When visiting a foreign country, I think there is no better way to get a feel for a place than to do what local people do; to eat, travel, and experience what their lives are like on a day-to-day basis. Today we got to do just that in the Vietnamese town of Chau Doc. We started our day with a local boat ride to town, then a tour of the city on a cyclo, followed by a visit to the local market where we were free to explore on our own, and finally a visit to one of the main businesses of the town, a fish farm. We immersed ourselves and enjoyed every minute.
Steve Morello has had a long and colorful career in the natural history world. Born in New Jersey, he was lucky to be able to summer on the shores of Cape Cod. Whether it was exploring the tidal pools, snorkeling along the beach, or hiking in the dun...
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We started our final day on The Jahan visiting the remote village of Angkor Ban, which is one of only a handful of villages with traditional wooden houses dating back over 100 years. These types of homes are a rarity due to neglect and the decades of conflict in the country. We entered the village through a large pagoda complex before walking around the narrow streets to see the homes. Afterward, two local monks came on board to chant and preform a blessing for the ship and guests. Guests were also able to get individual blessings and red string bracelets, a Buddhist tradition for luck and protection. National Geographic Archeologist Fabio Esteban gave a talk on, “Parallel Civilizations and Sacred Landscapes between the Maya and Angkor”. In the afternoon, we visited Wat Nokor, our first Angkor period temple that featured a colorful monastery built inside a 12th-century enclosure. Then, we stopped at a famous bamboo bridge in the provincial capital of Kampong Cham. Guests had the option of walking on a portion of the bridge or walking along the riverside back to the ship. To conclude our voyage, we celebrated with a farewell party on the terrace deck at sunset and enjoyed the world premiere of the guest slideshow.
Before dawn, guests scrambled up the bank of the Tonle Sap River and climbed aboard oxcarts to enjoy a local tour across the rice fields, lotus fields, and brick kilns, the tour ending at a local school that teaches children English, computer skills, and environmental ethics. The Green School was founded by a Lindblad Expeditions expedition leader in 2016 and now teaches over 450 students! The energy there was remarkable. Students sang and played interactive games with guests, practicing their rapidly developing language skills. After visiting the school, guests returned to The Jahan for breakfast, a fashion show, and a morning presentation on “Reimagining an Ancient Kingdom – The Mekong Expedition Commission and Angkor,” by Cultural Specialist, Patrick MacQuarrie. After we transited the “meeting of the waters” the Tonle Sap, Bassac, and Mekong confluence, guests were treated to a presentation on “Photography Essentials in Cambodia and Vietnam”, by Certified Photo Instructor Sue Forbes. In the late afternoon, guests went ashore to Prek Bangkong to visit the home of a former notable Khmer architect and a local silk workshop before returning for cocktails and recap. The evening film screening was Jungle Atlantis.
On The Jahan, our photo instructor Sue led an early morning photo walk in Phnom Penh by tuk tuk to a waterfront park on the Mekong and at Wat Ounalom Monastery, the center of Cambodian Buddhism. The group photographed locals exercising in the park and a ceremony at the monastery. After breakfast, University of Phnom Penh Professor and Linguist Jean Michel Filippi gave a lecture covering the past 70 years of Cambodian history. We took a break for fresh coconuts on deck before a Q&A session in the lounge. During the afternoon, National Geographic Archeologist Fabio Esteban gave a talk about “The Power of Art”. Then, we took local tuk tuks through the village of Kampong Leaeng to visit a local pottery artisan. We also learned about palm sugar production with a demonstration on a farm and watched the locals climbing the palm trees to collect the sap, which is later boiled to thicken it. After dinner, Expedition Leader David Brotherson gave a presentation about “Cambodian Weddings”, sharing his experience and the many costume changes involved.
