Saigon was a great start to our vacation. The people were nice, the food was fantastic and the food tour with Xo Food Tours was awesome (you can read all about it in my last post). I must admit though, big busy cities are not my thing, and I was eager to start our riverboat cruise with Pandaw Cruises. From Saigon we were taking a cruise up the Mekong River Delta into Phenom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, freakin awesome!
From Saigon it was a short bus trip to where we would board our riverboat. Once on the boat, I was pleasantly surprised how nice the boat was.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but our stateroom was nice, the bathroom and shower was big. There was a nice big sundeck, with a full bar, where you could waste away your days watching the world go by. The dining room was nice, three meals a day, and the food was excellent, and plenty of it. I was definitely ready to sit and relax. Day however, had different plans.
We were on the boat for 4 days and 3 nights, and there was an opportunity to go out on an excursion everyday. I was less than eager to go, but Day would drag me along, and I was always happy she did. An excursion meant getting on a smaller boat, that would bring us ashore and we’d visit the nearby towns or villages.
Walking through these small villages, I can’t help but think mine and Day’s lives are too complicated. Our house is too big, we have too much stuff and we rarely have time to enjoy it. We’re always talking about “downsizing” in an effort to enjoy each other and our lives more. What might look like poverty to some, looked like a simpler life to me. People looked happy and content to me, certainly the kids seemed happy (no, they were not begging for money).
I also enjoyed the excursions that we’d get on a sampan and paddle through the wetlands.
The real winner was just sitting on the sundeck, watching life on the Mekong River. I’d be up early every morning, as usual (I don’t sleep very well). Mornings are a chance to be by myself, watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee and take pictures of course.
At night, we’d all sit on the sundeck and watch the sunset, and life on the Mekong come to an end.
I’m always amazed by where I am, and where I came from. A few good decisions, a few good choices, and I am sitting on a riverboat, on the Mekong River, watching the sunset. I should be president of the United States, but I didn’t make that many good choices. Anyhow, we made it to the border and to the “Kingdom of Cambodia” where we dropped anchor and would disembark our riverboat and go through customs. From there, we took a small ferry boat into Phenom Pehn.
Phenom Penh was a lot like Saigon, a big busy city. The people were nice, food was good, and there was plenty to see and do.
We were in Phenom Pehn for two nights. I got a shave with a straight razor for 2 bucks, we all got massages, and Day did a little shopping. We did a so, so food tour, and saw a dance performance which was the highlight of Phenom Penh, in my opinion.
Prior to our trip, I wanted to learn something about Cambodia. Well it’s kinda hard to read anything about Cambodia without reading about the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, the fall of Phenom Pehn and the mass genocide that happened in the mid seventies. You may want to start with First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung. Warning: this is not a happy book. I am glad I read it, but it was pretty sad and emotional.
In short, Pol Pot was a Cambodian Hitler, killing 25% of his own people. He wanted to cleanse Cambodia of everyone who wasn’t a farmer, nice guy. I am amazed how horrible humankind can be.
A whole generation of artists, musicians, dancers and intellectuals were murdered, nearly 90%, and the arts suffered. Today however, there is a national effort to reinvigorate the Cambodian arts.
I think what I enjoyed the most was the dance show at the Cambodia Living Arts Center. The Cambodia Living Arts Center is a school that teaches young people the arts, in this case, traditional Cambodian dance. Proceeds go back to the school in an effort to continue teaching and reinvigorate the once lost arts (thanks to douchebag).
Cambodian Living Arts (CLA), an organization that has been working for 20 years to support the arts sector here in Cambodia. Today, CLA aims to give artists and others in the cultural sector the resources, training and support they need to experience their cultural heritage, express themselves, and to tell the stories of contemporary Cambodia.
To learn more about Cambodian Living Arts, please visit: https://www.cambodianlivingarts.org/
Beginning in the mid-20th century, a tradition of modern art began in Cambodia, though in the later 20th century both traditional and modern arts declined for several reasons, including the killing of artists by the Khmer Rouge. The country has experienced a recent artistic revival due to increased support from governments, NGOs, and foreign tourists. While planning and researching for our trip to Cambodia, I decided, while in Phenom Pehn we would shop (we never buy stuff on vacation) at only local art shops, and we did. Day and I shopped quite a bit and bought some nice stuff. I got a day bag and a case for my tablet, made out of recycled cement bags.
I also wanted to see a traditional Cambodian dance show. We did, and it was fantastic! As I sat and watched the show, I was bombarded with emotions. Happy and excited, but I was also sad. This beautiful art was almost lost during the 70’s and the Khmer Rouge. I was so excited to see this wonderful show. Two of my favorites are: the Cambodian Stick dance and the Fish Basket Dance.
“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”
– Pico Lyer
Our trip would continue on to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat, but here in Phenom Pehn, my heart was full. The more I travel, the smaller the world gets. The Cambodian people are friendly, kind and beautiful, when they have so much reason to be angry and hate.
Luv,
Curly
