Forgotten post from Cambodia - boat ride

I was cleaning out the Drafts folder of my inbox and came across this blog entry from a trip to Cambodia that I may or may not have already posted. As I was re-reading this story, I remembered another thing I wanted to share about Cambodia -

At the guesthouse where we stayed there are about 4 or 5 English movie channels on their cable TV. One afternoon I was channel surfing and EVERY English movie channel was playing a different Chuck Norris movie.

Here's the forgotten post:

As Jerry and I were walking toward the Night Market along the river, I said, "I really want to do a boat ride while we are here." Not five minutes later, a man came up to us and asked if we wanted to do a boat ride! $10 each for an hour-long trip. It was 4pm and the Night Market did not open until 5pm, so we agreed. I saw a pretty big boat and wondered how long we would have to wait until departure since I did not see any other people on the boat or even milling around. I asked and he said that we could leave now. So, we get on the boat and realize that we were the only passengers! We had the entire boat to ourselves. It was great. $20 for our own boat? Well, we leave shore and then a few minutes later he comes up and says something about needing to borrow $5... he'll pay us back at the end of the ride... This is not his boat... it belongs to his boss... and that he is a college student. So, I say, "Why don't I just pay you the $20 now?" He replies, "You just pay $5 now and then $15 at the end." Okay. (Dena and Jeremy - this totally reminded me of our ride up to the Getty Museum!!)

Later on, he comes back up to tell us some things about the river and the things we are looking at. And he says he we will be able to see Vietnam. Jerry is surprised because Vietnam is farther than an hour-long boar ride should take us. I have no sense of direction, so I just tell him to make sure to let me know when we can see Vietnam so I can take some pictures. But then he says he has to go because his sister is driving the boat and then something about how she does not know how to drive the boat. (Jenny - doesn't this remind you of our shared experiences in NOLA?) He leaves and Jerry and I start cracking up.

Several minutes pass and up he comes again and Jerry asks, "So, we will be able to see Vietnam?" Again, he says, "Yes," and then starts pointing to a distant shore and telling us what we are looking at is Vietnam. And that we should take pictures of the floating houses where they live. Jerry asks, "That's the country of Vietnam?" The guy starts chuckling and says that Vietnam is really far away. After a couple of clarifying questions, we realize that he uses the term Vietnam for the country AND any place where Vietnamese people live. Apparently, there is a group of Vietnamese people who have come from their country, live in these floating houses (since they cannot afford very much) and work in Phnom Penh.

I love boat rides. I love being on the water. So, regardless if we participated in some sort of under-the-table-operation, I had a great time. It was quiet and peaceful and a great way to fill an hour before our next activity.