Meeting the Boat

 

Nothing like hurry up and wait.  The schedule for today was to be ready at reception at 7:15 to be taken a block away to another hotel, which was the meet-up point for the cruise.  So we were up at 5:30, packed and down there by 7:05, only to find out that they weren’t taking us until 7:30.  Then, when we got to the meet-up point, we found that they were not taking us on the bus until around 8:15.  They checked us in, and took our passports; supposedly we get them back when we reach the Vietnamese border.  I’m having separation anxiety.  We then had a bus ride of 4 ½ hours.  I was heartily sick of the Cambodian countryside by then. So; at Kampong Chem we boarded the boat: not exactly a pier, it looked very rickety and I was worried about falling into the drink.  Nevertheless, we made it on board, settled into our rooms, and then went to the welcome orientation, only half of which I understood, between my poor hearing and their strong Cambodian accents.  There was an afternoon excursion offered, but since we were late getting to the boat, you had no time to even get ready, so Barb went, but the rest of us stayed on board.  It’s a pretty boat, very Indo-Chinese looking, and I think it’s going to be OK.  After supper, there was a BBC documentary on Angkor Wat being shown in the Lounge, which I went to see, while John, Barb and RG opted for drinks on the deck.