riding a 'kanoat'

A few days ago my host family took me on a day-trip to a wat about 30k away. We got there by 'kanoat,' which in my case was a 15-foot long canoe-like boat powered by a small, noisy motor and capable of reaching speeds of 10mph. The journey took us down a small river, then across a plain of rice fields that I'm not quite sure how to describe. It's green, open fields that stretch for miles, off into the horizon, and during the rainy season the plain becomes a giant aqueduct about 4 feet deep, submerging the road that winds through the fields. So, during these months, people take their boats down a labryinthine stretch of open water, about 6-8 feet wide, that connects the two districts - a road on the water. It was amazing to travel that stretch, watching a far mountain (our destination) slowly begin to loom over us as we got closer to land. And, once at the top of the mountain, during a Buddhist celebration I can't even begin to describe, I was able to look out at the landscape and see, from a birds-eye view, that glistening ribbon of water stretching off into the distance through an otherwise solid, green backdrop. On the way home we also rescued a baby from a leaky boat that swamped as we passed it.