Cruise to Cambodia

After a fabulous three week break with my Mum and Dad, and then another visitor, the other Meredith, life is resuming its normal routine. But, not for long, as Tet, or Vietnamese New Year is fast approaching.  

It was great to have Mum and Dad with me in Saigon. They got a very good feel for my life here and were fascinated by the sheer mass of humanity.

We went to a few tourist sights that I had yet to visit and a couple of places off the beaten track. We also sampled the delights at many of the great restaurants,  and there were plenty of afternoon naps too.

Our cruise to Phnom Penh was fantastic. If you ever think about doing a river cruise in South East Asia, I can highly recommend Pandaw. The boat was very comfortable, with plenty of space for all 22 guests and the food was amazing in all aspects; quantity, quality and variety. The cheese plates certainly took my fancy!! 

The other guests came from Australia mainly, but also Sweden, England and America and were all lovely people, so they added to our enjoyment.

We had a few local tours which were interesting but there was also plenty of time to relax, read and watch the world go by. There was always something or someone at which to look. 


Once in Cambodia, I was amazed at how different the people are both in looks and mannerism. It is like South Australians being totally different to Victorians!! They are so gentle and friendly and are living with such hope despite their turbulent history and current political difficulties. We heard a great deal about the People's Corruption Party! 

We enjoyed our 4 days in Phnom Penh, despite visiting the very confronting Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. It is simply impossible to get your head around what happened to the people there. 
In contrast, we enjoyed seeing the grandeur and wealth of the Royal Palace and we did a little shopping in the markets too. We also loved getting around in the tuk-tuk's.


Christmas lunch was had on the balcony of the Foreign Correspondents Club. A lovely 3 course meal with roast turkey, but the Baked Alaska for dessert was a little different. 


The 6 hour car ride to Siem Reap was a dusty and bumpy affair and we were certainly glad we took this soft option, rather than the bus!! Plus, we enjoyed seeing the countryside and life being lived on the side of the road. 

The temples of Angkor are simply amazing. We had no idea of the number and scale of temples in this area. The workmanship in the stone carving is just incredible. The mind boggles at how it was all achieved. The only drawbacks were the number of other tourists and the cold mornings - a jumper would have been handy. 

So, it was a relaxing break and also very informative as I learned so much about Cambodian and Vietnamese history, yet have only touched the surface.

More photos of Cambodia

Next stop ... Malaysia.