My first days in Cambodia went fast. I spent the first night in Stung Treng, the closest town to the Lao border, and continued my trip to Ban Lung the day after. I went to Ban Lung in an attempt to come out off the beaten path, but it did not impress me much. So after a couple of nights I moved on to Kratie and Koh Trong, the first place I really enjoyed, and where I discovered the hospitality in Cambodia.
Kratie
Kratie is a town by the Mekong river. It is small and quiet and I got the feeling of being in a seaside town. It is clean and has a lot of colonial architecture. In the evening people go to the riverside to see the sunset over the Mekong. There are also aerobic classes and local men play sey, a popular sport consisting on kicking a shuttlecock-like footbag only with their feet.
Most tourists go to Kratie to see the irrawaddy dolphins (the same ones that live in the 4000 islands in Laos), but I went for another reason: to visit Koh Trong, a small island in the Mekong which is right in front of the city.
Koh Trong
Five minutes by motor boat in the Mekong river is all it takes to leave Kratie behind and reach Koh Trong, a totally different place. While Kratie is a town (beautilful and quiet, but still a town), Koh Trong is rural Cambodia. It reminded me a lot of the villages I had visited in northern Laos, as well as Don Khon in the 4000 islands.
There are no cars. There is a path of about 10-12km that encircles the island, which is used by bicycles and motorbikes. There are wooden houses, growing fields, chickens, dogs, cows and a couple of temples. And oh, yes, two home stays and a hotel resort.
Floating village
One of the highlights of the island is that there is a floating village near the south western end. It consists of about 30-40 wooden houses constructed directly in the water. All houses have a canoe boat to go to/from the riverside.
I went a couple of times, one in the evening, one in the morning. There were children playing in the riverside or on the boats. There were men repairing a damaged boat. There were families coming back from the island. There were also a lot of chicks and hens on the island, that were picked up in the evening (a woman came by boat, put some grain in a basket to transport the chicks, and threw some grain directly into the boat to attract the hens).
Hospitality
The best of Koh Trong, though, was its people. When I arrived I was greeted by a smiling woman who – in a very limited English – asked me if I was going to the home stay. I nodded and she took me there by motorbike. She and her daughter (?) showed me the room and told me how much it was (later on I saw another woman and another girl in the house so I was not sure of the family relations, there seemed to be a lot of people passing by!).
In the evening, when I was coming back from the floating village, an old woman said hello to me and signaled me to approach her. I went to her house and sat next to her. She was very old and had black teeth from chewing a plant. She was all smiles and (by signals) invited me to sleep in her place.
I was touched. I had met nice people before, but never had anyone invited me to stay. If I had been in a big, impersonal hostel, I would have accepted. They would not have noticed my absence. But the homestay had only two rooms and I had ordered dinner, so I thought it would not be respectful to disappear. I thanked her for the invitation and explained that I had to go back to the home stay.
It was completely dark when I left the nice old woman. The path had no light, so I did not see the woman of my homestay until she talked to me. Oh, it is already here! I thought it was further… She went to the lower part of the house and I climbed up the stairs to go inside. The door was locked so I called her. She came, opened the door, invited me to go in, and switched on the light.
I was confused… it looked like before, but different. Same room, but was the table in that position before? And my room, did I not have a door instead of a curtain? Then it hit me: this was not the homestay. She was not the owner. She was probably a friend and that was her house. In the darkness both houses looked the same so I just went inside her house!
Oups! I felt embarrassed, but had no time to react because she just came from the kitchen… and gave me a bunch of bananas. ‘Homestay’ she said. ‘Bananas for the home stay?’. ‘No, for you. Homestay, moto’. Then I understood, she would take me to the homestay by motorbike (which is why she had gone to the lower part of the house while I tried to enter her place).
In one evening I got an invitation to stay in a house, I got a bunch of bananas and a free ride by motorbike in the night. It was magic, it was the hospitality of the wonderful people living in Koh Trong.
GOOD TO KNOW
- How to get to Kratie: there are daily buses to/from Stung Treng, Ban Lung and Phnom Penh.
