The Elusive TerreCambodge

I was obsessed with finding TerreCambodge, the only travel company that described a Lake Tonle Sap trip that I could fathom taking, that didn't suggest the certainty of being herded onto vans and group boats. NPR described part of Lake Tonle Sap's significance and our guidebook references bore out the notion that it would be well worth a day trip--but only if it were done right. Have a look here. Fortunately, our arduous journey into rural Cambodia to find the little-known but highly regarded TerreCambodge was indeed worth the tuk-tuk trip. After a few false leads and then relying (whether to our detriment or not we weren't yet sure) on something in Khmer scribbled on a scrap of paper as our only tangible directions, we weren't exactly surprised when he pulled into the drive of a distant pagoda, satisfied that he had delivered us to our intended destination. Um...no. Phone call. Waiting. Off in another direction. And then another. Children waved at the unusual sight of us. Eventually, down another dusty, cratered dirt road, we were actually greeted--however implausibly--by a capable professional who led us into a well-appointed office, served us lime-garnished bottled water, and booked our trip for the following day. I wanted to kiss his feet for the relief of it all. Or maybe just because I finally had proof that TerreCambodge existed and that, no, we really did not have to "settle" for the second-rate day-trips offered by every travel company and hotel in Siem Reap.