Cambodia

I never realized New Orleans was on the way to Cambodia, but it is!


Every so often Crystal organizes a mid day mixer for 30 minutes just before lunch. It gets people in a celebration mood. Drinks all around! We celebrated our half way mark of the World Cruise by visiting the Mardi Gras. The entertainers dress to theme and the band played Dixie music. Everyone gathers around the railings on deck 6 or around the dance floor and bar on 5 to dance. Crystal does this well. It sets a party mood around the ship for the rest of the day.

 




Welcome! Welcome to Sihanoukville, Cambodia!
 


Originally we signed up for a 12 hour tour to see the Killing Fields and learn about the atrocities under Pol Pot's regime in the early 70's. We cancelled this tour because it was too long, 4 hours each way, and lots of walking. Instead we ventured out on a panoramic 4 hour bus tour of the port city. In a country half the size of California, 25% (1-3 million people) were rounded up and perished, many exterminated in an effort to destroy any vestige of modern western civilization. Towns were emptied, religion banned, land confiscated, intellectuals murdered, children forced into labor camps, money forbidden, media silenced, health care terminated. Pol Pot declared "This is the Year Zero". The experiment was stopped in 1978. Sihanoukville was founded in 1968. This happened in my life time ..... What was I doing? I got married and had children while these people, on the other side of the world, were being beaten and exterminated. Gets you thinking. 

It is a now a new, developing city. There is extreme poverty. There is a lot of begging going on. In 2005 oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath Cambodia's waters. Hopefully this could eventually effect Cambodia's economy. Tourism is welcomed but there is nothing to do here but make-do for cruisers. Understandably. My heart goes out to these gentle people.

We had five stops: a typical home, a school, a temple, the crowded market, and a 5 star beach resort. Our guide was Rey. Every sentence began with "Ladies and Gentlemen". It was a long drawn out four hours of make-do. We did not realize until midway through the tour that we have been here, done that already. I have the same impression this time as last time. Getting back to the ship was pure heaven.

Every time we got off the bus we were swarmed by disabled and maimed people and hoards of children begging. Men were pimping children to beg. Once our bus left, children bounded on mopeds and reached our next stop before we did to continue to beg and sell. Every tourist had two children clinging on them. Some actually held on to your arm throughout a stop. We had to watch our pockets. If one person donated, they were suddenly swarmed by other children out of no where. There were a lot of stupid people on our bus. Big hearts I am sure. Naive? Yes. I felt they were promoting and enabling the children in begging. The men smoked and sat while the children worked selling bracelets. Money was brought back to the men. The kids bought a sandwich with their US dollar from another guy selling sandwiches from his moped sandwich stand. Who becomes wealthy and who is used? If the kids are good, they don't go to school. They probably move up to pimp other children. It is heartbreaking. They need jobs. They need money. They need to eat ..... I was thankful my kids
were not living here. I was thankful for our lot in life.

 

 the kitchen bathroom
living room/bedroom for the whole family, grandparents on down.

 The local public school:  

Children selling bracelets. Heading to our next stop......

 The Market:

 Next stop... Thailand!