Mekong River, Vietnam and Cambodia
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Can Gio Mangrove, Vietnam
Tram Chim National Park, Vietnam
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Tmatboey, Cambodia
Synopsis
This trip wasn't typical for us. Instead of focusing on nature, birds and hiking, we were traveling with my mom who isn't interested in those things. We wanted to get my mom traveling and to see the world or at least a small portion she's never seen before. The Mekong River happened to fall in the overlap of our Venn diagrams of life interests. To accommodate her needs as a senior and our interest in Southeast Asia, we decided a river cruise would suit all of our needs. Full accommodations, tours, and transportation would all be packaged together and we wouldn't have to worry much about making decisions or all the reservations that went with it. Perhaps the biggest decisions we would face were what to put on our plates in the buffet line. We added a few days on both ends of the cruise package in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam and Siem Reap, Cambodia. We chose to start in HCMC mainly because we had hopes that Siem Reap would offer better chances of seeing wildlife. We also planned a small birding trip in Cambodia and would leave my mom in Siem Reap, a smaller and safer city where she had a better chance at feeling more comfortable exploring on her own.
Ho Chi Minh City
After a very long slog through customs, we were greeted by an Emerald Cruise staff member who took us to the Sheraton Saigon Hotel in District 1, the richest district of HCMC. The city is divided into many districts either numbered or named. Tourists tend to stay in Districts 1 and 3 as they have the most attractions and hotels that cater to us. While in HCMC, we learned that the natives refer to themselves as Saigonese and they prefer Saigon to HCMC, because it sounds better. But to the western and outside world it is HCMC. We were also told that the city is nicknamed "Honda City" because of all the scooters in the city (Honda being the name of a popular motorbike, even though not all motorbikes are made by Honda). In Vietnam, the price of scooters is inexpensive, while the price of a car is exorbitant. During rush hour the streets of Saigon are rivers of motorbikes that flow and squeeze through every space around the few cars. It's amazing to see how much can be balanced on a motorbike - mattresses, bundles of vegetables, ladders, banh mi carts, or a family of four are all typical sights in the city. Walking in the city can be nerve racking and takes some getting used. When crossing a street, going in front of a car is a no go (even in a pedestrian crosswalk). However, crossing in front of a motorbike (or a river of motorbikes), you have to go slow, make eye contact, and keep a steady pace. Like Moses, they will part around you - either zooming in front of or behind. Crossing the road behind an old Vietnamese lady also works. You'd think the sidewalks are relatively safe, but it's not uncommon for motorbikes to drive up onto the sidewalks. And the sidewalks turn into parking lots for the scooters, so you have to walk in the streets to get anywhere.
To get around the city, we used the Grab app (like Uber/Lift). It was very cheap and easy to get a car right away (at least in District 1 and 3). It was also more reliable, as the one time we took a taxi from the hotel, we ended up in the wrong spot (language barrier).
Vietnamese food
Most of the meals we had in HCMC were absolutely delicious. Granted I love noodles and rice so my perspective might be a bit biased, but the food was definitely one of the highlights of staying in the city (and of the entire trip). Seattle has many Vietnamese restaurants, but nothing compared to the fresh rice noodles, banh mi rolls, and rice paper found throughout HCMC. Even in the most expensive district, the food was absolutely affordable (or down right cheap, especially compared to Seattle). The Ben Nghe market was a good option for us since we could each pick what we wanted without having to settle on one restaurant. Being the number two producer of coffee, they also have a strong coffee culture (said by someone who doesn't drink coffee). Even for a non-coffee person, trying the coffee was a must. I'm not sure how many egg coffees we had in HCMC, but by the end of the trip we were self-proclaimed egg coffee aficionados.
City Highlights
When we weren't stuffing our faces with delicious pho, banh mi, spring rolls, and Vietnamese crepes, we went to a few tourist attractions around the city. The War Remnants Museum was extremely depressing as you could imagine, but also really good and full of information from Vietnam's perspective. It's a heavy topic that shaped the country and the lives of so many people.
In contrast to the war museum, we went to the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater. As all the reviews say, it's in Vietnamese, but you don't have to understand what they are saying. It was very surprising how slapstick, entertaining, and fun the show was.
Other attractions we went to on our own were the Art Museum (which was being remodeled so we could only go into one building), the Jade Pagoda (crazy large and intricate wood carvings in many rooms), the large indoor Ben Thanh Market (stalls upon stalls of everything from clothes to souvenirs to food to shoes to fake watches; if you like haggling this is the place to go), and Book Street (another good shopping area for tourists).
Once we joined our cruise tour, we went to a few other city attractions including Independence Palace (more history lessons), the Post Office (which had a post office in addition to many souvenir vendors), and the Cu Chi tunnels. The tunnels are an hour drive north outside of HCMC. In contrast with the War Museum where you get the perspective of how powerful and horrible the US forces were, the tunnels were the story of how clever and sneaky the Vietnamese people were without resources. Used for living under the barren war zone and for sneaking into the heart of the US military base to steal resources, the network of tunnels was amazing to see (even though the tourists only see a small fraction and the parts we were allowed in are widened to accommodate our western fannies). It's unimaginable be forced to live underground your entire life, never seeing daylight, and the everyday threats of starvation, infection, bombs falls, tunnel rats, and suffocation. At the Cu Chi tunnels, you can also shoot military weapons (thankfully none in our group partook in this incredibly loud activity).
