SIHANOUKVILLE, CAMBODIA, Monday, March 10

The most interesting place to see in Cambodia is the city of Angkor Wat which was swallowed up by the Jungle & unknown to the outside world for centuries. It is the best example of Khmer architecture in existence. It's an overland trip that two of our friends took and they will rejoin the ship in Sihanoukville.

The beaches are the main attraction in Sihanoukville. Beautiful white sand beaches on the Gulf of Thailand waters. A lot of weekenders come here from Phnom Penh. Gary & I hired a Tuk Tuk (carriage with 2 bench seats & a canopy). They used to be driven by a fellow on a bicycle, but are now powered by a fellow riding a scooter. He took us around & showed us some of the finer resorts. The locals are very poor and the living conditions are really terrible. After our 2 hour tour ($15.), we decided to stop at one of the resorts, have lunch & go

for a swim on the beach. We went to the Independent Resort Hotel and had the most wonderful lunch of sauteed shrimp with sweet peppers, onions, garlic & rice in their elegant dining room. It was the best lunch we have had off the ship. We then changed into our suits & went down to their private beach. We had the entire beach to ourselves and sat under a thatched umbrella for 2 hours. The water was about 85 & just beautiful. Our driver, Mr. Sok, picked us up afterwords and took us back to town. We bought some wine in a local store and went back to the ship. He was a lovely man who helped to make our day the great experience it was. Cambodia was a great surprise.