How many monks can you fit in a tuk tuk?

A trip out has given me the idea for a new business in the UK … hammock bars.

I went out with some of the staff at the school, vaulting onto the back of a motorbike as if I was born to it, and we headed out of town for the day.

First stop was a fishing lake, with beautiful pink waterlilies.    DSC_1508

After you’ve caught your fish, you can relax in a shady hammock while they cook it for you for lunch.

I tried out the hammock

DSC_1517

and very comfy it was too.  But we weren’t fishing and lunching, we were moving on to another popular local relaxation spot – West Baray.  A baray is a reservoir, and this one was built to siphon off the excess water from the moat around Angkor Wat, to stop the temples from flooding.

We settled ourselves into hammocks for a bit of R and R.

DSC_1526

It costs approx 55 pence to rent a hammock for the day – obviously my prices will have to be a bit higher in England, but even so, I’m sure they’ll prove extremely popular and offer excellent value for money.

We lolled around admiring the view

DSC_1528

until it was time for lunch.  There’s a barbecue stall just outside the hammock bar

DSC_1522

and we ordered a whole chicken and some quail, with rice.  They come with chilli sauce, or pepper and lime to make your own sauce.

DSC_1535

Then a fruit seller came around with coconut, watermelon and lots of other fruit that don’t seem to have names in English.

DSC_1549

I went for a walk along the road after lunch and noticed a crowd gathered under a tree.  They were watching a monkey who was high up in the branches glaring at them.

DSC_1548

A young boy started throwing ice cubes at it – perhaps it’s a local custom – so I moved away as I’ve heard several stories of people being bitten by monkeys and having to travel miles to get a rabies shot.

I went down to the lake and tested the temperature and it was like bath water; I’ve never been in such warm water that wasn’t artificially heated.

DSC_1539

It’s a bit brown, but I think that’s the colour of the sand, rather than anything noxious.

Back at the hammock bar, the children of the owner were having fun.

DSC_1543

The two little girls are in school uniform, because the government schools operate on a Saturday.  The uniform seems to be the same in every school – navy skirt or trousers, and white shirt.

There was even someone’s spare uniform drying on a pole among the trees.

DSC_1530

The cost of the whole hammock experience – four hammocks for a day, plus barbecue lunch for four, was £9.13.

As we were leaving, a tuk tuk arrived loaded with monks –

DSC_1550

– and the answer to the question is six.  We’ve only ever managed five, so they obviously don’t mind getting a bit cosy together.