Taking Lonely Planet’s suggestion, Ed and I opted for the scenic boat travel between Siem Reap and Battambang in Cambodia (described as a 3-8 hour journey, but was, in reality, more like 9 or 10…).  In spite of the cramped quarters on the roof (yes, roof) of the boat in the hot sun, I am glad of the choice because not only was it scenic with wildlife and protected wetlands, but it provided a glimpse into a rural lifestyle seemingly one step away from Kevin Costner.

At intervals along the slow-moving river, we would pass through a village, a floating village.  Sometimes there were riverbanks in sight, sometimes nothing but wetlands extending on to the horizon.  These floating villages exist almost entirely on water, replete with floating schools, restaurants, and markets (one school was donated by UNICEF, as noted on its outside.  All those Halloweens collecting money for UNICEF weren’t for naught!).  Villagers needing a ride further along the river would row up to the boat and deposit goods or themselves, or in one case, what seemed to be a message to pass along down the road.  Some of these towns were water-land hybrids, at least now in the dry season.  At the edge of one such hybrid town a group of teens with a rather large set of speakers were having a mid-day dance party under a house perched high on stilts.

Though charming to look at, these villages and their people have an interesting relationship with the water on which they live.  The river is multi-purpose, used for fishing, bathing, drinking, and laundering–and as a repository for litter and human waste.  That the latter uses contradict the former doesn’t seem to be a concern to the people, even given the river’s slow pace.  (The man sitting next to me on the boat finished his to-go food and threw the styrofoam container right into the river, while below-deck a woman scooped water out to give to her child.  All this, after a rest stop where the bathrooms were nothing more than a hole to the water below.) 

In general, this behavior seems to be keeping with a common theme I’ve noticed– more in some countries than others–that of a seeming disconnect between action and consequence (at least in some areas that register with me).  Mainly this pertains to litter, where many seem to take the view that once you throw it away it’s gone, regardless of where.  However, it can also be applied to far more serious issues.  Cambodia has the highest HIV infection rate in Asia, and though it has dropped considerably since the start of both an ad campaign advocating condom use and a law requiring all sex workers to insist on condom use, there may still be lurking attitudes that what one does in the present has no connection with the future, or that one can invent a more pleasing connection.  As Geoff Manthey, former UNAIDS Program Advisor in Cambodia said, “We are still battling against a sense of invincibility and misconceptions. For instance, some believe that if you have sex with a virgin, you will be cured of the (HIV) infection.” 

Hopefully this government law will do much to affect not only the HIV infection rate, but also the Cambodian notion of action and consequence as it applies to littering and hygiene on its lived-on waterways.  But it’s a slow-moving river…