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Published: April 13th 2013
This part of the cruise seemed like a blur. After moving to our new cabin and unpacking, we met up with our newly boarding guests. This is a very port intensive cruise starting with our call in Sihanoukville. Cambodia is light years away from neighboring Thailand or Singapore especially in terms of tourist infrastructure. The terrible destruction which occurred during the "Killing Fields" era is still evident in this poor country. Every family lost loved ones and the learning and religious institutions were eradicated. Fortunately, with its youthful population, that era is now history and the country is trying to rebuild itself both physically and emotionally. There are many foreign investors from China who are pouring money into the industrial sector because of the cheap labor and abundant natural resources. Joel Brinkley recently wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle that “China owns Cambodia.”
We signed up for an adventure tour which took us into the countryside. The tour was advertised as strenuous especially considering the heat and the terrain we would be covering. We drove through the lush countryside to the Prek Toeuk Sap River and boarded some small wooden boats for a one hour cruise through the mangroves. The
SIHANOUKVILLE
This spit of land is home to hundreds of Cambodian fishing familiesboats weren't the most comfortable and the engine was quite loud but that is the best that is available in this Third World country. We saw some eagles and flying fish but the dolphins decided not to show up that day. Several of the larger boats ran aground in the river and those passengers had to be taken ashore by little fishing boats...much to the chagrin of some guests.
We then took a hike through Ream National Park. This park is somewhat unusual as there are still a number of small villages within the park where people live a very basic lifestyle and share their small shelters with their livestock. All bathing and toilet facilities are al fresco. We stopped at a one room school house and were treated to an impromptu welcome song by the smiling kids.
The forest walk was a bit more arduous than many people had anticipated so at one point a van was sent in on one of the fire roads to pick up the tuckered trekkers. Our guide, Sok, was so nice and tried to make everyone comfortable. It was a good outing for us and we got to see more of
the countryside and hear about the Cambodian way of life.
We did our usual Chinatown run in Singapore via the MRT Subway and then we took the monorail out to Sentosa Island. In the past we have spent overnights here at the Shangri-La Hotel and rented bicycles to cruise around this green oasis. However in the last few years there has been major building development and now the island is more like one big Disneyland. A huge casino and even a Hard Rock Hotel have also been added. This is a popular spot for Singapore families.
We took advantage of the ship’s shuttle in Port Klang and went to a local market. We got deluged by a tropical rainstorm in Penang, Malaysia. In Phuket, Thailand we celebrated our anniversary by spending the day luxuriating at a Radisson Resort and then had a lovely evening on board with dinner and dancing.
Now we are off to the exotic lands of Sri Lanka and India.
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LYNDA THORPE
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ANNIVERSARY
HAPPY 40TH AND CONGRATULATIONS!!! SAFE SAILING AND WE WISH YOU MANY MORE HAPPY AND HEALTHY YEARS TOGETHER. Your adventures are amazing. Love your posts. Richard and Lynda Thorpe