A little bit of HCMC birding
While staying in HCMC, we signed up for a tour of the Can Gio Mangrove, which was less than 2 hours drive south of the city. The tour wasn't bird-focused, but was a general day tour that would take us through the mangroves to a bat roost and crocodile farm. In addition to the chance of seeing wildlife, there was the prospect of water birds and the mangrove ecosystem. The area was devastated by the (over)use of Agent Orange during the war. After the war, one of the "reeducation" activities was to replant the mangroves. As we saw during our tour, the mangroves still looked young, but at least on their way to recovering. Some areas of the mangroves looked obviously planted in straight well-positioned lines.
The tour included a van ride out of HCMC where watching the traffic and neighborhoods was very fascinating for someone not used to it. We crossed the river via ferry and continued the drive to the pier where we took the motorboat to the flying fox area. It was pouring when we were on the speed boat, but the guide gave us ponchos to keep us relatively dry. It was still pouring at the flying fox roost and the local guide had to push us around on the sampan in the rain. Thankfully it started to let up a little. In addition to seeing the flying foxes roosting, we saw a few birds including Little and Great Egrets, Shikra, and Little Cormorant. We also heard and glimpsed single langur that seemed upset (maybe happy?) about the rain. After another short speedboat ride, we were taken to the crocodile farm, loaded onto a floating platform/pontoon, and given a makeshift fishing pole with a tentacle tied with fishing line. The Siamese crocodiles recognized the meal coming and swam up to snap the meat off our poles. After the very brief "fishing" expedition, we walked through the mangroves on a rickety boardwalk before eating at the restaurant for a very tasty and (over)filling lunch of sour soup, fresh shrimp, meat on lemongrass satays, fried rice, shrimp chips, and seafood salad. We were given a little free time to wander the paved road that cut through mangrove and paralleled the river. In the brief time, we saw mudskippers, Mangrove Whistler, Ashy Tailorbird, Asian Tit, and Collared Kingfisher. It would have been nice to explore the area more, but this wasn't the tour for that. Still it was nice to get a glimpse of this recovering area and it's nice to see that tours are led here.
While in HCMC, we didn't focus on birds while touring the city, but I was always on the lookout for them. Yellow-vented Bulbul was the common city bulbul. Obligatory city birds were House and Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Rock Pigeon, Zebra Pigeon, and Common Myna. From our hotel balcony (we had a really nice room), we could see dozens of House Swifts gathering in large clouds over the city. The large parks around Independence Palace had some birds in the tall canopy, including a parakeet (couldn't id which one). The parks were the most likely place for less common city birds, but we didn't have the time to pursue it. We did happen to see an Orange-headed Thrush while walking through. The thrush was a very pleasant surprise to find in the city. Another thing we learned about Vietnamese culture is that they like caging wild birds as pets. In the city and in rural areas, we saw White-rumped Shama, sunbirds, sparrows, Large-billed Crows, and bulbuls kept in small cages. It wasn't hard to understand why eBird lists some species as "sensitive" (including the Orange-headed Thrush) to protect them from becoming captive. Along the Saigon River, we saw Chinese Pond-Herons and Great Egrets floating on rafts of garbage and water hyacinths. White-nest Swiftlets buzzed over the busy honking traffic below.
Mekong River cruise aboard the Emerald Harmony
For 7 days on the Mekong River, we stayed on the Emerald Harmony. It really had everything that we could possibly need for opulent living. Our spacious room had a large window that we could roll down if we wanted to feel the heat and humidity of the outside world. Otherwise we could be sealed in our lovely 23C room and watch the riverside go by through our floor to ceiling window. The boat was equipped with a small gym (that I should have used), self-service laundry, dining room, bar/lounge with pool, and the top was open for lounging. If we got hungry (which I never was during the trip), we could get a snack or coffee in the lounge. Breakfast and lunch was a buffet of delectable choices (two ice cream choices during lunch!). Dinner was a la cart, but the chef always had his recommended set menu, which I always chose. All the staff were Cambodian or Burmese, including the chef. And interestingly enough, that's how we discovered the difference between Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisine, because they could not cook Vietnamese food (the beef pho was the only plate I couldn't finish). Other than that the food was fantastic (or bad for the waistline for someone with little self-control).
There were about 70 passengers all together. Most of them were Canadian or Australian, but there were a few from New Zealand, UK, and the one other US group was from the Seattle area. The average age was probably in the 60s with me being the youngest, although I was still probably twice the age of all the boat staff. All the staff was all super nice - as I'm sure the business calls for and such a high desire job would require. But our server Thu always seemed to be looking out for us in the dining room. She called us "sister," "brother," and "mom," which is cultural etiquette in Cambodia and Myanmar, but still made us feel like family.
