June 3, 2023

We were here in 2015 and I have a detailed post from that visit on the blog. We were eager to see how much had changed. I remember this city as a very dirty one but with lovely people. Here are some pictures from our sail in.

There was a local vendor on the pier. Her children spoke better English than most Americans and they were just delightful. She made cards with designs made from paper. They were beautiful and I bought several of them.

We decided to take the shuttle bus to the local market and the first one was already full, so I went back to our room to get the Hersheys candy to give to the kids. They were so thrilled – they gave me two more cards.

We took the next shuttle bus to the market. Some of the things I noticed on the way were the many unfinished buildings. Since we didn’t have a guide, I don’t know why there were so many but I assume that the pandemic had an impact here. There are also many casinos and it is illegal for the local people to gamble so I guess that is why they looked mostly empty.

The market was a typical one but one difference we saw was that there were many places that provided nail and hair services. It was unusual for me to see people getting their hair washed right among the other vendors. I was able to buy the nail glue that I was hoping to find.

Last time we were here, I noticed how many Lexus RX vehicles were here – and that is still true!

Here are some other shots of the market.

The shuttle went from the market to the beach. We had a huge rainstorm while we were in the market so weren’t interested in going out at the beach. It looked pretty deserted.

Cambodia’s living standards for most of the population are basic in the extreme and none of its beaches would qualify as Asia’s finest. This city was hacked out of the jungle in the late 1950s to create the country’s only deep water port which meant that the trade no longer had to pass through Vietnam’s Mekong Delta – strategically vital to the country. The city was named in honour of the then head of state.

When we returned to the port, we saw this group of children who came to see the ship! One of our friends gave them the chocolates we get on our pillows every night.

We have a sea day on June 4 on our way to our last port in Vietnam, Nha Trang.