5pm Friday 30 January 2015,  
Sailing overnight from Laem Chabang to
Koh Samui, in tbe Gulf of Siam

Having spent yesterday on board ship, today I venture out on a shore excursion to the Thai coutryside, managing to avoid the city of Bangkok itself for our second day here.

Tuesday 27 January 2015
Day at Sea
Sailing from Phu My, Vietnam, to Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Another welcome day at sea after two days of heavy-duty excursions.  The highlight of the day is the Indonesian Tea Service at 3pm. Although tea is served every afternoon, this is the first one that has fitted into my tight eating and resting schedule.  The servers present a variety of Asian teas, including Indonesia Jasmine, which is mild and almost sweet.  Then begins a dizzying array of tea sandwiches (roast beef, smoked salmon, cucumber), sweet cakes (with lots of yummy coconut flavoring), spiced tea breads, and scones with clotted cream--my plate seems to grow fuller as I drink my tea.  I'm glad I skipped lunch for a nap, having had eggs Benedict (with smoked salmon instead of Canadaian bacon) for breakfast.

Not having enough to eat all day, there is a by-invitation-only cocktail party for 4- and 5-star Mariners in the Crow's Nest at 7:30pm.  Free champagne and lots of finger food to enjoy on the way to dinner, which tonight is chilled strawberry bisque, Caesar salad, and a thick veal chop with cream porcini sauce, spaetzle, and assorted vegetables.

Wednesdsay 28 January 2015
Sihanoukville, Cambodia 

Although the port and beach resort city of Sihanoukville is the third largest city in Cambodia, it is a sleepy backwater compared to the dynamic cities of Vietnam.  My first impressions of Cambodia, especially as we drive through the countryside, visit markets, pagodas, and fishing villages, is that this was Vietnam 25 years ago. At least Cambodia is a democratic monarchy, with a king who is subject to the desires of the legislature and the ballot box. Unfortunately, most of the elected politicians specialize in filling their own pockets and pushing forward their own families, rather than dealing with the many problems facing Cambodia in the 21st century.  Used by the US as a military staging ground during the war in Vietnam, Cambodia still shows the scars of that long war, in its land and its people.  The devastating history of land mines--many still buried and waiting to explode--is truly horrific.

But I am here as a tourist and will try to focus on the friendliness of the people and the charms of the small cities and countryside. The primary destination of today's "Town and Village Exxploration" is the city of Kampot, world-famous as the center of production for Cambodian peppers, universally recognized by chefs and foodies as the best in the world.  Black, red, and white peppers all come from the same plants, and differ only in how long they stay on the vine and the processes used after they are picked.  I learn all this as we stop at a small pepper plantation about halfway along the coast from Sihanoukville to Kampot.  Kampot town is home to about 400,000 residents and has a huge local market (although the markets are all starting to look alike).  The city still retains architectural remants of its French colonial occupiers and is the center for many Westerners travelling on their own.  

Water Buffalo

Local Pepper Grower

Traditional Pepper Plantation

French Colonial Influence in Kampot Town

Kampot Town Market

Kampot's Old Bridge and Riverside Walk

After another lunch of local specialities from the sea, we visit Ropan Ropov fishing village.  This is where my role as a well-off Western tourist makes me quite uneasy.  The people of the village are hard-working and quite poor, but the Cambodians seem genuinely interested in letting us see their way of life, rather than soliciting money for picture-taking. And while using this village as a tourist attraction is distasteful, it might make us more aware of the daily grind in which these people struggle to survive.  But I wonder how I would feel had a horde of tourists been brought to see the way my famiy lived  when I was gowing up.  The tour guide even takes us through the shabby home of a local fishing family.  The children, playing under watchful parents' eyes, reach out with friendly glances and experimental touches.  Many family dogs lie around lazily and stare wonderingly as we parade through with our clicking cameras and cell phones.

Ropan Ropov Fishing Village

   

We  visit another Buddhist temple and school before the drive back to the port.  We sail away at 5pm, heading for the first of two ports in Thailand.  I wonder what my impressions will be when I visit the larger and more well-off city of Seam Reap, when I return to Cambodia after the cruise ends.