A home-made teeter totter was put to good use
The bounce shook up her tummy
The next morning we had a meaningful cultural experience
We traveled by two-wheeled oxcarts through rice fields to the small town of Kampong Tralach
As we began our 2-kilometer journey we were greeted by this young Cambodian who gave us a drawing of a flower and then ran alongside our cart the entire trip.
Traversing our way through the rutted path between the rice fields
The cousin of our young friend offered us a lotus flower
We passed by this family who appeared to enjoy watching us bounce around in the oxcarts. They sure do squat easy!
Our destination was this school where children are learning English. Lindblad Expeditions, our travel company, sponsors the English teachers. The children sang for us and we sang for them, which brought them to their feet for a rousing applause (and lots of laughter).
We spent a few moments visiting with the children. They enjoyed practicing their English to talk with us.
Our young friend was not part of the school so she stood outside watching the activities
We gave her a dollar for giving us the drawing and we were able to get a smile
A treasured moment with this young Cambodian
We visited the small village of Angkor Ban
The children were eager to greet us
We viewed the old houses of the town. The lower level was used as a barn and for storage
We were invited inside this home. You can see that the floor has slats with spaces between to permit good air flow
We were drawn to the children over and over
They loved to be photographed
Their smiles were infectious
The temple at Angkor Ban
Back on the ship we had a magnificent sunset
That evening the Jahan was beached and we had cocktails on a river sandbar
The next morning we rode on a motorbike to see the 7th Century temple of Wat Hanchey
Wat Hanchey temple
Inside the Temple at Wat Hanchey
Colorful ceilings and walls
Julie attracted these charming children who followed us throughout our visit to Wat Hanchey
Simply charming
We saw the end of a talk by this Buddhist priest who was then escorted to his waiting limo. Note the reflections of the buddhist monks saying good bye on the side of the limo.
As we left, these two darlings hammed it up for us.
In the afternoon we made a brief visit to Wat Nokor, a colorful monastery built within the ruins of a 12th century Angkorian-era temple
Returning to our ship we saw this unique bamboo bridge.
As always, another smiling face as we walked back to the ship
On our return to the ship we saw more river life as the sun dipped low in the sky
It being our last evening on the river, we felt a warm glow of empathy for the Cambodian river people
From Kompong Cham we traveled by bus to Siem Reap to see the world famous Angkorian temples
