Good morning from Siem Reap, Cambodia, where we have begun a car ride to the airport and are headed to Bali for the final week of our 8-week journey through Southeast Asia. But before I get ahead of myself with excitement, let’s rewind and pick up where Jeff left off, to recount the middle days on the Amadara before our final days with transfer to Siem Reap, which Jeff will cover in the next post.
Our morning started by tender boat with excursions in the delta town of Tan Chau and the Evergreen Island of Vietnam. We explored the farmlands of Evergreen Island and visited Mr. Nam’s house. Our guide, Young, interviewed Mr. Nam and translated our questions, giving us insight into his life in a stilt house, a necessity due to the flooding in the delta region. Mr. Nam’s story was captivating, as he spoke about how his family regained ownership of their home post-war. Three generations live under one roof, and Mr. Nam supports them through farming, fishing, raising cows, and tourism. As you will see in the photos, it is numerous farms full of papaya, okra, tapioca, corn, and much more.
After bidding farewell to Mr. Nam, we visited a rattan factory where sleeping mats and other goods like placemats, hats, and baskets are made. The process was fascinating, with the dyed rattan strands woven on a mechanical loom, the women behind it creating intricate designs.
Depending upon the design, each work can average an entire sleeping mat per day of work
Although we had already enjoyed candy and rice alcohol on our G-Adventures tour, we couldn’t resist more candied ginger and coconut candy that was part of the rattan factory, though we skipped the scorpion-infused rice alcohol this time.
Our next adventure involved boarding individual trishaws, or Xe Loi, for a ride through town to the famous Hong Ngoc silk factory.
They were a ton of fun and it was a sight to see a road full of these trishaws making their way to the silk factory.
Here, we witnessed the silk-making process once again and learned about the unique black silk dyed with the berries of the Diospyros Mollis fruit, which is grown locally. Young warned us about the fruit, which is deadly to humans if consumed. This silk has gained international fame, with Angelina Jolie even wearing a floor length gown made from it at the premiere of Maleficent!
“Wait, are we in Cambodia?!”
After making a few purchases at the silk factory, we returned to the ship for an afternoon of activities and relaxation as we prepared to disembark at the Vietnam-Cambodia border. With AmaWaterways handling all the border formalities, we enjoyed cocktails by the pool and socializing with fellow cruisers. One cruiser inquired about where the ship was at and upon looking it up, we all realized we were technically in the Cambodian side of the Mekong River.
Later that evening, we enjoyed a late dinner and a fun music trivia night that quickly turned into karaoke sung by our fellow cruisers — here is a memorable snippet of Becky and Jeff singing along.
The next morning, we woke up in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, where immigration officers boarded the ship to clear us through our passports and documents. This process was quick, allowing us to begin our two-day stay in the city, with dinner reservations off the ship already lined up for both nights. But first, let’s talk about what we did during the day. Our first day in Phnom Penh included visits to the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, and the National Museum. The Royal Palace was stunning, reminiscent of the one in Bangkok, Thailand, with similar structures and paintings of lore. The Silver Pagoda, or Wat Ubaosoth Ratanaram, houses the Emerald Buddha, which is argued to be made of Baccarat crystal rather than jade. We were in awe of the life-sized, 210 pound gold Maitreya Buddha, adorned with 9,584 diamonds, the largest weighing 25 carats marking the heart chakra.
Our final stop of the day was the National Museum of Cambodia, the largest museum of Khmer culture and history. With over 14,000 items, the museum showcases Cambodia’s rich history from prehistoric times to the pre- and post-Khmer Empire. I found the large tablet chiseled with old Khmer language particularly fascinating, as it is the first known example of zero being used to represent “emptiness or nothing.” For additional reading, here is more history on The Elusive Origin of Zero. After absorbing all this history, we returned to the ship for lunch and a free afternoon, opting to skip the more somber visit to the Killing Fields and S21 Prison in favor of a relaxing time by the pool.
That evening, we dined at Cuts, a steak and seafood restaurant on the 29th floor of the Rosewood Hotel, where we enjoyed a six-course dinner with wine pairings, all while being treated to a thunderstorm that provided its own light show as it danced across Phnom Penh.
Unfortunately, Becky fell ill the night before and missed the second day’s morning excursion in Phnom Penh. We noticed other cruisers with similar GI issues, and though we began to worry, we were relieved to be spared as I write this post after the cruise. Thank the pharmacy gods for Imodium and Zofran!
“The closer you are, the more you are blessed”
Our motor coach took us to Oudong, a picturesque hillside that was once Cambodia’s capital in the 17th century. Today, it’s a place of pilgrimage, home to one of the largest monasteries in Cambodia. Buddhist monks, apprentices, nuns, volunteers, and those impoverished reside here with the compound growing in size year after year. After orientation to the grounds, we entered a large temple and sat before two Buddhist monks, who chanted a blessing over us for ten minutes. Our guide let us know that “the closer you are, the more you are blessed”. As the chant neared its end, jasmine buds began to rain down upon us, filling the air with their fragrance. The monks tossed fistfuls of the jasmine buds into the kneeling guests; the front rows getting a large number of them. With Becky unable to attend, we made sure to scoop up some of the jasmine buds to bring back to her.
After the blessing, we ascended the hilltop vista opposite the monastery grounds. The 409 stepped climb was worth it as we were rewarded with sprawling views of Oudong, the monastery grounds, and a stunning white stupa that landmarked the hilltop. The breeze combined with the cool stone under our feet were refreshing, but eventually, we had to descend.
The last leg of our morning excursion introduced us to a new form of transportation: an ox cart! We rode in wooden carts pulled by two enormous oxen along a village road. Midway through, with the sun blazing down, Jeff and I agreed that Becky hadn’t missed much with this portion of the morning excursion. We ended eager to return to the motor coach, glad to check ox cart riding off our list, but not keen to do it again. It may have been the whipping of a bamboo stick to the oxen that turned me off…
I promise I’m wrapping this up soon, so stick with me as I recount our afternoon journey, which Becky was able to rejoin. We enjoyed a breezy tuk tuk ride through Phnom Penh, stopping at some familiar sites from our G Adventures cyclo tour. Ironically, this tour also took place during a downpour too, so we donned our rain jackets in the partially covered tuk-tuk. After a brief tour, we asked our tuk-tuk driver to take us to Senteurs d’Angkor, a local store specializing in spices, teas, soaps, incense, and more. Did you know that the best pepper in the world comes from Cambodia? We unknowingly had been using Kampot Pepper at home, and Jeff was thrilled to find the pepper in various sizes at the store, including 1kg bags. So now our bags are a few kilos heavier, and Jeff is all smiles. Our evening ended with a visit to Pizza 4Ps, which we had enjoyed in Saigon with G Adventures and were excited to find in Phnom Penh.
I’ll wrap up here and let Jeff finalize the remaining days on Amadara and our transfer back to land in Siem Reap. I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of our Southeast Asia adventure, but I’m also thrilled to be heading to Bali, Indonesia, for our final week. Stay tuned for lots of pictures, especially of the 5,000 sq ft villa we booked at the Ritz Carlton Reserve. Let the luxury begin!
Cheers – Andrew
P.S. – Since we upgraded to the luxury suite on Amadara, our tub was upgraded to a jacuzzi tub and I of course had to indulge in that. I may have put in too much soap for my bubble bath.
Jeff + Andrew Travel the World 
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