Sailing through Vietnam
During our Vietnam portion of the cruise tour, we had a Vietnamese tour guide, Quan, which means King. He was good and entertaining with a great sense of humor and humility. In addition to the HCMC tours that he took us on, he also led our tours of small villages along the river and introduced us to village life and Vietnamese culture. We visited several farmers: mangos, pandan coconuts, durian, honey, and mushrooms. With the exception of the durian (not for my western palate), it was all so very delicious. We also visited an incense factory, sampan builder, and a potter. The Sa Dec wet market was truly fascinating, and if it weren't rude and bad luck to stop and stare at everything, I could have spent hours there. In Tan Chau, we visited a Cao Dai temple - a blended religion of Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The temple was beautiful or gaudy depending on how you wanted to interpret the bold colors, carvings, paintings, and neon lights adorning the inside and outside of the temple. In addition to the wonderful sights of these small towns and villages, the cruise tour arranged a xe loi (a type of bicycle powered rickshaw that carries one person) ride. It was quite a delightful/unusual sight for the locals to see our parade of xe loi going through town. A surprising number of locals would wave and say "hello" or "xin chao" as we rode by. In fact most everywhere we went as an obvious group of tourists, the local kids and adults would say hello to us. A couple of times a few kids would run over to wave to us as we passed while going down a road or on the cruise boat. Even though there are other cruise ships that go along the Mekong River, I get the feeling that the locals don't get to see the cruise ship or large groups of tourist often, which is kind of refreshing and enduring. I think Emerald (and likely the other cruise lines) make agreements with the local communities so tourists have a more authentic experience. I also think the people are genuinely happy to see tourists interested in their country and/or really friendly.
Cruise birding
When I wasn't stuffing my face, sleeping, or on a shore excursion, I tried to bird off the boat as much as possible. The best birding from the boat was when we passed through the Cho Gao canal. The canal was built by the French as a shortcut from the Mekong to the Saigon River without having to battle the open sea. The narrow, straight canal was recently renovated because of shoreline erosion. We were the one of the first cruise boats to be allowed back through the canal. But as a precaution, they wouldn't allow anyone on the top deck (apparently, the boat hit something during one of the sailings). So we positioned ourselves on the bow and watched the many colorful rice, sand, fish, and cargo boats and barges. Often villagers would wave at us and even people in the boats as they passed by. The most numerous bird we saw along the canal and along the entire Mekong River was the Chinese Pond-Heron. Apparently, the herons don't taste good, so that's why there are so many. Along the canal, we also spotted Little Cormorants, Gray Heron, Great and Little Egrets, Collared Kingfisher, Greater Coucal, Barn Swallows, Yellow-vented and Streak-eared Bulbul, and Common Sandpipers. For such a busy canal with all the boat traffic, villages, and fishing activity, this was the best boat birding we had. It was still difficult to bird (not being able to hear or stop), but the most productive.
Tram Chim National Park
When researching the various Mekong River cruise, I settled on Emerald for one reason - the shore excursion to Tram Chim National Park. As much as I enjoy learning about different cultures, any opportunity for nature in a heavily culture-focused tour was a perk for me. Tram Chim National Park was created to protect the Sarus Crane and in protecting them provided habitat for other mangrove and marsh dwelling birds. After over a week without much birding in a new country, I was looking forward to this outing despite the caveats that I knew would come with a cruise-organized outing. The bird outing was in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day. The second disappointment was that one of the cruise tour guides was our guide for the outing (not an actual bird guide). The last caveat was the extremely loud boat noise that had to be endured while going through this beautiful sanctuary. When we got to the bird sanctuary, two towboats were waiting for our group. Behind each towboat was a covered pontoon with two rows of seats. Thankfully we managed to get the front seats of the boat in the lead, but there was no escaping the overbearing noise of the towboat. The towboats took us along the canal that surrounded the wildlife area. A large dike with a pathway/motorbike road ringed the whole area and held the water in. Any birds within 10 km could hear the towboats coming. Most birds constantly flushed deeper into the mangrove and marsh to get away from the noise. Despite the engine noise, we did see some great birds (at least the most we've since being in Vietnam). Of course, there was the ubiquitous Chinese Pond-Heron and Little Cormorant. In addition, there were Indian Cormorant, Black-capped and Common Kingfisher, Purple Heron, Asian Green Bee-eater, and Black Drongo in the mangroves. Eastern Marsh Harrier and Oriental Honey-Buzzards circled over the tall grass marsh. Walking on the lily pads and water hyacinths with their long toes were Eurasian Moorhens and Bronze-winged Jacanas. A large group of Purple Swamphens grazed in the short grass, while a White-throated Kingfisher perched on a bamboo post. A small flock of Cotton Pygmy-Goose landed in the canal before taking off at the second boat's approach. A small group of green pigeons darted into the safety of the canopy. Asian Openbills kettled in the distance and a few passed overhead. Even with the brevity of our visit and our noise handicap, we managed to see a lot of new birds for the trip and I'm glad we were able to go.
Mekong River of Vietnam and Cambodia
In Vietnam, human influence was a constant pressure. Fish traps lined the shoreline. Stilt houses lined every side canal. Fishing couples set and checked their gill nets from their sampans, while other sampans towed large nets through the brown water. Large boats hauled their loads up and down the river. Ferry boats loaded with motorbikes crossed back and forth over the river. In the middle of the channel, large cranes dredged the sand up from the bottom of the river. All this of human activity in the Mekong and yet we kept hearing over and over again from several guides, how the fishing in the river has greatly decreased over the past couple of decades, but it's all China's fault. China is building dams and destroying their hydrology (and therefore the fish population). However, there are zero fish sanctuaries to repopulate all that is being taken out of the river. And while there are supposed to be rules for fishing, there's no enforcement as far as we can tell. We saw several villagers electrofishing, which would stun large fish (the ones people were "fishing" for) and would also kill all the small fish (the non-targets). It's a tale or mistake as old as time: taking more than can repopulate will equal collapse. We can't ignore the other factors of dredging, human pollution, and climate change that will hasten this decline. Pointing a finger at the wrong problem or saying it's someone else's fault and we can't do anything about it, won't help.
