Irrawaddy Dolphins
People i met here, who contributed to and improved my trip: Juliana (Russia), Jim (England)
We hired some bicycles in Kratie and did a 30km round trip to go and visit the rare Mekong Irrawaddy River Dolphins. The road to the site was peaceful, beautiful and full of wonderful people. As we cycled through the villages, every child would scream out hello and wave, some ran along with the bikes and others held their hands out to get a high 5. I've honestly never seen such warmth and friendliness from complete strangers. It was a great feeling to be greeted in such a way and it left a real impression on me.
When we arrived at the landing point, we chartered a boat to get a closer look at the Dolphins. Their numbers over the years have drastically reduced, with the Khmer Rouge killing them and selling them to neighbouring countries, mainly for their oils. I believe this has made them somewhat sceptical about human interaction and who could blame them! We spent an hour in the boat and got some really good views, if not a little distant, just grateful to be able to see so many of the remaining 100 or so. We rode back to Kratie, passing the same smiling faces and witnessing a beautiful sunset over the Mekong.
