As the rooster crowed us awake for the last time, we rolled out of bed and placed our packs on our back to load up the boats just like we had done when we departed for the island. We enjoyed one last breakfast, cooked by our master chef and my personal best friend, Phiya’s mother in law. Some of us took family photos and hugged our island friends goodbye. Emily and I waved goodbye to our beloved house cat. We loaded the narrow boats and took off to the mainland. Before all the boats had taken off, one of the small village boy was strongly encouraged by his parents to join us on our adventure to Siem Reap. He hopped in the boat, no shoes nor anything but his body and the clothes on it. His spontaneity was inspiring and we welcomed him into our adventure. Phiya’s wife and baby joined us too. For Kamra (the small village boy) this was his first time off the island. Personally I was excited for them to come with us because it meant we were still connected with the island. We sat in our narrow boats, heads down so no Mekong River parasites could get into our mouths and said a sad bittersweet goodbye to the island. After we arrived at the mainland, we entered the 100 pillar pagoda. We sat and listened to Phiya tell us stories about the pagoda and the stupas. We then entered the main temple and gawked at the painted walls and ceilings with all the stories of the Buddha. Within the same pagoda, we visited the Mekong Turtle Conservation Center. We got to see little baby soft-shelled turtles and a lot of other kinds of turtles. We got to hold several little turtles. For me, it was very interesting to see how involved MTCC was with education for rural villagers. It was even more moving when an episode of River Monsters showed that the conservation of these animals is truly important. I thought it was important for the future of Cambodian animals to educate the rural Cambodian population and to break the cycle of endangering animals. I also thought it was a great implementation of sustainable environment projects that I can use as inspiration when I return home. We then cooled off in a local street stand with fresh coconut. Our bus came and picked us up and we started off towards ‘civilization’ aka Le Tonle guest house. We considered this our homeland because it was where we were before we departed for the island. Phiya preordered a bunch of quasi-American foods and we feasted. It was then a well deserved nap time and prepared ourselves for the Mekong River trip that would come in the late afternoon. We then travelled via tuktuk to the boat dock where we would go see some dolphins. While waiting for these endangered animals to pop up from the water, I personally reflected on how waiting for beauty makes it 38292010192298229x more rewarding. We all got excited, but still stayed quiet (not to scare the dolphins) when one popped it’s head out. After the boat ride, Phiya shared the growth and story behind the dolphins. I found it crazy that only 91 dolphins were alive today. It was also sad that I have never heard of this type of dolphin, but if I didn’t research Cambodia or go on this trip, I might not have been able to ever experience this animals due to the populations decreasing. After the dolphins, we visited sticky rice village, where we enjoyed a piece of bamboo filled with sticky rice. It was good little snack and the surrounding area reminded of the island we had left that morning. We concluded the day by eating a yummy dinner and drifting off to a well-deserved sleep.