Mekong Cruise 2018
Off I go......left 16 degrees in Montana.......... layover in Seoul which is rainy cold and gray....flight to Bangkok delayed over an hour.....someone several seats behind me had a nightmare and was moaning load enough for flight attendances to hover with worry....a little like hearing an exorcism......the Asians tended to walk right over you.....dodging luggage carts... almost run over by a giant golf cart that was playing Fur Elise instead of that annoying beeping sound we use on airport shuttles......plus 40 minutes to get to hotel…...99 degrees humidity thick and oppressive…..arrived 3am....skipping historical, cultural and organized activities this morning in favor of some time by the pool and a massage.….met the group ...mostly eastern US.....NY CT etc...only a few from CA and me…..barely arrive to meet group only to find that we leave for the airport in less than 30 minutes….no time to shower after massage…toss everything in the suitcase…..feeling massage oil fermenting in the heat …….ended up in middle seat for flight to Siem Reap....airport scene was crazy...when traveling with a group it’s always interesting how dynamics shape up...lost handbag...lost husband...with a couple of exceptions.....group mostly older...note to self...when you’re eighty...you lose track of stuff.......arrived just after dark...no lights to be seen outside of airport…...wood smoke in the air...incense drifting...felt as if we were walking back in time…..few street lights...feeling rural….dark....perfect....La Residence D‘Angkor is fab...hints of Bali...supposed to resemble a Khmer style home.
…...orange lounge chairs surround the pool and charming locally made hats and fans to protect from the sun and heat….
Angkor Wat such an amazing structure to find out in a large flat plain.…..built same time as Norte Dame…..90 degrees....every pore on my body opened up in shock and disbelief at the amount of humidity…...the octogenarians on this trip did surprisingly well...I won’t say they were happy but they all bucked up…….of coarse one of them lost their park pass....necessitating another stop at ticket counter. …..a quick visit to National Museum to visit the room of 1000 Buddha’s...stunning and very well displayed...too bad no photos.
After a beautiful lunch at Khmer Amok....visited Ta Prohm temple....stones covered with moss…lichen....the biggest Spung trees you’ve ever seen growing in out and around the ruins...would have been happy to spend more time exploring but the sweat was running in my eyes ….a cold drink and AC on the bus was beckoning……short hop to Bayon temple...managed to get some pics of the 54 Faces Of the Gods ….ladders instead of stairs....who needs a stair master.. quick visit to the temples in Siem Reap….grabbed a quick dinner at hotel then visited the Old Market and the Night Market...such a fun scene....restaurants ...bars ...shops...all vying for your attention ...catching snippets of so many languages...300,000 people in Siem Reap... ..think they were all out in the markets last night…….
Leaving soon for bus ride the Mekong Princess ….there had been an accident at the dock so boat went further down stream to allow us to embark…..HOWEVER….there was no dock available….so the entire crew of the ship grabbed shovels and picks at turned the hillside into a stairway….clods of grass and dirt made the descent tricky….remembering the median age of this group…..all the crew had to then assist the passengers to the gangway….I had walked ahead to the boat so was able to watch the comedy of bad shoes and too large of backpacks struggle down the hillside.
Drifting on the Mekong....islands of water hyacinths float by …sampans...barges...ferries.....fishing boats....all crisscrossing at the same time.....prosperity already more apparent.....electricity…..paved streets even in the tiny village we visited....bucolic ...peaceful...loved it....the meals have been so wonderful...curries...phos....interesting flavors and textures....fruit very exotic...tiny Vietnamese apples served with a chili salt....wonder if they sell mumus here? .....going to need one soon……pouring rain ….5 am I hear a monk chanting …..we had anchored for the night next to a monastery ….threw on a robe and ran outside to listen…it was quite enchanting…the rain adding to the mystical feeling….saw one of the crew who gave me a quizzical look but probably thought crazy tourist out in the rain….later took sampan to Thot Not village to visit bird sanctuary..... thousands of egrets and herons.... climbed a treetop viewing platform... astounding how many birds we could see....tuktuks zipping along tiny roads surrounded by rice patties and bananas trees....fleeting glimpses of life in the villages and even though we were only minutes away from the Mekong...it seemed far removed from the hectic activity of the river…..river traffic has increased tenfold...gone are the banks full of trees and temples…...very industrial and quite crowded.
On the way back to the ship our sampan’s engine ran afoul of a fishing net...we were drifting away from the ship....dead in the water....a junk came to the rescue ….after much discussion of logistics with the crew of both boats….crews jumping between the 2 vessels…..we finally get a secure attachment to the junk so we could get towed back to the ship.
Spent the night in Can Tho…..vibrant bustling city....beautiful esplanade along the river...very clean but river is full of garbage and debris....nearing Chinese New Year...so the night market was very crowded...motorcycles weave among the pedestrians... sidewalks are for people and vehicles…….you come away feeling that it was a miracle you survived ….noisy crazy scene.
Tuesday morning off early to visit the Cai Rang floating market.... pineapples.....yams.….bananas…..shallots by the boat load...smells occasionally overpowering the noise of motors and haggling by vendors....visited noodle factory...labor intensive does not begin to describe the work involved...cannot imagine what the heat must be like in the hot season…….after lunch made a quick stop by an amazing temple.... beautiful flowers .…..a gong steadily sounding inside a small shrine...SO HOT and humid...can barely admire the view…....visited woman’s water hyacinth weaving cooperative in the village of Tra On.....sampan couldn’t make it under a small bridge so we pulled up to the bank.... hacked some vegetation aside with a machete and up the bank we went...the “elders” amaze me every day....these woman are GAME…. especially when there is shopping as a reward.
FINAL day on the river.....had a perfect day in a variety of watercraft....learning that a sampan can be a small as a 4 person canoe or as large as a covered vehicle that seats 24 ....meandering through groves of banana trees... transferred to smaller sampan and slowly drifted through tunnels of bamboo arching overhead....boat was painted turquoise ...water brown...green bamboo above....I could have stayed in that boat for hours...peaceful...calm……came to a large convergence of channels ...huge container ships passing us with only a few feet to spare......while on the opposite side a barge full of bananas or coconuts was within touching distance ....miracle that so much traffic flowed seamlessly...
Arrive in Saigon ...massive Gantry cranes...huge container ships......city of 12 million......river traffic glided past all night....blue moon blood moon eclipse reflected in the river....woke to a misty morning....impressive towers of apt/condos seemed to float in the air...looked like a futuristic world on another planet...Ben Thanh market a maze of food stalls... baskets...jewelry....anything you could imagine...snippets of French...Dutch...German... wonderful hot pot lunch at local restaurant...say goodbye to Saigon and the group tonite....5 am flight to Seoul....it has been amazing.......head back to the frozen north.
