Tonight’s blog may be short due to the old adage, don’t drink and blog…
It’s 11:13 pm and tomorrow it’s breakfast at 7am, cases out at 8 and on the bus to Siem Reap at 8:30. So the cruise is at it’s end, we’re moored at Kampong Cham and the engines are quiet. This is the closest we’ll get to Siem Reap in the dry season and the balance of the journey will be via coach tomorrow.
We visited Wat Hanchey early this morning – steep climb up the hill. Those who chose to took a lift on the motorcycles, remembering to get up/ down on the left to avoid getting burned by the exhaust.
The temple is richly decorated and the view spectacular… worth the hike up and the more than 300 steps down.
Following the visit three monks visited the ship to perform blessing ceremony for some crew members and the guests. After lunch some children of a local NGO supported by the cruise line gave us a singing.dance show and showed off their english by telling us about themselves, their families and their future professions. It was truly inspiring…
Then we joined a coach for a 3km journey to Wat Nokor, a modern temple built within the ruins of a temple from Ankorian times. Our first taste of what’s to come at Siem Reap.
We stopped at the Ko Paen Bamboo bridge that connects an island and the mainland. This bridge is rebuilt every year. It is weird, feels like walking on a trampoline. Small cars, motorcycles and pedestrians cross this bridge for a fee. It cannot accommodate larger vehicles.
We strolled along the shoreline to the ship and freshened up before the crew presentation and dancing. A special fare-well dinner was presented, ending with deep fried rum&raisin ice cream.
We gathered in the lobby lounge to see slide show set to music – these were highlights of the tour captured on camera by crew members during the tour. We each a copy of this as keepsake.
i’m 80% packed, only last minute PJ’s and toiletries to go tomorrow.
All bets are on as to wether we’ll make the 13:30 collection in Siem Reap… watch this space…
Have an awesome evening….
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