What a terrific day today! As the sun warmed the eastern skies we toasted the day with coffee and croissants. By 6:30 a.m. we were climbing up the Tonle Sap riverbank to a row of oxcarts waiting on a dusty road. Everyone climbed in and we were off, traveling down the rutted road as the sun rose in glorious colors. After ten minutes or so we stopped for a break in a rice field, where our guides talked about rice growing and harvest. We also trekked out to a lotus field where we picked a lotus pod and tasted the seeds (nutty and delicious). On the way back to our carts we found a frog, agamid lizard, and photogenic spiders. Once back onboard our carts we headed into town to visit a small school. A highly motivated young teacher has created an English language program for almost 300 students. We arrived for the flag-raising ceremony and national anthem followed by a visit to the classrooms. Here the kids treated us to English and Khmer songs and everyone practiced their English together. We returned to the ship by motobike-drawn-carts for a well-earned breakfast.
The remainder of the morning was spent enjoying a fashion show put on the crew, featuring traditional Khmer garb. A few of our guests had a chance to be dressed up. Afterwards our archeologist David Brotherson presented a fascinating presentation on Angkor Wat. Before lunch we journeyed through a narrow section of river, where the trees bowed low with waving children beneath and small fishing boats were pulling in their catch.
In the afternoon we had a photo presentation before heading to shore on small local boats at Kampong Chhnang, a village known across the country for its pottery. Here we saw a demonstration of the traditional method of making pottery with a paddle and anvil. We also visited a home where the ebullient Mr. Ree showed us how to climb sugar palm trees and harvest the sugary water from the flowers. We got to taste the delectable sugar, which is much akin to brown sugar in flavor, as well as the palm sugar "fire water" at about 40% alcohol.
Once we were back aboard Jahan we cruised along a floating village where people were ending their days at sunset. Following a spectacular sunset we cruised downstream to enjoy the rest of our evening.
