Kampong Cham, Cambodia
Today was an opportunity to rest and recover from a very busy schedule in Phnom Penh and enjoy the vistas of the Mekong. The well-paced program included a tour of this modern and efficient river vessel as well as a cooking class hosted by the Jahan’s superlative chef.
We sailed from the port of Phnom Penh at 9 a.m., heading downstream to cross the border at the river port of Kaom Samnor which we reached in the mid- afternoon. Earlier, however, John Freedman presented a well-researched and gripping account of the history of Vietnam up to the unification of the country in 1975. He spent some considerable time on the expansion south of the Vietnamese dynastic regimes and the profound impact of the French colonial period. John followed later in the day with a humorous short talk on popular Vietnamese culinary culture involving betel nut, “wokking” the dog and “weasel” coffee, all of which sparked a spirited discussion, especially on the merits of eating dog and the questionable benefits of getting a “high” from chewing the narcotic combination of areca nut, betel and lime.
After border formalities, we proceeded downriver through the Than Chau Canal, which would take us eventually to the major delta town of Chau Doc, where we were scheduled to spend most of the following day.
The outstanding impression as we transitioned from Cambodia to Vietnam along the Mekong was the clear contrast in what we could observe along the way – the topography is, of course, similar, as there is no physical boundary such as a mountain range or a river. The differences are in land use, population density, and the kind of river craft we see along the way. The Than Chau Canal, at sunset, was full of life, busy with commerce but, from our upper deck vantage point, we found it a wonderful introduction to the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.