What does all this have to do with birding the Mekong from a cruise ship? Much like their fishing, it seems logical to assume that the wildlife and birdlife are suffering the same consequence, at least along the Mekong in Vietnam. Understandably birding from the deck or bow of a cruise ship wasn't the ideal situation to make this assessment. And I'm sure there were many birds we couldn't see given our distance from the shoreline and the speed the boat travels. The most numerous bird we saw from the boat were White-nest Swiftlets. I think their populations were high because of the Chinese investment for collecting their nests. Along the river were many the large cement buildings with speakers that played swiftlet calls and song and were mounted above an open window. These buildings attracted swiftlets to build their nest so they could be harvested and sold to the Chinese markets. Second most common was the unpalatable Chinese Pond-heron.
As soon as we crossed into Cambodia, however, there felt like an immediate change in bird activity. It was odd and I'm still not sure I believe it given my sample size of one trip. But once we left behind all the dredging barges in Vietnam, there were Indochinese Rollers, Red-collared Doves, Copperfield Barbet, and other small unidentifiable birds perched in the treetops that lined the shore not more than a few miles into Cambodia. Whiskered Terns buzzed over the brown river. A troop of Black Baza cruised alongside the river and settled into the trees as the sun began to set. There are a lot less people in Cambodia and therefore less trapping and fishing along the river, but human presence was always obvious. Mango plantations and rice fields lined the shoreline. The intricate golden spires and shingled roof of a temple could be seen rising above the treetops. We didn't get to a better view of Mekong River birdlife while in Cambodia. Once we got to Phnom Penh at night, the boat ended its journey along that river.
I don't mean to sound racist but <hard stop>.
One of my eye opening moments of the trip was experiencing the differences between Vietnamese and Cambodian culture. They are both very friendly people and we experienced the same openness to tourists. Both countries are developing while healing from the deep wounds of relatively recent and horrific wars. Phnom Phen and HCMC are both modern cities with tall skyscrapers, a vibrant life both during the day and night, and lots of traffic. In Cambodia, cars are more prevalent and motorbike drivers are less aggressive and more cautious. Tuktuks are the preferred rideshare vehicle (vs motorbikes in HCMC). Instead of motorbikes parked on the sidewalks, there are cars. And it was much easier being a pedestrian in Cambodia than Vietnam (though crossing the street was always harrowing as cars generally don't stop for people). The Cambodians seemed a little softer spoken, polite, and showed a lot of etiquette. Even at the street markets, Vietnamese hawkers would bark "Madam, Madam" and shove menus into your hands as you walked and Cambodian salespeople would give a polite "hello" and "you're welcome to come look." Though religion plays an important role in both countries, there were a lot more temples in Cambodia (not just the ruins, but active ones). It wasn't uncommon to see monks walking around the city.
Khmer cuisine
As in Vietnam, the meals we had in Cambodia were fantastic, but the food had its distinct differences as well. Khmer cuisine wasn't very spicy, curry spices are used more, and they are influenced more by Indian and Chinese cuisines. The quintessential Khmer dish is fish amok: fish in a banana leaf that is steamed in a broth of yellow curry and coconut milk (quite delicious). They are also known for fried bugs, which the cruise served us during one lunch buffet. Crickets, grasshoppers, and waterbugs don't taste like much other than the spices they are fried in and the crunch texture. Tarantula abdomen and silkworms are not pleasant tasting. And fried frogs are very tough (like jerky). I think they are a novel tourist snack than food. But bugs are supposed to be the food of the future so maybe we should get used to it. Insects and frogs aside, all the other real meals we had in Cambodia was really good and even cheaper than HCMC.
Phnom Phen highlights
Our cruise tour of Cambodia started in Phnom Phen, the capital and a rapidly growing city. We met our Cambodian tour guide, Sida who used to be a teacher and had the tendency to pause mid-sentence with an inflection as if expecting his students (or in this case us) to fill in the rest (or answer the question). His manner of talking gave me a little bit of grade-school anxiety at first, but his humor and excitement/passion in the topics helped me overcome that. The first morning there, we took a tour of the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum - a very heavy topic for the introduction to the country. As with the War Remnant Museum and Cu Chi Tunnels in HCMC, it was tough seeing the horrors that people can inflict on each other. (And continue to do so in other countries.) In contrast to the morning of depressing history, we went to the Cambodia Buddhist Vipasana Center on the Oudong Mountain outside of the city. All ages of monks live here, from young boys to older women. Life at the center could be a place for free education or retirement where they get housing and food. And people are allowed to leave the lifestyle if they choose. In the temple, we received a blessing from a couple of monks in the extensively painted and decorated temple. As with all Cambodian temples, naga and dragons adorned the stairs and roofs. In the capital, we also visited the King's Palace with its many garnished and colorful buildings (except for the gray building that was a gift from Napoleon, that building was an eyesore). Central Market is Phnom Penh's version of the HCMC Ben Thanh Market. The cross-shaped market was divided into sections of food stalls, wet market, jewelry counters, clothes stalls, florists, and rows of souvenir tables. The last highlight of the capital was the evening tuktuk ride through the city. Zipping around in the little motorbike-pulled cart, while watching all the nightlife and city lights was pretty fun. Super touristy thing to do, but sometimes one has to indulge in such ludicrousness.
