And he was right. Surfacing every few minutes we had dolphins circling our boat. Unlike traditional dolphins they don't have long "noses" (not sure what the correct aquatic anatomical nomenclature for that is), large dorsal fins, and they don't jump or do tricks. However they seem to have personality which accompany their somewhat goofy smiles.
With less than 100 left in the wild, they were incredible to see.
Ari asked an English speaking local if the villagers protect the dolphins because they bring in tourist money. The answer was a flat out "no." The only reason the locals aren't hunting them with grenades, he said, is because the site is monitored by the World Wildlife Federation. Which I guess is kind of comforting...
Though we didn't complete the Mekong trail we did get to ride through some farming villages along the Mekong River. We also got to play a quick round of culinary charades
Us on the side of the road by a wooden hut:
"Food?" *left hand forming a bowl, right hand scooping to the mouth*
13 yo boy and mother:
*nods*
Us:
"Noodles or Rice?"
13 yo boy and mother
*shakes head* but holds up noodles
Us:
*confused* "OK"
What arrives are two bowls of cold noodles covered in julienned carrots and cucumber, peanuts, yoghurt, fish sauce, shrimp and mystery meat. As we slowly brought each bite to our mouths we counted the possible diseases and ailments that we could contract from each non refrigerated food.
Surprisingly we survived with our gastrointestinal systems intact. Not surprisingly the food was DELICIOUS - one of the best meals we had in Cambodia.
Aside from this little jaunt we had some traditional rice with coconut steamed in bamboo. Not quite as thrilling as the noodles in any sense.
Next stop Phnom Penh!
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