The journey home!

So after the excitement of the clinic, we are packed up, boat loaded and ready to go in about 20 minutes….a well-practised routine for the team. To say I was there flinging the stuff on the boat to speed things up would be untrue, but only because most of the boxes and bags were too heavy and if any had landed in the water it would only have further delayed the departure!! 

It has been a love hate experience.  One that you could never experience on any holiday, but not one I want to repeat in a hurry.  I so admire the teams, of which there are currently 2 in TLC, that do this week in and week out.  Spending 3 days away from their family and friends in what, even for most Cambodians, are very basic conditions.  Their enthusiasm, love of the job, and their overwhelming desire to help those who have nothing is humbling and my admiration goes out to each and every one of them.  

Meanwhile, back on the boat I have my kindle, my iPod and not a lot else to keep me occupied over the next 7 hours!   The journey was uneventful.  The cook served up French fries at 10 am, which we all ate and then for some bizarre reason lunch just after 10.30 am.  Now I know we had breakfast about 6.30 am but we had 7 hours to kill so why rush lunch?!!  Who knows?!  I had a short post lunch nap on the floor of the boat, not that I really slept.  Then I read  some, stood up , sat down, read some more, stood up, sat down, read some more!!!!!  Staggered to the toilet, a marginally less traumatic experience than squatting over a hole over the river, but not pleasant by a long stretch.  Sat down, read some more, stood up, sat down, stood up, sat down,  read some more…..bored yet?  Not as much as I was!!  Eventually as we got closer to home I went to the front of the boat and plonked myself on the oil cans, which was the closest you could get to a seat.  We passed the first floating village we saw on the way out, the one that stared in to the grey desolate edge of the world!  Little did I know when I first passed it how flippin far it was to the next one!! 

I was aware that trips were run to floating villages at the top of Tonle Sap.  When we left it was far too early for them to be up out of bed, but on the way in we passed a few of the boats.  I felt quite irritated every time one of them passed….especially when they waved at us.  Argh!  They were on a jolly to gawp at the floating village nearby and then let everyone know they had seen one and how wonderful it looked!! Seriously folks, you won’t get the half of it cruising past on your boat, with seats no less….no sitting on the floor for them!!

The lake got narrower as we got closer to our landing point and there were lots of twists and turns.  As I sat at the front of the boat I was getting eye strain looking for the ramshackle village that we left from.  It would be round the next turn, I knew it was.  Ok, maybe not this one but the next.  No, well the next then?  No!! ??  Oh for feck sake, who moved the village!!!  But at last there they were, those wonderful wobbly falling down houses on stilts, what a beautiful sight, but even better there was Sudoth with the minibus, boot open waiting for our conglomeration of medicines and bits and pieces.  Another hour plus and I would be at my 4 star hotel.  Only problem was I felt embarrassed to be going there.   After what I had just experienced it seemed like decadence beyond belief and for most of the staff I had been with my 6 night stay was in excess of a month’s wages for them.    Fortunately we were heading back to the office first and only Sudoth and Jameil were in the bus when I was dropped off at my new luxury abode!

I felt like a tramp as I walked in to reception, but hey, I had paid in advance and I could bluff it out no problem as the door man rushes to take my case from me.

After a slight delay at reception, due to a couple of blokes arguing with the staff over beds, not sure if it was too many or too little of them, I eventually get served and get given my key!!  Beds, all I need is one of them, which doesn’t fold away, is bigger than the width of my body and is not shrouded in a mosquito net.  I have simple tastes.  Reality is I now have two, one double and one large single!!  Whoop!!

When I get shown to my room I am beyond excitement when I realise I have not only a separate shower, that doesn’t have to be held by hand, but a bath as well.   I practically fling the bell boy out the room!  Now ordinarily I am not a bath sort of girl, give me a shower any day, but I had that hot tap on and the bath filling before the bell boy had reached the lift. I felt so caked in dirt, especially my feet, I was thinking bath, followed by shower was the only option.   It was around then I discovered all my efforts dressing from head to toe in clothes during the evening to avoid mosquito bites had been scuppered by my late night / early morning, needs- must, trips to hover over the hole over the lake in the middle of the night. I had a rash of bites in places that the sun normally don’t shine.  Not the easiest place to scratch surreptitiously!!    

Barring the bites in the places not discussed in public, I had survived and after emerging shiny clean from my bath and shower I went in search of food…..that did not involve rice and fish.  I had pizza!!!