Bamboo bridge over troubled waters

It was high time to test the Cambodian public transport system.
It worked, just. A little shaky, a little late, and a lot of in Khmer badly dubbed Thai films of dubious quality, not to mention the on and off karaoke in the bus. But without mishaps we reached the sleepy riverside town of Kampong Cham by the banks of the mighty Mekong river.
Although the bus ride had taken most of the day, there was still time to get activated. A cheap penny provided us with a set of fairly decent rented bicycles, and off we pedalled. The destination was the river-engulfed island of Koh Pen, and to get there, we had to bike across the bridge. Concrete? Nah. Steel? Nope. Stone? Alas. Bamboo? Betcha!
The island was lush and beautiful and very quaint. The people living there, mostly farmers, were welcoming and friendly. The kids knew at least two expressions in English: 'Hello!' and 'High five!', which they eagerly shouted as we clinkingly glided past their picturesque and stilted homes.
After a walk through the various patches of farming (mostly corn and tobacco) and a visit to the local buddhist temple, we encountered the local school. The children were enthustiastically trying to improve their English, and we did the best we could helping them out, through excercises, songs and regular conversations.
And the local interaction wouldn't stop there. We were invited to the home of a friend of Alann's, where his wife had cooked us a delicious dinner of traditional khmer food. The dessert was more of a european style, though, as it happened to be co-travellers Phil's birthday.
Nightmarkets and weird rooftop bars were also on the menu on this my first, but certainly not last, day of encountering the mighty Mekong.