March 26, Thursday, Sihanoukville, Cambodia

We disembarked and got directly onto Bus 2 for our trip to see Sihanoukville in Depth.  First we stopped at Puthuong Village where we visited a local home.  The owner was a woman all bent over.  She probably worked the rice paddies all her life bent over planting and harvesting.  The men hand the seedlings, and pick up the chaff.  

Their home

the plow for the ox.

Some of the family

watering the garden

The plow, cart, and other traditional farming equipement were there on the land.  They had a garden next to the house which also has to be cared for as well as the daily work in the fields.  As soon as we arrived we saw young children.  After a few minutes there were maybe a dozen.  Before we left, there were dozens.  They didn't speak to us, but they wanted to be near us and smiled a lot.  We saw the cooking area with the fire pot for wood, hammocks under the house, rain water collection, the outdoor water pump, the main living area with a small TV, an open area, two cots, and a small closed off bedroom.  The grandparents slept on the cots.  The children on the floor, and the young parents or newly weds, in the small bedroom.  The man must give money to the bride's family and lives with the bride's extended family.  The home was on sturdy stilts and had a solid corrugated roof, about a quarter acre of land fenced land.  The other houses in the area looked similar.  Clothing looked ordinary and very used.  I saw no colorful traditional dress anyway.

courtyard of school

Next we went to the local school.  There was a large courtyard with boys playing soccer.  They had time off while we visited.  We met the headmistress and went to a classroom.  The room was large, with wooden desks for each student.  Concrete walls and floors and windows.  

A classroom.  They have wooden desks, light, windows, unlike the African and Indian schools we saw.

There were concessions where students could buy food. 

 Next door was a Buddhist temple.  The walls and ceilings were colorfully painted with scenes from buddha's life.  

Outside there were life sized statues depicting the twelve animals that are associated with the year of your birth, like the year of the dog.  

Getting blessed with water from the priest

outside the temple

We met a monk dressed in orange who blessed us with water.  It is supposed to clean us of our sins so we can have prosperity.

Our guide told us that all Cambodian children are now learning English, however none of the students could say more than hello.  He also said that under the Khmer time, a third of the population died.  It was from starvation.  So people are focused on food.  They don't ask how you are, they ask what you have eaten and when.  Money is always on their minds because it can buy food.  He talked a lot about our Presidents because he knew which ones were on which dollar bills.  He said this was the first time Oceania had come to Sihanoukville.  They get 2 cruise ships per month.  They have a few hotels in this beautiful area with white sandy beaches.  Mostly this town is a port.  It is about 100 plus Km to Pnom Phen.  The US governent built the road.

Next we went to the Psar Lu market.  It just went on and on.  I had to be very observant so we wouldn't get lost.  We stayed in the heart of the market because the outside had motorcycles everywhere.  David and I started going down one person wide aisles and saw fish being scaled, piles of spices, dried fish, and all sorts of unusual vegetables, fruits, seafood, and household items.  the market was busy and people were buying.  I didn't see how all those squid would be sold, or the fresh, wiggling crabs.  I would rather be the seller of the dried fish or spices in case I didn't sell everything that day.  David wanted one bill of currency from every country.  So he changed a $1.00 for local Bhat. He gave 1,000 to the donation box for the beggars along the aisles.  He kept 1,000.  So we had 2,000 to spend.  I wanted bananas because we don't seem to have any on board ship.  We finally found a bunch of the smallest bananas I have ever seen for 2,000.  Back on the bus, David remembered that you aren't supposed to have bananas on a ship because they are bad luck.  So when our guide pointed out the monkeys along the side of the road, we gave them to him to feed the monkeys.  It was fun to see them actually peel the banana and eat them, just like that.

Market stalls

Sea food.  they were wiggly

meat.

Our last stop was the Sokha 5 star resort on a beautiful beach.  We had a buffet lunch, and Angkor beer.  This beer is the local Cambodian beer, and made right there in Sihanoukville.  We had time to sit in the shade by the ocean and then swim in the Gulf of Thailand.  The water was just right.  The sand was white, and barked when you walked in your bare feet.

Back on the ship David was off to Trivia.  I stayed in the room to use the internet.  Only one of us can be logged on at a time.  I was able to finish and publish 4 more days of our India trip.  

We saw the banjo player again after an enjoyable evening dinner with Abe, a 95 year old man, and his companion, from Palm Desert, and Gene and Martha from Tennessee who will be going to Miami and also play bridge.