On a late-summer day in 2003, I was humming on a boat.

There were several routes to Siem Reap from Phnom Penn, and I took a speed ferry across the lake Tonlé Sap. 

There were many shacks on the water. I remembered the encyclopedia I had seen in a library in my elementary school; the title was “The Unique Villages in The World”. One of the pages was about “the floating village in Cambodia”. It felt surreal to see the things I knew from a book right in front of my eyes. 

But of course, it was real. I saw some local kids waving at us, or jumping to the water as our boat passed. I couldn’t stop thinking about how my life would have been if I had been born here.

The boat made several stops. Each time, local vendors came aboard and sold some fruits or snacks to passengers. I bought a bag of cut dragon fruits, lychees, and a weird-shaped fruit that I didn’t know the name of.

The sun was strong. Even though I was wearing cheap sunglasses I bought in a local market in Ho Chi Minh, the reflection on the water glared into my eyes. 

Yet, the view was too beautiful to go inside of the cabin. I sat on the very tip of the bow and looked at the water splashed underneath my feet. There was nothing but water and greens (and a rail) ahead of me. 

The sky was high, and the wind was pleasant. I felt like singing, so I started humming. At first, I was a bit self-conscious, but the motor sound was loud enough to cover my impromptu solo karaoke. I sang random songs that came to my mind; Rock, J-pop, children’s songs, even a school song. I kept entertaining myself until the boat arrived at the dock.

That night, I realized I had gotten the most terrible sunburnt in my life. 

—

I have probably learned two lessons from that trip. One is the importance of singing a random song when I feel like doing it, and the other is not to forget to put on sunscreen even when you are having the time of your life. 

(Image by Eunyoung Park)