Travel Report #19: Slow Boat to China Thursday, 19 November 2009: Day 57 – Ko Samui, Thailand & Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia : (Back-Packers and Beach Bums)

Dear Family and Friends,

Yesterday: the “Party Island” of Koh Samui – adjacent Koh Pha Ngan – site of the world-famous Full Moon Party ☺☺☺☺ (recently attended by our daughter, Ashnola). Exhausted, following big-city adventures in Bangkok and Pattaya, we are really looking forward to Koh Samui for a little R&R! It does not happen – the excitement continues.

At the north-western port of Na Thon (We have a nephew with a similar name) working our way through “the gauntet” of hawkers we find Mr Vat, driver of a “songthaew” (spelled correctly??) willing to take eight of us on tour all day for 1K Baht (total about $30 USD). A “songthaew” Is a pickup truck fitted with passenger benches. Our driver must be in competition with colleagues, because he insists we drive away from the dock before raising the side curtains. Bob is in the front seat negotiating price & itinerary. By group consensus we plan our day’s tour at our first

stop, Na Muang Falls (Falls #1 – there are two) – Jacinta poses to establish scale.

In a glass case at Wat Kiri Wongkaram we see the mummified body of a revered monk still in the in meditative position when he died – very strangely adorned with modern sun glasses.

Hin-Ta and Hin-Yai (Grandmother and Grandfather Rocks), are shamelessly phallic. We have a little fun that subsequently amuses our ship mates! And then, yet more Buddhist temples – we are beginning to suffer

‘temple-fatigue’, but, they are so incredibly opulent and photogenic – we thank devotees for providing us with the pleasure of viewing their objects of faith.

We’ll save you the burden of more temple pictures.

“Sawasdee” (Taiwanese – Hello / Goodbye) – from Thailand

Today…(Thursday 19 November) we are held off-shore Cambodia for a time – at dawn a Force 9 gale is blowing – pushing our ship around like a butterfly in a windstorm – too unsafe to enter Sihanouk Ville. Ultimately, with wind still fierce and with assistance of two tugs, Volendam is safely at berth in this industrial port. Being hours late, pandemonium reigns on dock. Bus drivers, tour providers, and passengers are all ‘a little testy’. As always, forfeiting ship’s tours, we find ourselves in town centre making independent tour arrangements. We must first face ‘the gauntlet’ of clambering hawkers. Soon we learn this is a ‘very

poor country’ – these people view us as a ‘boat load’ of needed money. With 2 friends, Fern and Albert, we settle on hiring a traditional Tuk Tuk, “Mr. Meng Sophorn” – all day for $20 USD. We tell Meng we are most interested in Cambodian cultural sites – those with an over-view of the area. He takes us to a mountain-top monastery. Five people being pulled up a mountain by the tiny engine of this motorcycle – no wonder he has rigged a tube of cooling water dribbling onto the engine cylinder – quaint but effective. At the monastery we are smitten with tiny monkeys, and, sweet orphan children. We give the children’s caretaker a donation to feed them today at least. On our way back to city centre – and a large

cool beer – Meng takes us by one of Sihanouk Ville’s tourist beaches. Bob stops to chat with a number

of non-locals, and learns from English-speakers that living here is cheap, and that many tourists are from France. Thus, given

the sub-title of this report we leave you with this image of a Sihanouk Ville ‘beach bum’ – an exquisite French, ‘barely-there’ bikini we observed on the beach! ☺

Back aboard Volendam, wind substaintially diminished from this morning, we make a clean disembarkation from Sihanouk Ville harbor, once again into the ‘roly-poly’ of an agitated Gulf of Thailand. Bob’s least favorite, dinner is designated “formal attire” – we guess the schedule is to allow for luggage packing tomorrow enroute to Singapore – however, his new suit purchased in Bangkok seems to have consensus approval of adjacent tables.

This is likely our last report from Asia. On Saturday we fly out of Singapore, bound for Honk Kong, a quick plane change, then on to Vancouver. We are sad to contemplate leaving our home-away-from-home, Volendam, after nearly 60 days of visiting exotic places, and making new friends, both aboard and ashore, but keen also to return to the comfort of loving family and friends back home.

We have had a fabulous Asian Adventure! We hope you have enjoyed sharing it with us. Very many thanks to those that sent complimentary notes. Those notes were a major incentive to investing the time preparing our travel reports. Because of email restraints aboard ship we have been unable to reply to most, but, we were able to read each note. They were wonderful. Thank you all very much indeed!

Till next we have the pleasure of seeing you again, very much love to all,

Bob and Kerrell – “Kun Charan” (our phonetic spelling) – from Cambodia