This was an early morning, but well worth getting up for a sunrise adventure! After some pre-breakfast nibbles we headed to shore and climbed into our most rustic and traditional form of transportation: the oxcart. Our archeologist David Brotherson has pointed out the oxcart has basically remained unchanged for centuries, as seen by the relief carvings in the ancient temples around Siem Reap. We bumped along over the muddy and dusty track, past beautiful green fields of rice and many small birds. Along the way, we stopped for a walk into the fields to learn about rice production and harvest. We also wandered along the edge of a lotus pond and tasted the large seeds (yummy). Then we hopped back into our carts and bounced our way on to the local English language school, where the kids greeted us by raising the Cambodian flag and singing the national anthem. We walked into the small, dirt-floored classrooms to hear the kids sing songs in English. Everyone had a chance to practice their English together and enjoy a lot of smiles. We departed via yet another form of local transport – a motorbike-pulled wagon of sorts.
Once back on board we feasted on a well-earned breakfast. The crew entertained us with a fashion show of traditional Khmer garb, and a few guests had a chance to be dressed as well. Later in the morning we also had a tour of the behind-the-scenes parts of the ship and David Brotherson presented a fascinating talk on his archeological work around the Angkor temples we will see in a few days.
For the afternoon, we boarded a fleet of tuk tuks and visited the island of Koh Oaknha. Here we stopped at a pagoda to have a conversation with one of the monks and learn more about the Buddhist traditions of Cambodia. From there we continued on to a silk farm, where we learned about the traditional silk production, from silk worms to the finished product. There were many happy shoppers at the end of our visit! We returned to the ship moments before a rainstorm began – an unusual phenomenon at this time of year – and had a relaxing evening and delicious dinner followed by a film on the history of Angkor Wat.
