All transfers and portering were included in our fare and after a very comfortable night, we met the Amawaterways team who arranged a very efficient transfer to join Amadara and start our cruise. Our first impressions of Amadara was that it was a beautiful ship, the cabin was spacious and the staff were lovely. Muster was old school, with life jackets on, we had to all get together on deck for a roll call, though it was promptly done. There is a great international mix of passengers on board, lots of Americans, Canadians and Australians, and have so far only met 6 other Brits on board.

A fascinating morning learning about making rice paper, coconut sweets, and rice wine. Interestingly, they have different flavours of wine, including snake, we declined!  Next up, we visited the historic Kiet House, a pre colonial house full of antiques, ceramics and beautiful gardens.

Once seated the fun really starts, weaving through traffic on what can best described as an old fashioned babies pram was exhilarating to say the least, as I was using my Insta camera I was getting constant looks and waves from bars and restaurants and even fellow road users.

On route Carole encouraged her driver to over take me which she found hilarious, me not so much Yes, I am a bad loser!

In all the excitement I’d almost forgotten that we were heading for a traditional Vietnamese silk factory. On arrival we dismounted are trusty stead and once the feeling came back to my legs we walked inside and witnessed how traditional silk is still made in Vietnam. It was both fascinating and pretty noisy and after you could visit the on site shop to make a purchase. Carole chose a silk fan that cost the princely sum of 48000 Dong or around £1.50!

Back on the trishaw and the next stop was a Rattan carpet factory, which was really interesting too. Proper old school and incredibly intricate, with the children helping with the process too. An excellent start to the day!

Today’s early start saw us, after a breakfast of peanut butter and jam on toast, pb & j to our American friends, arriving in the capital city of Cambodia Phnom Penh.

We had another double excursion this morning with the first stop being the stunning Royal Palace. Dating back to 1860’s it’s been the residence since the King relocated from Cambodia’s original capital of Oudong. Packed with century old artefacts charting the royal family right up to the present day, it was packed with tourists as you would expect but fascinating none the less. Some of the buildings are currently undergoing some renovations, but for the most part, this place was stunning.

Back on the bus we headed for Central Market, dating back to the 1930’s and designed by French architect Jean Despois, it’s main feature is a stunning 26 metre high central dome, the stalls in the centre of the market are mainly selling jewellery and watches, all genuine of course!

Sprouting out from there, like octopus tentacles, are the clothes, shoes, and electronics stores. It was a bit like running the gauntlet to pass by without being invited to try on there wears, ^We have very big size mister” was most of the invitations we were welcomed with. The sellers it’s fair to say, have no filter, and tell it how it is! It was an interesting hour or so, and I left as the proud owner of three pairs of shorts and a shirt, all in a very big size, of course!

It is really hot and humid here, and while waiting for the coach, we spotted a 7-Eleven, so we ran over the road to enjoy a few blasts of air con before the coach arrived!

First up was a trip to the former Cambodian capital Oudong, where we visited one of the biggest monasteries in the country and received a mass Buddhist blessing from two monks. The monastery, its grounds, and our buildings where hundreds of male, female, and child monks live really were a sight to behold. We were given an insight into how Buddhism came to be and the key principles. Obviously, it is more complex than this, but teaching true inner happiness, tranquility, and peace, abstaining from committing bad deeds and the cultivation of the good.

Watching the monks line up and file past for their lunch was a thing of beauty and the way they live their simple life was very inspiring.

We then headed into the countryside where we were treated, and I say, treated with my tongue firmly in my cheek to an ox cart ride!

To be fair, it was great fun, in a very uncomfortable way with both legs akimbo. It did make us laugh out loud when they put the thin piece of safety wood across to stop us falling! We are glad we did it, but it was definitely a case of one and done.

Back to the ship and very hungry, we both enjoyed an excellent lunch, starting at the salad bar, which I followed with Chinese 5 spice pork tenderloin with fried sticky rice. Carole went for the healthy option of ice cream and mini wine gums. After a bit of downtime, it was time to head out again this time for a tuk tuk tour around the city, which was so much fun. Dodging in and out of traffic was both exhilarating and a little bit scary!

After another fabulous dinner on board, we were feeling absolutely drained and headed back to our cabin for an early night in readiness for what tomorrow will bring!