Puppetry excellence

Two of the shadow puppet characters that courted the most laughter from the watching children

The questionnaire that I completed at the end of my 4-day Mekong Discovery Trail fam trip asked me for the highlight of my tour. Without hesitation I scribbled down, shadow puppets at Wat Roka Kandal in Kratie. Not only is the venue pretty spectacular, a stone's throw from the Mekong River and on the steps of the renovated early 19th century vihear, but the quality of the performance was exceptional when you consider the artists had received only one and a half month's training before this inaugural show. With more practice and support from the professionals at Sovanna Phum, the talented girls, who provide most of the puppetry during the hour long performance, will be sensational. The musicians and the voice-overs all added to a great show and it was capped off by what seemed to be the whole village turning out for the floodlit event too, with the younger children laughing and screaming at the puppets' funny antics, as they inched ever closer to the stage. Whilst our group occupied two rows of seats near the front, hordes of villagers stood behind us enjoying it as much as we did. The shadow puppet story focused on the princess and the crocodile, which is the tale that is linked to the 100-pillar pagoda at Wat Sasar Muoy Roy, 35kms north along the Mekong at Sambor, so it was educational for everyone too. In the future, they want to offer a dinner and puppet show double-bill that will add a 'must-see' attraction in the Kratie area, which pretty much closes down for the night when the sun sets just after 6pm. It certainly gets the thumbs up from me. After the show ended, I met with the artists to thank them for the excellent entertainment they'd provided and they were simply adorable. They gave me two leather puppets to keep and then took turns to practice their faltering English with the usual array of questions that crop up on such occasions, ie. age, nationality, job, marital status, etc. In return, they rattled off their names and without exception they all looked about sixteen years old but I'm sure they were older. One girl said "I love you like my father" which made me feel very humble and pretty ancient at the same time! If you get the opportunity to see the shadow puppets at Wat Roka Kandal, make sure you grab it with both hands. More from my April visit to Wat Roka Kandal here.

Some of the children waiting expectantly for the show to begin

The musicians and singers open up the performance

A brother and sister watch the performance

The children inch ever closer to the main stage at Wat Roka Kandal

The light shines on the righteous; well on this occasion, two of the artists with yours truly, after their splendid performance

Relaxing by the Mekong

The vihara at Wat Roka Kandal, restored to its former glory in 2002

A couple of weeks ago, I spent two nights in the provincial town of Kratie, on my way into northern Cambodia, enjoying the dolphin activity at Kampi and the laid-back atmosphere of this colonial-infused Mekong riverside location. It was my first overnight visit to Kratie in nine years and little had changed. I stayed at the Oudom Sambath hotel on the riverfront, which was about as good as it gets in the provinces, ie. air-con and hot water, at $15/night, ate at the Red Sun Falling - where I had the best chips I've tasted since moving to Cambodia to live - and also sampled the fare at the U-Hong restaurant next to the market and a cooked breakfast at the Star guesthouse. As you can expect at any town in any province, the market was a hive of activity and the colonial buildings ringing the marketplace add a touch of faded elegance to the area, even though the smell doesn't quite add spice to the scene. The restored early 19th century wooden pagoda at Wat Roka Kandal (its original name is Wat Botumny Vannaram) lies a couple of kilometres south of the center and I remember it as a broken and dilapidated vihara when I was last in Kratie, until it received its makeover in early 2002 with financial help from the German Federation, and is now a handicraft center. It lies next to the Mekong riverbank and adjacent to a couple of decaying wooden bungalows that can be rented. Tim and I popped our heads into a couple of the locals wats, played football with a group of men at Wat Serey Santhor Vong and took the opportunity to enjoy the setting sun across the river with a fruit-shake in one hand and camera in the other. A relaxing start to our adventures.

I remember this female figure from my last visit to Roka Kandal 9 years ago

A rare wooden pediment on Wat Roka Kandal showing a sitting Buddha

A nicely decorated door panel at Wat Roka Kandal

The west-facing wooden pediment at Wat Roka Kandal

A wooden post inside the vihara which has been hand-painted with naga motifs

Did you think I wouldn't bring you a Neak Ta? This one is from Roka Kandal.

Sunset on our 1st night and the birds fly home to nest

A temporary beach near Roka Kandal, where the water level of the Mekong has dropped

The gorgeous dusk sky as the sun sets on our 2nd night in Kratie