March 9th:
Today we docked in Cambodia. The port town is a relatively new city. It was created by the Cambodian King in 1960 when the Vietnam war eliminated Cambodia’s link to the ocean through Vietnam via the Mekong River. Generous soul that he was, the King named the city after himself.
While the Cambodian language and alphabet is dominant, many of the signs have the English Language. Our tour bus was a very nice surprise. The bus was better than many we have used in the US and Europe. The seats were leather, the air conditioning worked (thank God), and the interior had local decorative touches.
Cambodia is predominately Buddhist. Our tour here took us to the lower temple. There was an upper temple, but the tour guide said our bus could not make the climb to the top of the mountain to reach the upper temple. The lower temple called Wat Krom (Wat is the word for temple) proved to be interesting and photogenic.
Our next stop was a local primary school. In Cambodia, children are only required to attend school through the 9th grade. The school we visited covered grades one through six. The building consisted of four classrooms and the students present put on a little show of singing and playing musical instruments. Split classes are the norm here. One morning session and one afternoon session with children just attending one of the sessions.
After a short bus ride, we arrived at a local residence where the family opened their home for a tour. Following local custom, we removed hats and shoes as we entered the home. As you will see in the photographs below, the home was modest. The building was a two story structure. Originally, the family lived on the second floor and the first floor was for storage, cooking, and animal housing. As the family grew, the animals were evicted and family members took over the first floor. The total living area in this home was maybe 600 to 800 square feet, that’s including both floors. The family living in this home numbers twenty. There are four generations represented, the grand parents, parents, children (some married), and grand children. While the home has electricity and some appliances, water is collected in a tank outside from rainwater from the roof and the toilet facilities are outside (somewhere).
Next was a visit to the local market. For Arizona residents, this is like Mesa Market on steroids. There had to be several thousand booths selling everything from local produce and meats to clothing, electronics, jewelry, and services such as hair care, and massage.
Final stop on the tour was a chance to spend time at a resort beach. We were entertained by some folkloric music and dance, had some local drinks (read that as beer), had a chance to swim or wade in the sea, or just lay around.
After returning to the ship, a very talented folkloric group from the capital of Cambodia, Phnon Penh, entertained us. This proved very colorful and enjoyable to the eye. Cambodian music is an acquired taste that we haven’t acquired yet.
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