PADDLING
Srepok, Tonlé Sap and Mekong Rivers in Cambodia
From Thailand to the Thames
Paula has paddled the Srepok, Tonlé Sap and Mekong Rivers in Cambodia (for 300 miles) in a dugout canoe; the San Juan river in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, also in a dugout; has Kayaked the Thames from source to sea; and paddled other minor rivers and white-water rafted in New Zealand, Scotland and Thailand.
Paula’s first wild trip paddling was in Cambodia when she bought a dugout canoe off a tribe and just set off with a friend to paddle down the Srepok River which later joined the Mekong. They both successfully paddled their boat: The Srepok Drifter; Paula mostly SUPPing, to Phnom Penh, where they gave their canoe to a local charity.
The same duo then repeated the adventure in Costa Rica, bought a dugout off a local and paddled the San Juan river into Nicaragua.
Paula and her husband, Alex, also borrowed a couple of touring kayaks and paddled the Thames from the source (Cricklade) to Putney Bridge, covering 150 miles and 45 locks over seven days.
Paddling the Mekong gave Paula an off-the-beaten track, unplugged experience, as she explored life Cambodia-style from her dugout canoe. Whether an expedition or an escapade, it was definitely adventurous and in her quest to experience a country naturally, and to take the road less travelled, she had undertaken a journey of exploration and self-discovery, full of uncertainty and challenge into terra incognita.
