure being able to eat normally again, now my last few pages in Cambodia sounded like I was getting a bit sick of riding and at the time I was, I think it did not help that I had not been feeling that great for a time and I not really sure Cambodia was for me. It also may have been that 3000km barrier that has been holding me back. Let’s just say there were a few things that were bringing the riding down.
Since crossing the border, passing that 3000km mark and my health improving I am feeling ready to go again, I have been working out my path so I do no more than 100km in a day, now I realize this might have to change but not for a while, it will take me longer to get places but I won’t be getting as tired and so hopefully energy will be a bit higher.
Anyway back to the floating market, meet my lady who was going to be taking me on my journey to the floating market then for a trip through the cannels, we jumped in our little boat and off we went, at about 5km an hour, ok so this was not going to be a race then. I sat back and just enjoyed the sunrise, the yogurt and fruit really could life be better than this. As the sun made it’s sleepy way over the horizon we had done about ½ a km, boats full of tourists were screaming up and down the river and my little boat just chugged along.
As the sun cleared its way over the horizon mainly because it got sick of waiting for us to get to the market we still chugged on, by the time we got to the market it was starting to warm up quite a bit, even on the river I could feel it was going to be a hot day. This market is not your small scale market, it was more you whole sale market, the scales were not in 1,2,3 kilos but 10,20,30 kilos. Large boats had one or two things to sell, the smaller boats would come in and buy 20-30 kilos of said produce and then off to another boat for something different.
Me and my driver swung in past these boats while I snapped away on the camera, it was more people spotting for me, the back bone of the country at work, these are the people that break their backs in hard labor to keep fresh fruit and Vege at the markets. With the sun position in the sky it made nice shadows on the faces around me, the only problem was I had to be quick with the photos as the flow of the water pushed us along quickly.
We had just about made it to the other end of the market when the lovely lady offered to let me have a go at paddling the boat, silly women, of cause I would have a go, the only problem is, is it is all backwards to normal rowing, so lets just say it took me a bit to get used to it, Paddle right move right, paddle left move left, long strokes are best, watch out for the boat, ok don’t watch out just crash into them sorry learner rower here, were did I put those L plates. Alright got it now, only took a couple of minutes, had my photo done as well, you will have already seen them of cause because there up on facebook. Paddle back up river then my driver nice said she would take over. You ever see a Asian turn White I have, no I was pretty good for my first time.
We wandered back through the market, the other tourist boats that had been screaming up past us earlier don’t come right into the market, they stay out on the edge of it, so they may have paid less but I think I got a pretty good deal. We headed off down some cannels on the way back, people were washing the dishes in the river and all other manner of things, large boats full of sand even plow the smaller cannels and we came across a couple on our little trip. One of them crashed in to a bridge, not really that bad buy it did break a cover on the back of the boat, we managed to squeeze passed him.
It was a nice enough day and my lady was really nice even though she could only speak a little English, after the boat trip I went and had breakfast, that’s right second breakfast, my appetite is back, Harold my intestinal worm must be feeling better to, so I had a banana shake and some bread with jam, then went back to the hotel, on the way back, the local restaurant were preparing a beef for the spit roaster so I knew where I was going to be having dinner. I picked up the laptop at the hotel and headed out for lunch, see you were thinking bread and jam was not much well I was eating lunch 1 hour after second breakfast, and that was noodles with Shrimp and squid, then a banana pancake, then after lunch I went out and brought some more fruit and had that then 2 hours after this I had beef soup, then another pancake and two yogurts, and I finally felt full. So my day was just eating.
I had also decided that I would get back into the 5:30am on the bike and riding mornings, it gets a bit too hot here in Vietnam to be riding much after lunch. It also means I have more time exploring the cities. And finding my way around when I get lost.
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