- Boat from Kratie to Koh Trong: frequent (it goes when it is full), 1000 riel (0,25$)
- Bycicle rental 1 day: 1$
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Quite funny your ‘confusion’ on reaching the homestay :D. And also quite heart touching.. all this hospitality… 🙂
By the way… How you manage to comunicate with local people who do not speak any word in English?
Haha yes, it was both funny and touching 🙂
To communicate, I use key words, hand signals and a lot of imagination 🙂 For example, for the prices people usually use the fingers, but you need to guess if 5 means 500 riel, 5000 riel, or 5 dollars!
How beautiful she offered you to stay there! I do lots of charades here in Croatia, so I know how both fun and exhausting it can be. Thanks for joining us for #SundayTraveler.
Yes, it was very nice of her! I agree, sign communication is funny and exhausting at the same time 🙂
Looks like such a serene place – just lovely! Had a good chuckle over your home mix-up 🙂
Me too I laughed a lot about it (the day after, of course!). This island was the most serene, quiet place I visited in Cambodia, I recommend it 🙂
This looks like such a beautiful place, I would love to see the floating village. It’s nice to hear how welcoming and willing to help the people were! How sweet 🙂
People there were wonderful, that’s what makes the island so special (in addition to being a quiet, beautiful place) 🙂
Oh wow, what an incredible experience! I think I would have jumped out of my skin if someone I couldn’t see spoke to me in the dark. I went to a floating village in Cambodia near Siem Reap and thought it really fascinating (though nowadays I think it has turned into a tourist destination). The best part were all the kids 🙂
I think I did jump a little! Yes I’ve heard about the floating villages near Siem Reap, I did not go because I heard they have become too touristy…must have been nice to visit them a few years ago
I love how peaceful and simple this island looks. What an experience with that whole confusion. Often times, the locals and their attitude can make such a world of difference in travels. Glad to hear that you were treated well here.
Thank you! Yes, people can make a big difference and in this case, it was a very positive difference 🙂
Ohh Laia that last part of travel was very special…The misunderstanding was a bit strange but simultaneously a sample of the great hospitality of these people.
On the other hand, the differences of both places, nearby and different….each one of them are unique in their own way.
That’s interesting!
I loved this anecdote and the story with your beautiful pictures 😉
Regards!
Thanks Carolina! Yes the misunderstanding with the houses was strange (and embarrassing, haha!) but it showed me how hospitable Cambodian are. And the island does look very different from Kratie, and they’re both nice!
This is a most relaxing story. How safe and comfortable I would feel with such a hospitality. Even if you make a mistake, people stay friendly and are available to help you out of the problem. It is such a nice way to explore the world to know you can try out things. A great lesson for all of us.
Thanks Diana. Yes it is indeed a lesson for us, a lesson to show us that the world is not a dangerous place, that going far doesn’t mean being less safe. I think that some places I’ve visited are safer than my own city! And I’ve received hospitality in the least expected places.
I have been to Cambodia twice but never went to Kratie.
I wonder if it is more touristy now, do you know how kratie and koh trong are in 2017?
x
Hi Stephanie,
So sorry about my late reply. Mmm I haven’t seen any recent post about Kratie, so I cannot tell if it is more touristy now. Maybe not, since I read many travel blogs and I haven’t seen anything about Kratie, but lots about Siem Reap.
Hola Laia,
Nice to read your experience in Koh Trong. We are looking to go to Koh Trong in August but could not find where to book homestay. Any idea? did you book before getting there?
thanks,
Hi Scherazade,
I already replied by email but I’ll answer here too since it might help other people.
When I was there it wasn’t possible to book the homestays in Koh Trong in advance because they’re not in internet (and they didn’t have internet/wifi). I just showed up on the island. At the ferry quay I asked about the homestay and a lady drop me there by motorbike.
I was there 3 years ago, I don’t know if it’s still easy to get a homestay on the same day. I guess so since it’s not a popular destination. In the worst case, if there aren’t homestays available, you can just spend the day there and go back to sleep to Kratie.