Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
being impaled on a spiky tree, and so on. Some of the murals show Chinese and
Japanese figures sporting bushy eyebrows and moustaches and wearing red shorts and
turbans or bandanas, probably a hangover from the brief Japanese occupation during
World War II.
Continuing on up, a further 73 steps bring you up to the small
second terrace
after
which it's a further 127 steps to reach the topmost terrace and a small vihara decorated
with murals of the Buddha's life and enlightenment, with glimpses through the trees of
the Mekong far below.
Kampie
15km north of Kratie • 1hr-1hr 30min boat trips $7-9/person, or $7/person in a group of three or more • The site is easily reached by
motorbike or bicycle, or there is transport from Kratie (see box, p.221)
Cambodians traditionally believe that the
Irrawaddy dolphins
(
psout
) that live around
the Mekong rapids at
KAMPIE
are part human and part fish, and consequently do their
best to look after them. Despite this, the dolphins' numbers have declined sharply due
to the use of explosives and electric rods for fishing, and in 2004 the Irrawaddy dolphin
was added to the IUCN Red List as a critically endangered species.
he
dolphin-watching site
is now run as an ecotourism project by the local
community. Having purchased your ticket you'll be loaded into a boat for the trip
(lasting roughly 1hr during the Nov-May dry season; closer to 1hr 30min during the
wet season, when the dolphins travel further downriver). Once boats are out on the
water in the vicinity of the dolphins the motor is cut and boatmen row their craft to
create the minimum of disturbance. The dolphins are most active during the early
morning and late afternoon, when they tend to feed, although sightings are pretty
much guaranteed at any time. They're fairly easy to see (albeit almost impossible to
photograph) and even easier to hear thanks to the characteristic noise they make (like
the sound of someone taking a sudden deep breath through a large tube) when
breaking the surface of the water to take in air.
It's also possible to see the dolphins from dry land. Continue to the stretch of open
riverbank about 1km north of the centre, from where sightings are possible.
4
Sambor
Not much happens in the dusty riverside town of
SAMBOR
,
36km north of Kratie and
accessible on various
tours
(see p.221) - for the time being, at any rate. The stretch of
IRRAWADDY DOLPHINS
Freshwater rivers, such as the Irrawaddy and Mekong in Southeast Asia, and the shallow
tropical zones of the Indian and Pacific oceans, constitute the habitat of the
Irrawaddy
dolphin
(
Orcaella brevirostris
). In the Mekong they now inhabit just a 190km stretch in the
north of Cambodia, and can be spotted most easily at Kampie and north of Stung Treng near
the Laos border, with occasional sightings elsewhere. In 2001, a pair were found just a few
kilometres north of Phnom Penh.
Irrawaddy dolphins look more like porpoises than marine dolphins, with rounded heads and
foreheads that protrude slightly over a straight mouth; noticeably, unlike their seagoing
cousins, they have no beak. They're also more languid than their marine cousins, rarely leaping
out of the water, chasing after boats or displaying any of the other skittish personality traits
commonly identified with their species.
Irrawaddy dolphins reach maturity around the age of 5 years, when they can measure up to
2.75m in length and weigh up to 200kg. Family groups, or pods, usually consist of around six
individuals, but larger groups are not unknown. In spite of good breeding rates, there is a high
rate of calf mortality, which remains unexplained.
