Mekong Irrawady Dolphins; Kratie

Kratie is a provincial capital in the north-eastern part of Cambodia. Most tourists come here either on their way to Laos or to see the rare Irrawady dolphins of the Mekong River, and that's the reason I've come. We hire a tuk tuk in the late afternoon to travel up the river to Kampi where the dolphins live. We stop first at a popular swimming spot in some 'rapids'. We pay a $1 entrance fee and our driver then leads us 10 minutes away from the attraction to a quiet spot presumably so we can swim in our bikinis although he strips off and jumps in too. The havoc we walked past consisted of bamboo pagoda type shelters extending across the width of the river and rapids. They were full of celebrating locals (due to the Khmer New Year), eating, drinking and jumping in the water. Unfortunately, this being Asia, most of their rubbish is carelessly discarded into the water and I am devastated by the sight of plastic bags, polystyrene containers and tin cans lining the banks and floating downstream into the rare Irrawady dolphins fragile home waters. It's tragic and can't be helping their plight for survival.

It's $7 each for the boat trip to see the dolphins, which seems expensive, considering they just take you 2 minutes into the river then wait for the dolphins to appear. But we've timed it for the sunset and as the dolphins appear we know it's worth it. The river reflects the pink of the setting sun as the beautiful dolphins breach the water around us, some just passing by and some coming closer to investigate. We hear the whoosh of their airholes and search the waters to catch a glimpse of their sleek bodies. I'm glad they're not perturbed by all their visitors. The Mekong here is beautiful, all the more because it's home to the rare dolphins, it's just a shame about the polluting rubbish making its way to them.