Day 13-14, October 8-9

We had to get the luggage outside of our rooms early this morning. Most people are not doing anything this morning, but we chose an extra excursion which was a gondola ride around the moat surrounding Angkor Thom.

We were greeted in the morning outside the hotel with our tuk-tuks and after a short ride through the Angkor complex, we boarded our gondola for the trip around the moat. The moat is much deeper than the lagoon in Venice, but the idea of the gondola is very similar with a single rower and a long oar in the back of the boat.

It was a wonderfully peaceful hour surrounded by huge trees, water lilies, and water birds and bugs. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride and are so glad to have done this.

Back in the tuk-tuks to the hotel, a quick run up to the room for the carry-on luggage and check out, and then onto the buses to head for our ship The Mekong Jewel. The ride started at 10:30 and we were finally on the ship after 5 P.M.  It took us through three provinces of Cambodia, through small cities, and lots of agricultural areas growing mostly rice. We stopped three times, two for potty breaks and once for lunch. The lunch was in a lovely local restaurant where we ate in open air dining rooms and had a surprisingly good lunch of typical Cambodian food. I fell in love with salt, pepper, and lime juice dip, and plan on using it at home.

Getting checked in on board was easy and we were soon in our room. Tomorrow is Alan’s birthday, and his big surprise was that I had reserved the largest suite on the ship including a butler and a hot tub. To say he was shocked when he opened the door is an understatement. It is a huge multi area room with a wraparound balcony and a bathroom with a separate tub and shower and two sinks. I think my apartment in Los Angeles was smaller.

After a great dinner and unpacking, we sent out our first load of laundry.  We are truly out of clothes and will be sending another load out tomorrow.

Happy 75^th birthday to Alan. The day started with Jack calling at 5:45 AM to wish Alan a happy birthday. Alan went up to the top deck for the stretching class and then after breakfast, we left for a visit to Wat Hanchey, a Buddhist monastery and school. It was very interesting learning about Buddhism and seeing the monks in their monastery. We received the water blessing and then toured the grounds.  The grounds were very crowded because it was a fifteen-day holiday during which relatives are allowed to leave Hell and come visit. Apparently, it is usually a very quiet, contemplative place, but not today. Back on the bus and back to the ship for lunch.

Mekong River from the balcony

The ship sailed further down river and stopped at Angkor Ban, a small town. This afternoon was a walk through the town and a visit to a school teaching English. The center of the town had statues of the signs of the Chinese zodiac and statues of fruit and vegetables. Surrounding the town center were several small collections of homes. One of them had survived the time of the Khmer Rouge and had some homes as old as one hundred years. These houses were constructed without nails, using mortise and tenons. The main living area is upstairs, but the open ground level provides shade from the heat of the day.  The upstairs, consisting mostly of a large open room with a bamboo floor with open spaces for airflow, has few amenities, just some family pictures and some storage space.

House visit

After walking around the homes, we went to a school that teaches English to young children. They get very little opportunity to listen to native English speakers and much of their learning is rote memorization. The kids did enjoy talking to us and reading from their books. After the school, we headed back to the ship, passing several Buddha statues on the way.

Alan spent some time in the hot tub and then we went to a short talk about Phnom Penh and then dinner with birthday cake. The birthday cake was another surprise. The kitchen and dining room staff gathered round and sang Happy Birthday.  When we came upstairs, there was another surprise. On the bed was a three-tier birthday cake made from towels, and orchids decorated the bed with Happy Birthday spelled out in leaves. This was even a surprise to me (BJ).

While we were at dinner, the ship docked at Phnom Penh. Our waitress Tavy was very excited as she lives here and was pointing out various buildings as we sailed in.  Tomorrow, we will board tuk-tuks and explore Phnom Penh. The afternoon is free with a shuttle running to and from the main market. We are not sure whether we are going to do that, or maybe get our complimentary massages.