Day 19 - Monday 18th September

Our first excursion this morning was scheduled for about 9am and so there was no need to get up early. We had breakfast at about 7:30am. On Suzy's recommendation, I had the waffle with strawberry topping this morning.

There was another cruise ship parked next to us.

Numbers were down for our morning excursion this morning because quite a few people were sick overnight. Various people told us stories about how their husband, wife or friend had been sick during the night and were still unwell.

The plan was to walk up the nearby hill to visit the Wat Hanchey pagoda where they train novice monks. There was a gangplank to shore from the library at the front of the ship. Staff controlled the number of people using the gangplank at one time because there must be a weight limit.

Next we walked along the road. Because it was only a narrow road, we needed to be careful to avoid the cars, motor bikes and other vehicles travelling along the road.

Then we headed up a set of stairs and a path leading up the hill. Lovy, our guide, was very careful to take the journey slowly - conscious that there were over 300 steps to get to the top and we were not as young as we used to be. Some people had taken the option to catch the mini-van instead of walking.

The pathway was damp and there was moss along most of the way. Lovy would frequently say "Careful, slippery here". He also warned us to watch out for "landmines" (droppings) along the way. He would stop regularly to talk about the trees and vegetation we were passing - including pointing out male and female trees.

The area at the top is flat and has dozens of small buildings, statues and shrines. One of the first events was to stop under a structure overlooking the Mekong River where he introduced us to one of the novice monks who was only 12 years old. Mind you, he looked even younger because he was only small.

Lovy asked him questions such as how often do you see your mother - only once per year. The boy seemed very confident and mature for his years. After the talk, there was an opportunity for us to have our photos taken with him.

It was a special occasion that day and there was a large crowd of local people there. In particular, there was a queue about 300m long to greet the monks. Dozens of monks in their golden robes walked along the long queue of people as the congregation donated gifts of rice and money to the monks.

Our guide showed us through other buildings including one where the monks were sharing a meal with the congregation. To go inside, we would have had to take off our hats and shoes and so we just observed and took photos from the perimeter.

In many parts of the pagoda, there was a festival atmosphere with food stalls and other attractions. There were statues of Buddha everywhere. On the edge of the area, there were panoramic views of the Mekong River below.

After the guided tour, we had some free time to look around before heading back down the hill to the boat. This time we used a concrete stairway that led directly down the hill. It was well maintained and not slippery. At the bottom of the hill, it was only 300m back to the ship.

We were hot and sweaty as usual when we got back to the ship even though the temperature was only about 31C. It's always good to get back into the air conditioning.

I took the opportunity before lunch to put on another load of washing because today would be the last day on the cruise. Soon after we were all on board, the ship set sail again for the 25km trip to Kam Cham.

It was another excellent buffet lunch with fish, roast chicken and Merlot wine from Bordeaux. The chocolate brownies were very popular for dessert. Maybe it was an optical illusion or perhaps too much wine, but some parts of the river were starting to look blue rather than the muddy brown colour we'd been used to until now.

Originally all five of us had booked to go on the optional tour this afternoon that was referred to as local folklore and involved a visit to two nearby temple complexes. Suzy, Yolanda and Maria decided that they'd seen enough templates and went on the eco-tour instead.

Our tour left by bus at 3pm. Our guide told us that 39 people had originally said they would be coming but only 19 turned up. Maybe some people are still sick.

The bus took us through the local village and some rural areas before stopping outside the first temple area, Phnom Pros (Man Hill). The main temple was at the top of the hill and then we went down the stairs to a lower area where there were more buildings, gardens and statues. There were plenty of statues of Buddha in various poses - including lying down.

One of the most fascinating parts of the visit was seeing the wild monkeys roaming through the grounds. We'd been warned by our guide that the monkeys can be quite aggressive and often steal things from visitors. I took photos of them but kept my distance. At one stage, one of them snarled and ran towards a small boy who got too close.

We also saw a few pigs in the grounds.

The most confronting sight was the display of skulls in one of the small buildings. Just inside the doorway there was an old man sitting on the ground. He might have been guarding the exhibit. Next to him was a large circular dish about 2m in diameter and 1m deep. It was full to the brim with human skulls. A gruesome sight.

I asked one of our guides about what I'd just seen. He explained that Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge had murdered about half the population of Cambodia. There'd been 380 killing fields and this had been one of them.

The bus then took us to another religious area, Wat Nokor. It had large grounds with temples, shrines, statues and other buildings in various states of decay or refurbishment. Inside the main building, they have restored the architecture to produce a beautiful temple that is currently in use. In other words, it's a modern pagoda inside an ancient temple.

There was an early start to the evening activities with a display of singing and dancing from a local group of school children. They were very good. We sat there in the open air on the top deck enjoying the entertainment and watching the sun set. Staff were busy supplying people with drinks from the bar.

At the end of the performance, they invited members of the audience to come forward to dance with the children. The kids were only too happy to have their photos taken.

In the distance, there was a modern concrete bridge. As the sun set, it was illuminated by a ribbon of blue light along its full length. Our guide told us it was built with funds from the Japanese government.

Dinner was served as usual at 7pm. It was a special meal because it was the farewell dinner. Len had organised a table for a dozen of us who had become friends on the cruise.

Towards the end of the dinner, Joyce, our cruise manager, introduced the staff to us - one group at a time. It was our opportunity to clap and thank them for the great service they had provided on this cruise.