Siem Reap highlights
Shortly after our stay in Phnom Phen, we said goodbye to the crew and headed to Siem Reap by bus. The bus ride took us through the rural country, past rice fields, small towns with their elaborately decorated temples, houses on stilts with rice drying on tarps in the driveway, wallowing water buffalos, a stone carver's village, a basket weaving village, dried fish shops, open air markets, and chicken/beef/fish satay stands. While on the way, we stopped at the Kampong Kdei or naga bridge: our first introduction to the amazing stone work created in the12 century. Though they don't allow buses or cars to drive over the bridge today, motorbikes and pedestrians were able to cross the old bridge. At the bridge, we bid farewell to Sida and welcomed our new Cambodian guide, Soya, who was equally entertaining and passionate about his job (bonus being he didn't expect us to finish his sentences).
Soya took us the rest of the way to Siem Reap, a smaller city than Phnom Phen without tall skyscrapers. We stayed at the luxurious Shinta Mani hotel near the Old Market and Royal Residence. In spite of all the fanciness of the hotel (beds that are twice as wide than it is long, freshly folded lotus flowers each day, large koi in the fountain), we were surprised to find 5 species of amphibians living in the pots by the hotel entrance. Up until now, the only free living amphibians we saw in Vietnam were a couple of house geckos and tadpoles in a park fountain. But to find frogs and toads happily living in small pots just outside of the hotel was quite delightful.
The main reason people come to Siem Reap is to visit the temples. We first went to Angkor Thom. It's really hard to imagine the entirety and intricacies of the place just by looking at the pictures. The amount of work in constructing it and craving every surface of stone was just mind-blowing. Four massive faces adorn each domed roof, cravings of apsara dancers are frozen in impossible posses near entry ways, naga and dragons guarded the steps, and entire walls are covered with carved murals that detailing village life and battles. Ta Prohm, the temple made famous by Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, was our next stop. Trees complicated the preservation of this temple. Some trees are holding up the walls, while also continuing to destroy them. There is a lot of investment from China and Indian to preserve and restore these temples. They are trying to replace the crumbling foundations of the temples. This involves incredibly meticulous cataloging of each stone to remove them and place them back in the exact location once the foundation is stabilized. Ta Prohm is a beauty tangle of jungle and ancient civilization locked in a battle of time. It's not hard to see why the area was chosen by Hollywood. Of course, no trip to Siem Reap would be complete without Angkor Wat. We woke up for the sunrise viewing - something many tourists come for each day. Soya and the rest of the guides knew where the best spot would be to set up our large group without having to battle the hordes of other tourists making the same pilgrimage. We sat on the walls surrounding the outer moat while the pitch black sky changed to deep blue bruise and lightened to a flame glowing pink. It wasn't the "best" view of the temple, but we could see the dark silhouettes of the distant domes of the main temple and the west entrance on the horizon. The reflection of the temple and glowing sunrise glittered on the calm moat water. The view that most tourists want is the reflection of the main temple on the small pond within the entrance walls. However, there's not much space, so fighting for a spot would be difficult and obnoxious. After the amazing sunrise, we walked around the temple containing its many carvings and architectural wonders. A few of us ascended the rickety, steep wooden stairway to the upper level of the temple where we got views of the grounds and surrounding jungle. It would have been nice to explore the temple grounds. I saw Red-breasted Parakeets and an Indochinese Roller high in the canopy, but I could hear much more bird activity than I saw. The protected temple grounds seemed like a good place to go birding, but alas time is never as plentiful as we hope for.
In addition to the temples, we went to the Phare Cambodian Circus one evening. It is like Cirque du Solei except with more slapstick comedy. Another evening we took the "foodie" tour as they called it. I thought it was going to involve more street food and foods that were not so mainstream, but we had grilled beef satays, rice crepes, glutenous rice and coconut balls, and ice cream. It was all very delicious and we got to ride tuktuks through the city, but I guess they weren't going to subject us to more unusual foods that might not agree with western palates.
From Siem Reap, we had a tour of the floating village on Tonle Sap. It was a little weird motoring through their way of life while snapping pictures and staring. However, the village was fascinating - vendors in boats hawking coffee, fresh cooked meals, miscellaneous wares, and fresh produce, hammocks strung up in brightly painted houses that floated on empty 50-gallon drums, and kids playing in the water waved at us. On the brown waters of the large open lake, plastic bottles and sticks with white flags dotted the water in a meticulous grid pattern. Each flag marked the location of a fish trap. We also stopped at a crocodile farm(/tourist trap), which held their reptiles in a (stinky) enclosure. We didn't feed these crocodiles. I was hoping to see more birds in the mangroves that ringed the lake. A large flock of Painted Storks flew overhead and I saw two very distant Spot-billed Pelicans, but sadly didn't see anything else during the very brief (and not bird focused) tour of the lake.
