Three Rivers Dams (8)
Veun Sai is a fairly big commercial hub on the Sesan river, inhabited by Cambodians of Chinese descent (no commerce without Chinese) who often speak Lao, like most of the people here. There is a restaurant with 7 to 8 tables made of precious ‘beng’ wood, 15 centimeters thick, 80 centimeters wide, 2 meters long. It took 8 men to lift one of the freshly cut pieces of timber like that when it arrived on a boat from god knows where. Veun Sai is close to the Virachey National Park. Veun Sai is also one of the areas cited in the documents from the investigating judges for the elusive Case 003 at the ECCC (Khmer Rouge Trials) related to war crimes perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge military. A dredging boat drops by once the stock of sand for construction sites is depleted.
And there is a ferry.
Ferries are nice places. People wait in the shadow on one side of the river, monitoring when the ferry on the other side of the river will be full enough to make the crossing back. When it lands there is a brief shuffle of people, goods, bicycles and motorbikes overloaded with pots and pans going back and forth. There is always one latecomer hurrying down the sandy banks and jumping on the boat when it is moving already. The captain of the ferry complains about the constantly changing water levels (look no further: the Yali dam in Vietnam is to blame). Up one meter is all right, although it floods the volleyball terrain. Down one meter during dry season makes his job difficult as the ferry gets stranded easily. One passenger, a young lad with a rucksack and a baseball cap, said he was heading home to his village and had been on a holiday to Kompong Som, on the seaside. He is working for a nature conservation organisation, teaching the kids in his area about preserving what is left. He was carrying a bottle of seawater to show to his friends back home…
