March 31
Our last day of touring was an eclectic mix of things. We started with an ox cart ride through the countryside, passing through various villages. Since Cathy and I can’t sit cross-legged, and it didn’t seem enough room for 4 in the cart, Sam got us a second cart so we could sit off the end of the cart and the guys could sit cross-legged. What a fun experience!
After that we visited the Cambodia Land Mine Museum. What an interesting stop this was. It was small, but very eye opening and we learned about the process of finding and diffusing landmines. Land mines were a severe problem in Cambodia after the civil war and continue to be an issue in remote areas.
Aki Ra, the man that opened it has been clearing weapons since the war ended. His parents were killed before he was 5 by the Khmer Rouge and he was given his first gun at 10 when he became a soldier for the Khmer Rouge. He used to lay landmines as a soldier, so from childhood to adulthood all he knew was war. He got very good at setting landmines in 1997 until he defected to the Vietnamese army to fight against the Khmer Rouge. He continued to fight against the Khmer Rouge with the Cambodian army when the Vietnamese left in 1079. In 1993 he worked for the United Nations and was trained as a deminer after the UN left. He collected many of these to contribute to his museum.
Next, we visited our last site in the Angkor Wat Archeological Park. Banteay Srei, The Citadel of Women (literally the lady temple) was discovered in the last century. It is built of reddish pink sandstone and has elaborate decorative wall carvings of many minor female deities. It turned out to be a little gem with its intricate and well-preserved carvings.
We stopped for lunch and for the first time on the trip I had a tasteless meal. Boiled chicken on rice. Greg gave me some of his sauce so I could eat it. (I ordered poorly as everyone else’s food was tasty. We ordered banana fritters with ice cream for dessert so that filled me up.
Then our last adventure was a boat ride on Tone Sap Lake which is the biggest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.
It was an interesting drive through the Kampong Phluk Village as it was almost the end of the dry season, and the water was extremely low. The high stilted houses show how high the water level is in the wet season when they get around in boats. In the wet season, they take their outdoor things to higher ground to store them as they only get around by boat. It would be interesting to see it in the wet season as well.
Our tour was in one of the rustic boats. Since the water level was so low it was a big leap to get up onto the boat. Sam and the boat captain went and got a chair so we could get on more easily. They loaded a cooler with cold beverages. (Beer for everyone and Diet Coke for me) They also passed around some snacks.
The captain was having a hard time with the battery on the boat. The first one didn’t work, and he went back and forth from the boat to land to get a different one until the 4th battery was a charm.
We stopped at one of the floating restaurants and there were some freshwater crocodiles that weren’t captive, just making use of the boards so they could get some sun.
We went to Pub Street for the last time and since we had been making fun of Krud beer since we hit Cambodia it was time to try it. After the Krud beer we had dinner at Mesa. Yum! It was seriously good food. The owner presented us appetizers and some drinks “on the house”. After the meal they brought us a dessert “on the house”. Then the servers and the owner came over after the meal to ask how we enjoyed everything.
We walked a little bit and then went to the Gelato Lab one last time. The 80% chocolate with whole hazelnuts was to die for. Greg said his tiramisu was excellent.
We have the morning free tomorrow to pack before flying to Laos.
For larger photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BUUHNuXTWZvGqReY7
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