On our last evening with the tour group, they took us to the Artisans Angkor where we got to see silk weavers, stone and wood carvers, and other craftsman working on some of their amazing art. We also watched apsara dancers while enjoying our gala farewell dinner (fish amok!). It was bittersweet seeing everything come to an end.
However, it wasn't quite the end of our trip for us. After the official cruise tour ended, we stayed in Cambodia a little longer. In Siem Reap, we went to the Apopo visitor center to we learned about the giant rats (and to hold one!). These rats were trained to find land mines that were leftover from the wars. We also visited the Royal Palace park to see the massive flying fox roost. And of course we also made time to visit the markets for some souvenir shopping. The Old Market had a lot of vendors and was cheaper, but the wares at the Made in Cambodia Market were better quality and of a more trusting source.
SVC Giant Ibis Bird Tour
Before we arrived in SE Asia, I had arranged a private bird tour with Sam Veasna Conservation (SVC) Tours. For three days, Tor and I would go birding (yeah!), specifically the tour was for the Giant and White-shouldered Ibis, both critically endangered. Of course the ibises weren't our only focus of the trip, I was looking forward to seeing the other birds of the country and a few more temples (which we added to the package).
Hat Huon and our driver of SVC Tours picked us up well before dawn to start our tour. In the early morning hours, we drove southeast toward our first destination. During our drive, we made our introductions and Hat told us about the organization that he started working for 7 years ago when he came across a brochure while working in the hospitality industry. SVC is a worthy organization in Cambodia that works with local communities to preserve habitat for critically endangered birds (and subsequently all other birds that use that habitat). By getting the local communities involved, they have an interest in keeping the habitat healthy. And they become local advocates for wildlife. SVC also has a sustainable rice program - much like shade grown coffee. Instead of coffee, rice fields are interplanted in the forest and no trees are allowed to be harvested or removed. SVC pays double what they would earn with conventional practices. If any farmer is found in violation, they are suspended from the program. We would be visiting two areas where SVC has been working with the communities - Bengal Florican Reserve near the Tonle Sap Lake for the named bird and Tmatboey Community Forest for the Giant and White-shouldered Ibises.
Bengal Florican Reserve
Our first stop of the trip was the Bengal Florican Reserve to look for the critically endangered Bengal Florican and other grassland and marsh birds. There is an estimated global population of 1,000 birds remaining and about half of those can be found in Cambodia for part of the year. In the predawn hour, we turned off the main highway onto a packed red dirt road through a small village of rice farmers. Cow herders moved brahmans out to the fields of short stubble grass. On the fence line, Pied Bushchats and Tree Sparrows scattered at our approach. In the rice fields, Medium and Great Egrets hunted the waters. We meet our local bird ambassadors (the locals who watch the preserve and scout for the Bengal Florican before we get there). They pointed out two Asian Woolly-necked Storks with a group of Painted Storks in the distance field. Around us, Paddyfield Pipits, a pair of Oriental Skylarks, and Singing Bushlarks ran along the ground. Yellow-bellied and Plain Prinias, Oriental Reed and Dusky Warblers, and Striated Grassbirds sang from the shrubs. Chestnut Munia tended to their nests in the dense grass reeds. In the first few moments of being on the reserve, we were being overwhelmed by more birds than we had for the past two weeks. Our local guides pointed us to a taller patch of grass in the distance. After spotting a potential bustard head in the scope, we walked over through the grass while watching the Pied Kingfisher, Black Drongos, and Zitting Cistiola that distracted us. Suddenly the Bengal Florican flushed from the tall grass. As it flew over the open grassland, it seemed to scope out its intruders and didn't stop until it was well out of sight. Of course it would have been more preferable to watch the bird from a distance, but I felt privileged and lucky to see one of these endangered birds in the wild.
Koh Ker Temple
Along the way to Tmatboey, we stopped at the Koh Ker temple. Much like Angkor Wat, the grounds around Koh Ker temple are protected and the forest is allowed to thrive. Unlike the forest around Angkor Wat, which was tall evergreen forest, Koh Ker was surrounded by dipterocarp forest, which was relatively open and dry with grass and brush undergrowth. We first stopped at Prasat Pram, a part of the Koh Ker complex. Before even glancing at the temple ruins, our attention was swept to the forest right next to the parking lot. White-rumped Shama, Hainan and Indochinese Blue Flycatcher, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, and Black-naped Monarch sallied and flitted in the low branches. Higher up Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Brown-rumped Minivet, and Common Iora gleaned the canopy. An Asian Barred Owlet called nearby. After some time standing in one spot and watching all the action, we pulled ourselves away to look at the temple ruins. Like Ta Promh, these five structures where being held together and destroyed by the large trees that had sprouted out of them. Massive roots cascaded down the outside of the stone walls. The merging of nature and ancient civilization was in beautiful harmony in this peaceful setting (incredibly, we were the only ones at the temple).
We moved on to the main Koh Ker temple where we stopped for lunch at one of the open air restaurants. After another incredible meal of too much meat, rice, and fresh coconut water, we explored the ruins of Koh Ker. There were very few other tourists at the temple (amazingly, but this complex is also a couple of hours away from Siem Reap). We enjoyed the carvings, fallen pillars, and remaining doorways under the shade of the tall trees that towered around us. As we were approaching the tall temple, I noticed a small bird on one of the lower rock terraces. The Blue Rock-Thrush cooperatively posed for us while we admired it's subtle blue hues and light chevrons. We had returned out attention back to birding and walked the outer complex looking at Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Two-barred Warbler, and Black-capped Kingfisher. We returned to the car in the early afternoon to continue our journey to Tmatboey.
