Blog # 9: Cambodia - Sihanoukville and Mangroves
Our ship was greeted by local entertainers
Pretty costumes, simple dance routines
We learned the level of the folding hands relate to a "pecking order." Lowest is for children, next highest is for parents, then a boss, followed by king an then God
Many of the Asian buses have ornate decorations; much like India, Mexico and other Latin American countries Here's what the Cambodian language looks like
Schools are poor. Children wear quasi-uniforms. Have two hour lunch break at home
First part of the the day's tour was visiting an old temple
There are inadequate funds to care for this temple. Rubble throughout and repairs are almost non-existent
Many of the statues were in need of repair, a new paint job, Etc.
The old man may have been homeless. He was wandering around aimlessly
Many, irregular steps and few handrails was difficult for the older folks on the tour
Too hot to climb stairs
Not many worshipers
There were interesting, hidden away things to see
It is not true once you've seen a buddha, you've seen them all. They do differ from one temple to another
These statues are holding up a mythical snake
Local bakery makes a delivery
Next stop is the jungle - the bathroom building on right side was what you might expect; especially for women. There was a hole and no toilet paper. Our guide took off with most of the group thinking everyone was together. We, as well as a few other folks, were left behind.
We hooked up with another group. There were a few curious monkeys checking things out
Heading to the mangroves. Very swampy in some areas
Started out as fun. It was a little hard to get into the boat. It took four men to pull Jerry out Other than a few birds, it was very quiet!
The area was magical
We've had other mangrove experiences - they all differ
Lots of trash in the river flows into the area from the ocean. Apparently, the area is cleaned daily! We're not so sure about that claim! Out of the mangroves -- pretty beach area Snacks for the guides, or us: BBQ frogs, some pork and chicken legs
Smiling until there was no more smiling. We were left behind by the tour guide. We were lost. Should we take the low road by the coast or the high road leading up to, somewhere...After twenty minutes with no guide looking for us, Arlene screamed, "Help!...Help!...Help!"
A family from China heard he screams (woman was a guide, spoke English) helped us find the bus. Our guide was apologetic but there was no excuse for not counting the amount of people in the group and checking if everyone was together. The Chinese guide was quite surprised we worked in China as well as visited the country as a tourist!
Next stop was more jungle...to see a rare tree
The area was quite, pretty and, there were no other people other than our own small group.
This tree is foreign to the area. Close to twenty people holding hands could possibly surround the tree. The trunk is immense!
On the way back to the ship we stopped to see a large statue - perhaps forty or fifty feet high. These are mythological lovers - the man comes from the sea; the woman a princess from the land.
The day ended on a happy note - noting could be better than a cold, fresh coconut from the side of the road. We were the only ones interested enough to have one!
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