After several days of enjoying the marvellous temples of Angkor, we would have a leisurely travel day. For our final morning in Siem Reap, guests had the option of walking around the city or relaxing. We left our wonderful hotel, La Residence d’Angkor, at 10:30 a.m. on two large buses. Our local Cambodian guides provided interesting information along the route. Jean Michel and I also gave short commentaries. The pleasant drive along the northern perimeter of the Tonle Sap Lake was a wonderful way to see the rural landscapes and lifestyles of the people. The Tonle Sap was at its lowest level, but soon the rainy season will arrive and the Lake will swell to at least four times its size. The waters arriving from Tibet and the monsoon rains will bring the dry scenes we were seeing back to bright green. The fertile silt arriving with the flood waters will nourish numerous crops like mango¸ banana, coconut palm, tapioca (manioc) as well as cashew. We did stop to see the trees at a rubber plantation and were given an explanation on how to harvest the rubber.
After our five hour or so journey we came to our luxurious river boat the Jahan, which was barely visible down the steep banks of the river at Kompong Cham. The ship was designed in the Eastern India style of the great Moghuls of India – in particular in the tastes of Shah Jahan, the builder of the famous Taj Mahal and the infamous Peacock Throne.
On board the Jahan, we were given a historical introduction to the construction of this treasure boat by the boat’s Dutch manager, Marteen. We were introduced to the boat’s Vietnamese captain, Mr. Quy, who masterfully positioned us in front of an amazing handcrafted bamboo bridge for the sunset. The beautiful and extensive bridge has to be rebuilt every year due to the rising levels of the Mekong River. We also got to see the first major bridge of Cambodia, built fairly recently by the Japanese.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner and then proceeded down the Mighty Mekong.
