So glad we bailed on that tour. We switched to Highlights of Sihanookville, which was not great, but not as bad as that.

First we visited the Snake House, a jungly resort complete with an impressive collection of vipers, boas, pythons, crocodiles, etc. Now I would not be terriblly keen on staying in a place where you are surrounded by creatures described on signs bearing skull wnd crossbones as "moderately" to "extremelly" venomous, many likely to cause "potential" or "probable" death. However, our guide proudly showed us the facilities, pointing out the bar and retaurant, describing how many rooms there were and the prices. $90 for a VIP room, $26 for a single, $30 for a double.

Then it was on to a temple, then a market visit, then a visit with a local family, a bit of a beach sojourn (which our bus unanimously voted to shorten to 1/2 hour - we all had to sign a paper to attest our unanimous agreement) and finally a 10 minute photo stop at a bridge built by Russians.

While driving from place to place our guide happily pointed out the gas station, twice, along with other wonderful sites to behold. He was very earnest but droned on in a bit of a scripted monotone and perhaps would be better suited to a different occupation. Nevertheless he was extremely happy that we were visiting and delivered us safe and sound to the ship 1/2 earlier than expected.

A few pix to come if I can get them uploaded.