Tmatboey Community
Away from Siem Reap, the landscape quickly becomes rural - returning to fields of rice, small villages and dwellings on stilts, the larger town's roundabout were decorated with naga statues and a little shrine (like in Phnom Phen, but on a much smaller scale). Farmers drove their kuyons (two-wheel tractors that were connected to a trailer) loaded with bags of rice and their families to the rice sellers. Small patches of forest remained, but the landscape was largely impacted by humans. Off the main highway and closer to Tmatboey, we returned to the dipterocarp forest with seas of golden grass spread in between thin deciduous trees. A troupe of Red-billed Blue-Magpie flew through the canopy and Large-billed Crows flapped overhead in the blue sky. From the small village of Tmatboey, we followed the narrow dirt road to the modest ecolodge. An open air dining area stood at the center of several small cabins. A bird blind enshroud in green mesh stood off to one side.
After dropping off our luggage and checked out the modest room where we would be staying for the next two nights, we headed back out with Hat and the local community guide down the dirt roads. After a short distance, we pulled into a small camp used by farmers during harvest season. Following the local guide we traversed the grassy fields using old tractor and animal/human trails through the open forest. Black-headed Woodpeckers chattered in the distances. Asian Green Bee-eaters sallied from open twigs. And a pair of Small Minivets flicked and flittered in the broadleaf canopy, while Brown Prinias sulked in the dense golden grass. The sun was starting to go down, but we only had a short distance to walk before we were near the roosting site of the White-shouldered Ibis. As we waited for the ibises, a family of Great Slaty Woodpeckers squabbled in the snags. These large woodpeckers look prehistoric with their pterodactyl like heads and necks. A Bay Banded Cuckoo responded to Hat's playback calls and came in close to check us out. As we were watching a Vinous-breasted Myna, the first White-shouldered Ibis came into roost tree. It sailed past us and landed in a great snag in the distance. Using Hat's scope we got great views of its distinctive marks. As Red-collared Doves cooed from the treetops and the sun began to dip lower in the gray sky, we continued to watch as small flocks of ibis flew into their roost. They settled on one snag before hoping and moving down to other positions in the snags for the evening. In the dying light of dusk, we followed our guide back out of the forest as the White-shouldered Ibis began to loudly croak their evening calls. There are only an estimated 500 birds in the wild with 80% in Cambodia. That evening we probably saw around 8% of the White-shouldered Ibises of Cambodia. It's a sobering thought. Hopefully programs such as SVC are making a difference in the survival of these birds.
The next morning we woke well before dawn (again). After a cup of instant coffee, we loaded on to the cart of a kuyon. For our delicate western tourist bottoms, they lined the bed of the trailer with a mattress and lashed it down with rope so we could have handholds. I felt a pampered, but grateful once the tractor started and we were bumping along the dirt path pocked with deep holes and ruts. In the early morning, our driver maneuver through the forest. The sound of the engine drowned out any chance of listening to the pre-dawn chorus. We stopped just as first light began to peak through the forest. Our local guide led us to a makeshift blind that hid us from the Giant Ibis nest in the treetop. An adult was standing above the nest in the tree when we arrived. Shortly after it took off and the other parent ibis came in. Through Hat's scope we could make out one chick in the nest. The chick was a miniature version of its parent with long curved beak and large dark body. The outlook of the Giant Ibis is even worse than the White-shouldered Ibis or the Bengal Florican. There's an estimated population of 300 in Cambodia, which has most of the global population. It faces the same threats as the other birds, mainly habitat destruction, and to a lesser extent hunting. To see three of these scarce Giant Ibises was pretty magical. We continued to watch the activities in the nest and a couple more parental exchanges, while the forest birds began to awaken. A Purple Sunbird fed in the low flowering bushes. White-browed Fantail, Burmese Nuthatch, and Gray-breasted Prinia joined us for breakfast near the blind. After enjoying the Giant Ibis watching, we started walking back along the road. We spotted Lesser Yellownape, Common Flameback, Freckle-breasted and Yellow-crowned Woodpeckers. With all the hardwood there of the forest, there is quite a diversity of woodpeckers in the area. A Burmese Shrike sang from a low branch as Crested Treeswifts cut through the azure sky. In the distance, two Crested Serpent-Eagles called to each other. Blossom-headed and Red-breasted Parakeets nibbled on flowers in the canopy. The beautiful, vibrant Golden-fronted Leafbird also paused to sip from a few flowers. As the day began to heat up more, we loaded back on the kuyon and returned to the lodge. Hat put out bananas and rice in front of the blind, and we settled in to watch the birds that appear. Not soon after he put food out did a group of raucous White-crested Laughingthrush showed up. Shortly afterward we saw a Black-crested Bulbul and a Puff-throated Babbler. After another hearty meal at the lodge, the guides pointed out a roosting Brown Boobook. We returned to the blind where we watched Lesser Coucal, Green-billed Malkoha, Common Tailorbird, Ashy Minivets, and a Northern Treeshrew stop in.
