TEMPLES AND TUK TUKS
A short tour of Cambodia and Viet Nam
Cruising the Mekong
Monday 22nd July, 2024
Tuesday 23rd July, 2024
Wednesday 24th July, 2024
Monday 22nd July, 2024
Sofitel Lobby
p early (again!) to get the bags out by 0630. We had an early breakfast, registered our luggage for the cruise and, after killing some time in the Lobby, left the lovely Sofitel Hotel for the cruise.
Lakeside Pitstop
e took bus for five hours along highways good and bad, passed water buffalo in rice paddies, rubber and cassava plantations and in general people living a full life in easy reach of the highway. We paused for a quick pitstop (coffee and clean toilets, always a necessity on tour) in a picturesque place by a small lake, then went on to find the river.
Mekong Serenity
e got to the boat, pardon me, Ship, moored along the river with quite a high steep embankment we had to climb down, muddy as well. This was one of the things APT warned about, having no fixed wharves except in cities. However, they seemed to have a never ending line of crew members who lined the slope on both sides and passed me from hand to hand like a parcel.
Our Cabin
he cabin is so lovely: we have an outside balcony with a little table and chairs, a lovely spacious bathroom, plenty of cupboard and drawer space. It is decorated with native style artifacts, glued down to the shelf(!) and two gorgeous embroidered robes in the wardrobe. We had decided that the cheapest option was good enough and indeed it is difficult to see how they could have been upgraded enough to warrant the extra expense. Robyn and Bevan upgraded and they had a butler!
Cabin Decor
e sat down to a "light lunch" of three courses, then went on a tuk tuk excursion to a local island in the river where we met a couple who grow fruit in their backyard for food and profit.
Arriving back at the boat we had a mandatory emergency drill which was chaotic, I hope we don't get any emergencies.
Mekong Riverside
e shared a table at dinner with a friendly couple from Brisbane, Robyn and Bevan, who we invited to share our anniversary dinner in the IndoChine Restaurant on Friday . A good dinner, good company, raucous table behind us which was a bit of a pain (this group seemed to be semi intoxicated all the time! But at least were enjoying themselves). Hoping for a good night's sleep. Mac is still not well and feeling cold when it isn't! I don't know...
Tuesday 23rd July, 2024
Monastery Drive
fter not a very good night, Mac was coughing and I was too tired to be comfortable, we awoke early, showered and had a good breakfast. Last night we booked a table at the specialty Indochine Restaurant by Luke Nguyen for Friday 26th to celebrate (a bit early) our wedding anniversary. Since the tables are for four, we invited Robyn and Bevan to join us. Today, however, Robyn is ill, Bevan thinks it is the anti-malaria drugs she is taking but hopes it will have run its course soon. It is so miserable being ill on a very expensive holiday.
Monastery Statue
nyway, at 0830 we went out walking with our group to a village which apparently survived the ravages of the Khmer Rouge era, mainly by being the home of a major figure in power. Fronting it was a monastery, with an impressive drive lined with brightly gold and painted statues representing animals of the Buddhist mythology.
Monastery Chapel
Reclining Buddha
here was a long reclining Buddha and many quite impressive monastic buildings , all dripping with gold. It was a school for young novices who wandered around in their orange robes. All in all it was quite impressive for a small town, however later excursions in the week showed that it was really quite small and undistinguished by comparison.
Rosemary and Mac at the Monastery
hrough the gates at the end of the monastery street we came to the village where the ordinary people lived and worked, a group of stilt-legged houses perched among Brahmin cattle and chickens and subsistence crops.
Cambodian Village
t certainly gave an idea of what Cambodian rural life is like and has been for yonks, Khmer Rouge notwithstanding. We will probably see what city life is like when we arrive in Phnom Penh tomorrow.
Welcome to Silk Island
e rested in the cabin after this until lunch . Despite the availability of three courses of specialties I had a little light salad, a hamburger and chips and a scoop of strawberry ice cream. Very nice. At 1500 we head out again to a silk weaving village on a nearby island, which should be quite interesting.
Later:
Silk Island Worker (note Hi Tech equipment)
ur expedition by tuk tuk was interesting, an island devoted to the processing, refining and weaving of silk. The ladies (nearly all ladies) used hand operated looms or rickety machinery operated by bicycle wheels and chains, to produce extremely complex and beautiful fabric which they sell extremely cheaply. They sit at the loom, often on the floor, working with hands and feet for 8 - 10 hours a day, and think it is a good job because they are close to their homes and can keep an eye on their children! All of us women just looked at each other and rolled our eyes! We are so lucky, some might say spoiled, in our country.
Silk Island Weaver
hey had a showroom where you could buy anything from dress lengths and scarves to small money purses. I bought a money purse for $Us5:00 (about 30,000 real) which I will give to Sarah next door as a souvenir.
Sailing, tonight we dock in Phnom Penh and tomorrow will be our last day in Cambodia.
On the River
Wednesday 24th July, 2024
Phnom Penh Waterfront
his morning we awoke in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. It is quite a new city, tall high-rise buildings, grand broad boulevards intersected with the busy, long-lived-in streets where the people live, work and play. There is a lot of river traffic, including some of the competition, the Emerald Harmony. When we looked out of the window this morning it was such a contrast to our other moorings. At least it was easy to get on and off.
Outside the Queen Mother's Palace
t 0830 we headed off for our optional excursion, a visit to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. This was a good choice, I feel. The buildings were spectacular, dripping with gold leaf and bright colours. We entered the complex via the Queen Mother's Palace. It had a portrait of the lady on the outside wall which really reminded us of Queen Elizabeth. The queen is 90, and western, not Cambodian, so there are similarities.
Part of the Royal Palace Compound
he king is a bachelor, no wife, no successors. He is devoted to the Buddhist religion and half of the immense complex is devoted to his personal monastery. I don't know how the area survived the Khmer Rouge but it is certainly spectacular. It will be interesting to see what happens when the king dies. With no direct heirs there may be succession wars or the country may seize the opportunity to become a republic. Wait and see.
Part of the Royal Palace Complex
e saw the huge reception hall, where the king receives diplomats and world leaders, and all sorts of living quarters, stupas and colonnades.
The French Ambassador's Residence
ne of the more interesting buildings was the French Ambassador's Residence in Colonial style, very attractive but completely at odds with the rest of the architecture. We are reminded that the French ruled Cambodia for 150 years. There were store rooms/museums where are displayed royal regalia, outfits and artifacts of all kinds, gifts and uniforms. For a poor country the wealth displayed would fund a good republic!
Royal Monastery Wall
e then moved from the living section to the worship section. There were long colonnades,painted from floor to ceiling with Buddhist mythology which were very impressive. In this area we found the Silver Pagoda. Here we saw what we could of the famous silver floor, carpeted except for a small section to show, because otherwise it would be tarnished by all the bare feet (we all had to take our shoes off). Inside there were thousands of Buddhas in all sizes, including the Emerald Buddha with lots of gems and a gold statue of the late King Sihanouk. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos, so that was a bit disappointing.
Mac's Elephant
ere Mac met his little elephant. I captioned it "It followed me home, can I keep it?" but of course he couldn't.
After the visit we returned to the ship and had a cold drink and nibbles in the lounge. We have decided to have a chillout afternoon and not go to the markets. So we just vegged out, Mac slept, I read and dozed. Before dinner we had a performance by some young dancers from a school, teenagers, and they did very well.
Dinner was a special Khmer deal, with all the waitstaff in lovely sparkly national dress rather than their smart APT uniforms, we shared a table with Bevan and Robyn who seems to be feeling better.
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