Our first leisurely morning!  Wow!  We had our last lecture by Joyce on “Current Archaeological Research on the Angkorian Empire”.  Our new Cambodian guide, Sekun, gave us a lecture “About Cambodia (Geography & Life along the rivers)”.  We loved his expression throughout the trip – instead of “OMG”, it was “Oh, my Buddha”.

In the afternoon, we walked through two small villages in Angkor Ban to see how the locals lived.  A monk gave us a blessing.  We visited a school, where the kids were taking an English class and they practiced reading for us.  The travel agency brought along a huge box of supplies and books for the children (ages about 8-12).  The area floods during monsoon season, so all the homes are built on stilts.  The area is primarily Buddhist and home has a small shrine outside it.  We stopped at one 80+-year-old woman’s home.  She liked to chew Betel nut, and didn’t mind showing us inside her home (for a gift that the guide brought along).  The homes are pretty bare.  That night, the crew gave us a farewell dance (modern) and got many of the passengers dancing.  This was the last night on the ship.  It’s been a really great river cruise, with a superb staff.

Cheryl