In the evening, we drove to the site of a White-rumped Falcon nest. The local guide had not seen it recently, but we walked around enjoying the other birds of the area. When there was still no sign of the falcon, we moved to the site of Savanna Nightjars. In the late afternoon, we walked the soft dirt roads through open grassy forest. A large flock of Olive-backed Pipits flew into the trees, a female Verditer Flycatcher perched in a snag, and Crested Treeswift sailed gracefully overhead. As the sun began its dip below the tree line, we walked out into the grassy meadow in search of the nightjars. Hat and our local guide walked through the tall grass as we watched for the nightjars to flush. They managed to flush 3 nightjars. Each time the nightjar would flush it would fly a short distance through the forest before settling on the ground. We followed and the guides repeated this, until one of the nightjars landed in a tree, where we got great views (and a few decent photos). Satisfied, we made our way out of the tall grass, which I had nicknamed hell grass. The grass had seeds with a dagger-sharp tip and long filament. If you brushed against the grass, the seed head or filament would cling to your pants. With every movement, the needlepoint tip of the seed head would work its way into the fabric and bury itself deeper until it was scratching your skin. One was bad; but a walk through a loaded meadow of them was an itchy mess. When we got back to the lodge, I spent a good amount of time extracting them from my pants and socks. Even then, I was still finding them later in the trip (and even in my lint trap after the trip). But it was worth the walk to see the nightjars and it just adds to the story of seeing them. Hat explained that during the dry season and after the wildfires, it is much easier to see the nightjars on the ground after everything has been denuded. Where's the fun in that experience? It was dark by the time we reached the car; on the road we could see toads and frogs coming out for the evening. Now that the ibises were asleep, it was safer for them to be out.
In the morning before we said goodbye to Tmatboey, we stopped at the White-rumped Falcon site once more. The local guide was there before dawn, but could not find the falcon. We tired anyway, walking around the area and listen for its call. Of course, we saw other birds along the way: Black-headed Woodpeckers, Black-hooded Oriole, and Common Flameback. Even though we had already seen them, it was nice to see them again since they were all unfamiliar to me. In the distance, Hat heard the falcon call. We walked back to the nest site and sure enough, it was perched up high in a snag. It called a few more times and we got great views of it before it flew off. Hopefully to its unseen mate.
We left Tmatboey in the morning. It was a little bittersweet. Hat told us they were going to tear down the lodge and rebuild a more modern lodge (probably with flushing toilets and shower drains). Even though we had only been there for such a short time, I had grown a fondness for the place with rustic charms. Although maybe at this point in the trip, I just felt too pampered and was despair for a pendulum swing in the opposite direction. But if it would bring more ecotourism, it would be all the better for the conservation cause and community education.
Preah Vihear Temple
We drove north to toward the Thailand border. Along the way, we passed rows of identical small brick houses on stilts. Hat explained that they were built after the civil war to give the soldiers a place to live. They reminded us of the little cinder-block houses that make up half of our hometown that were built post-WW2. Unlike the cinderblock houses of our hometown, these houses looked abandoned. Though the government provided housing, the houses were in the middle of nowhere. So rebuilding a life or making a living was challenging.
Across the road from the visitor center to the Preah Vihear temple, a plateau of heavily forested sandstone rose above the trees. At the top of the mountain was the temple. We loaded into a the bed of pickup truck with a canopy and benches in the back. The road up to the temple is steep, and the only way for visitors to go up to the temple in the truck. After the very steep and short ride up the mountain road, we arrived at a small set of restaurants and shops. As we walked up the road to the temples, Hat told us about the recent war between Thailand and Cambodia over this temple. He pointed out the embattlements where machine guns and soliders were stationed. They faced Thailand just a short distance away, beyond a forested valley. People died during the war, but Cambodia won and less than a decade later tourist are walking around the temple. There is still a lot of military presence at the temple and Thailand border.
At the first building, a large crane was erected as part of the restoration efforts funded by India. We wondered around the ancient structures taking in the carvings, which were still impressive despite a century's worth of wear. The naga carvings in particular seemed very well preserved of the ones we've seen so far. Climbing up the wide pathway to the other temples, Hat explained that this temple was different than Angkor Wat and the others, which were built from stones a long ways away. Preah Vihear was built from stones onsite, which makes sense because dragging impossibly large rocks over flat ground was one thing, but up a steep mountainside was another.
Even with the strong wind on the mountain, we birded the area, finding a flock of Chestnut-flanked Whiteeyes, Copperfield Barbet, Sooty-headed and Stripe-throated Bulbuls, and a Blue Rock Thrush. It wasn't easy given the challenges of the wind moving every single leaf. From the top of the temple, we could see the Cambodia countryside laid out below. It was amazing how flat it looked. Returning back down to the road, we saw Brown-throated and Ornate Sunbirds, Black-hooded and Black-naped Oriole, and a Yellow-browed Warbler. After a delicious noodle stirfry and sweet sticky rice lunch at one of the restaurants, we headed back down the mountain and to Siem Reap.
Our brief and intense birding trip had come to an end. Thanks to SVC and our wonderful guide Hat, we had an enjoyable time seeing more of the country, a few critically endangered birds, and some of the wildlife. Yet, I feel like we only scratched the surface of what Cambodia and SE Asia has to offer. I hope to one day return to this part of the world to take in more of its natural beauty while it still exists.
