Around Kratie, Cambodia

The town of Kratie, in the North-East of Cambodia, lies along the banks of the Mekong river. One of the main reasons to visit is to see the rare freshwater Irrawaddy Dolphin, which lives in the deeper pools in this one area of the Mekong River. While we were there, we also rented a small motorcycle for the day, in order to visit some of the outlying villages.

Rooftops in the town of Kratie.

To see the Irrawaddy Dolphin, you ride in a small boat to the middle of this huge river, the driver then cuts the engine and floats downstream. If you are lucky, which we were, the dolphins will appear, usually in pairs, and swim past you close enough to see them. The proceeds raised go to a conservation project headed by the World Wildlife Fund in cooperation with the Cambodian people.

The 108-Column temple, about 40 km North-East of Kratie, along the Mekong River, is over 500 years old. Many residents of the Kratie area come to this Wat as part of a pilgrimage.

Our favorite part of this day was seeing all of the children who would run out of their homes just to yell "hello" to us as we rode past. And when we stopped, they were usually not too shy to approach us or have their picture taken.

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Kratie

Sep 13, 2006 - 39 Photos