The Kampong Chhnang market may look small, but nearly everything you could want – food or otherwise – can be found here. Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n
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Not everything is rural in Kampong Chhnang. Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n
In addition to their Mekong itineraries, the line offers sailings along Russia\u2019s famous Volga aboard AmaKatarina<\/i> and cruise tour combinations that explore the best of South Africa aboard the Zambezi Queen<\/i>.<\/p>\n
They also draw people who may not ordinarily be attracted to either cruising or river cruising. While the demographic of the AmaLotus<\/i> is primarily American on my voyage, there\u2019s a healthy dose of Canadians, Australians, Chinese, and a handful of Japanese tourists who have come to see this striking part of Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n<\/a>
Brewing traditional Cambodian spirits. Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n
Of course, I am a huge supporter of cruising \u2013 obviously. But the truly advantageous nature of a cruise really hit home on my excursion this morning. After all, how else would I have seen this village? Aboard the AmaLotus<\/i>, I only have to unpack once. The atmosphere onboard is friendly, and all the details have been taken care of for guests, including affording them some amazing experiences ashore that, frankly, would be difficult to duplicate otherwise.<\/p>\n<\/a>
The streets of Kampong Chhnang. Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n
This afternoon, I sat in the Saigon Lounge while the numerous villages along the Tonle Sap River slipped silently past us. Motorized skiffs would punctuate the stillness of the air as they zipped around us at all angles, and houses perched impossibly high on stilts to deal with the massive water fluctuations on the Tonle rose in the distance and then fell astern.<\/p>\n
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The inviting Saigon Lounge is the main social hub aboard the AmaLotus. This photo was taken facing the forward, starboard-side of the lounge. Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n
While we glide along at eight or ten knots, a marvel of modern engineering, many of the locals outside still row their skiffs under their own power, just as they have for centuries.<\/p>\n
As this was all going on, I sipped on local Cambodian beer \u2013 included in the cruise fare. When I first planned this trip, I was concerned I wouldn\u2019t be able to try any local specialties due to my allergy to nuts, but thanks to the staff here onboard AmaLotus<\/i>, I have been able to sample numerous local dishes, including traditional Vietnamese pancakes topped with vegetables and Cambodian beef soup.<\/p>\n<\/a>
My relaxing Category A stateroom on Deck 2, seen near sunste. Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n
This is also a great time to mention one of my favorite crewmembers: a gentleman named Tin Tin, who works in the Saigon Lounge. He\u2019s proudly Cambodian, and in addition to serving up a great pint, he also talks to the guests about Cambodia and some of the issues it faces now. I doubt many North Americans could speak as eloquently about their respective countries as he speaks about Cambodia.<\/p>\n
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The Deck 2 central staircase landing aboard AmaLotus. Directly ahead is the ship’s Gift Shop. Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n
But the thing I will remember most about today was the skiff filled with children that came alongside us as we tied up at our anchorage in Kampong Tralach tonight. They were yelling, \u201cHello! How are you?\u201d towards the burning lights of the AmaLotus<\/i>, waving frenetically at every guest that came out to the open decks to wave back.<\/p>\n<\/a>
Our night anchorage at Kampong Tralach, Cambodia. Kids were still out splashing and playing by the ship, even at 10pm. Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n
They say Cambodia is an emerging country, the politically-correct term for a \u201cthird world\u201d locale. We, the western world, believe that they should emulate us. And in some respects, they should. But I think that we, the West, could learn something from the Cambodians about how to treat one another.<\/p>\n
I hope Cambodia manages to outrun their troubled past. But I hope they never change their heart.<\/p>\n
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Photo \u00a9 2013 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Glimpses of Kampong Chhnang and Cambodia Aaron Saunders, Live Voyage Reports This morning, I awoke at 5:30 am aboard AmaWaterways\u2019 AmaLotus, surrounded by the splendour of Tonle Sap Lake. I was up early for two reasons: I wanted to photograph the ship before most of the other guests awoke, and I wanted to try to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":12029,"parent":54,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/377"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/377\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}