The female of the species

A day that largely goes unnoticed in the UK, in Cambodia International Women's Day is a public holiday. It's any excuse here - there are 25 public holidays per year.

To celebrate the grace and elegance of women we took Berry and Helen's boat onto the Mekong, for a relaxing and peaceful day of sitting, eating and reading. Women are here, empowering themselves and breaking free from the shackles of male dominance, helping each other out of the water after a swim.

The Mekong is cleaner than I expected and passersby on other boats are very friendly. The number of sand dredgers is the alarming thing. They give zero chance to any freshwater wildlife that likes to hang out on riverbeds.