When there is no other way to get to school

They paddle along in twos and threes, children as young as 7 taking themselves to school by boat in their watery world. With the breath-taking backdrop and peaceful scenery adding to the beautiful early morning atmosphere, they give only a cursory glance to us visitors, early morning risers with the privilege to join in this morning ritual.

From the stilted villages around the Tonle Sap, kids have to row to school; there is no other choice. It’s an incredible sight, but for them it’s completely natural and they learn from a very young age. The teachers and parents row the very young kids, but from about 7 years old and upwards, they generally take themselves in convoy. It’s their school run! To catch a glimpse of this, you have to rise early as school starts around 7am and finishes around 1pm (to avoid the heat of the day). There will be hardly any tourists up at that time and it really is a special experience.

It was a family affair as we cruised around the Tonle Sap as our boat driver, Mr. Hong Yan, had brought his two children. When we asked why he said that school had just started, but they were scared to go and wanted to stay with him. Behind what he said, we guessed there was a tough predicament, especially as tourism is his main source of income.

In peak season he told us that he could be a boat driver every day and earn the equivalent of £27 a month wage along with tips (ETG automatically include an extra payment in the upfront costs to top up wages for boat drivers such as Mr Hong Yan). In the lower season, he would do the odd bit of fishing and help his wife cook food to sell which he would deliver on the boat. That would earn them about £25 a month too. His kids are called Yan Somphos who is 6 and Yan Sokmeas who is 5. We were grateful for our time with Mr Hong Yan and enjoyed his company, but didn’t like to pry further.