Stan and I, and about a total of 35 guests, stayed at the Four Seasons in Bangkok before leaving for Cambodia. The hotel is gorgeous, beautiful lobby and great rooms but the service was severely lacking. As we had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to start for Cambodia, the hotel was supposed to provide coffee and tea for us. The server arrived with a two-cup pot of coffee and one of tea for all 35 people. The planning was atrocious. There were also some other incidents of very poor planning.

Cambodia was primitive and wonderful. I would do it again next year if possible. The temples, carvings and people are very impressive. There were many children selling and begging at the temples and I was amazed at how many spoke English. I had a conversation with a ten-year old boy and learned all about his family. When I gave him a plastic bag with a few M&M's in it, he gave me a gift of a bag of dried green peas for snacking!

Although the poverty is great there seemed to be no malnutricion. Both children and adults from the countryside are very small while the town people are of a larger stature. All the people we saw were dressed according to the climate and there were not torn or ragged clothes as seen in many parts of the world. On the water village tour, the children were entertaining us with their dives off the boats into the lake and canal.

Home again and utterly enhausted!

Ardis and Stan

Ardis, thank you for your report! We all are starved at home to hear more adventures from ALL of the WC'ers. Thank you so much for taking the time to report! I love to hear about the children in particular. They all seem to love giving a show for the visitors!

Thanks for checking in, Ardis. Isn't it wonderful that we can find beauty in the things we see as we travel and also the people we meet? That young boy sounded like a true example of beauty. You shared with him and he returned the favor. It doesn't sound like he was looking for a handout, just a friend. He found one in you.

Your trip sounds very interesting Ardis. Thanks for sharing with us and giving us our report for the day.

Ardis - Thanks for the update. It's a fascinating counry, isn't it?

How was the temperature? We went in early June and it was oppressive at mid-day.

Where did you visit in Cambodia?

Cheers, Anne

Ardis, it is good to hear from you!! The dried peas made me smile!

You WC'rs are having some amazing adventures and wonderful stories. I am loving every minute of it. Thank you!

Dave

Thanks for the post--very interesting. (I responded earlier, but I must not have pushed the Add Reply button.) I have just made reservations at a hotel in Siem Reap (near Angkor Wat) after we disembark in Bangkok from our b2b in October.

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Eugene

Where are you staying, Eugene?

The NYT had an article about a month ago about the Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap. In particular, it discussed packages to Angkor Wat. When I discovered that Regent wasn't going to do the special packages they did last year--only a 5-night package that included Phnom Penh, I decided to contact the hotel and booked the 3-night "Connect Experience." I read great reviews about the hotel. The hotel's Web site is Hotel de la Paix .

Looks fabulous! Enjoy your trip. If you like climbing, there's a temple about 65 kms out of Siem Reap proper. It's called Beng Melea. We enjoyed this one, especially as it got us out an hour or so from Siem Reap.

Cheers, Anne

Since I made some negative remarks about the Bangkok hotel, I feel it is only just that I comment on the other hotels we stayed at. At Siem Reap we stayed at the jewel of a Colonial Raffles hotel. It had ceiling fans, a lovely pool and a small but charming reception area. On our second night there we were all scheduled to eat outside with a Cambodian BBQ plus tandori and stirfry foods to be followed by the Aspara Dancers who would present typical Cambodian dances that usually feature the battles between good and evil. The area was set up for about two hundred diners since outside people from other hotels and groups were also expected to come. Well, about fifteen minutes before dinner it began to rain. At a little after seven the light rain began to diminish and we were told that dinner would be delayed by about twenty minutes. Stan and I went out then with others and found the rain was down to sprinkles, the chair cushions had been dried off and dinner was to proceed as expected. As soon as we sat down, rain began again and staff scurried to bring large beach style umbrellas to cover us. We expected the dancers to be cancelled. Instead about less than twenty of us sat in the rain with warm drips coming down our backs and ate delicious food and watched exciting dances with exotic costumes! Were we dumb or not? We loved it.

The weather in Bangkok was stiffling hot and humid. I was asked if Cambodia would be the same or hotter and I replied I thought it would be hotter and was it ever. One day it hit 96 degrees with about 90% humidity. We had two cases of heat prostration. One couple left Bangkok and returned to the ship instead of continuing to Cambodia while in Cambodia a woman on insulin and water pills was sick. She corrected her situation and continued with us. It was vitally important to cover your head and hydrate constantly.

The Raffles Hotel in Phenom Penh was almost a carbon copy of the one in Siem Reap except it was larger, there was no ceiling fan in our rooms but excellent AC, larger lobby and two pools. The food here was also superior.

The temples in Cambodia were stunning. We visited four or five temples. The first was pink sandstone with deep extensive carvings and was small. Angkor Wat was the biggest. Ta Prohm was unrestored and was the site of the filming of Tomb Raiders. The Bayon Temple was huge and beautifully carved.

Our last city was Phnom Penh and I have no desire to visit it again. It is just too new. We visited the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum, all of which are of recent history. We were given the opportunity to visit the prison of the Kymer Rouge but most of us were just too drained from the heat and returned to the hotel. Those who went said it was depressing but felt it is necessary to keep alive the memories of the atrocities that occurred there.

Three days at sea now with a positive time change each night. Last night the crew were given a party and they were so excited about it that their joy overflowed onto us.

Last night, also, was the SSS reception. The Constellation was decorated in black, white and ice and was gorgeous. It was suggested we all dress in black, white and diamonds!

Ardis

Ardis,
In spite of the terrible heat....your trip to Cambodia sounds fascinating! So happy you and Stan could do this, someday maybe we'll do the same. BTW, we had no problems at Four Seasons whatsoever but we didn't have to get up early etc. Sounds like there was no planning for this.

Ardis:

Your trip to Cambodia must have been amazing. We have been to Phenom Penh but still hope to go to Angkor Wat some day.

Thanks for sharing some of the details.

Margo