As morning light crept into the sky Phnom Penh slowly wakes up. Our landing party of exercisers and photo enthusiasts assembles in the lounge for a morning walk, eager to see another side to the Cambodian capital. Working our way through the city streets we encounter locals and visitors alike, some out for morning exercise, some still out from last night before. Street vendors and market stalls are setting up for another day’s business. Once we get back to the ship, we head downstream passing Phnom Penh one last time on our way to Vietnam. With a full day aboard the ship we can sit back and watch the world go by.
The morning’s program begins with an entertaining presentation on a very complicated subject. While an ethno-linguist by training, Jean-Michel Filippi has lived in Cambodia for many years and his personal connection with some of the main players makes him a wealth of knowledge on 20th century Cambodian history. After lunch we get a chance to go “back of house” and see how the ship runs behind the scenes. The talented crew and staff work together like an orchestra to make each day of our journey relaxing and comfortable.
After lunch Jahan drops anchor at the border crossing as the ship’s crew takes care of all customs and immigration procedures. Presentations were also on the afternoon schedule, with photo instructor Eric Kruszewski talking us through some smartphone photo and video tips, and cultural specialist David Brotherson covering the cultural differences between Cambodia and Vietnam. Later on the kitchen staff gave a private lesson on how to prepare handmade spring rolls. We finished the day on the upper deck as the ship maneuvered its way down the Tan Chau canal before finally arriving at Chau Doc, our first port of call tomorrow morning.
