What a great morning. Our boat was docked next to small village and as we are having breakfast we can see the oxen being harnessed to the cart in readiness for our group to take a ride through the countryside.
The children are at the shore ready to greet us with lotus flowers, drawings and craft items they have made. They are so genuine and friendly. These kids are not begging or asking for anything, just a little bit of our time.
We slide onto the ox cart. Just two people per cart pulled by 2 oxen. It's a great experience and the local people going about their daily life stop for a moment to laugh at us or pass some comment to the driver but they are largely indifferent about our presence.
At the end of the 20 minute ride we pay the driver USD$1 per person and get back onto our waiting bus.
We travel by bus for about 40 minutes to Oudong. Between 1618 and 1866 Oudong was the capital of Cambodia. On the top of the mountain there is a series of stupas ( place where the cremated ashes are stored ) and shrines to the ancestors of the district.
We visit the Oudong Buddhist Monastery. The main building is very ornate with painted friezes around the walls depicting the life of first Buddhist 2059 years ago.
I think I have mentioned before that Buddhism is a way of life, a philosophy more than a religion. We remove our shoes to enter the temple and there are 2 monks sitting on the floor waiting for us. We are asked to sit cross legged facing the monks with palms together in a prayer position. If you can't sit cross legged, you can sit behind someone else with your legs straight but you must not have the soles of your feet showing to the monks, or you can stand. The monks begin to chant and this goes on for 10 minutes or so and then they shower us with jasmine buds to complete the blessing.
The blessing is to bring good things to us.
After this we walk outside through the grounds. It's quite hot again today and as a sign of respect we are not to wear hats while on the temple grounds so we carry umbrellas to protect from the sun.
The monastery is also home to nuns and some children. The normal day for a monk is to wake up early, Chant for 1 hour, then go to the village to get food for their breakfast. Then back at the monastery they have time for meditation or study before they go out again to get food for lunch. The monks are not permitted to eat after 12 noon, drinking is good but no food. They have another hour of chanting in the early evening.
The monks range in ages from very young to very old. Buddhists believe that a boy that can pick up a stone and throw it at a bird is old enough to know about sin so is old enough to become a monk.
They are not necessarily a monk for life. Some boys spend their school years at the monastery as they are educated and taught as they would be in a state school. They see it as a way to repay their parents and grandparents by bringing honour to the family.
If a young man has been educated in the monastery and then comes out when he is 20 then he is considered a very good match for the young girl to marry.
It's just after 11 and as the eating is to be finished by 12 the dining hall is being packed up and cleaned.
We see the monks in single file moving back to their rooms after lunch,
It's been an interesting visit and now it's back to the boat for lunch. This afternoon we are going for a walking tour in Koh Chen Village on our way to Phnom Penh.
By 3.30 we have crossed the river and we disembark for a walk through Koh Chen Village. This village is well known in Cambodia for its artisans in working with metals namely silver and copper and bronze. We went to watch the work being carried out with a brief description of the process and then the opportunity for shopping.
The funny thing was that the peddlers that were at the monastery this morning and the same children were also at the silver shop, trying to sell their stuff before we could get in the shop.
There were plenty of people that assisted the community, sadly I am not one. We continue our walk along the road passing houses where the people are tapping away decorating the bowls and vases that they will eventually sell.
We got to the end of the street and turned the corner and looked at the sky that was black as black. We make the decision to head back to the boat pronto and within 2 minutes of being back on board it pours. It is torrential!
We set the course now for Phnom Penh.
After our dinner tonight we have a visiting group of entertainers come on board to show us some traditional dancing. They are very good and they come from a local community and the money they raise from the sale of their DVD goes towards uniforms and books and pencils for the children to have at school.
We are docked on Phnom Penh overnight so a group of 8 of us head out to the street. One of the guys has spent a bit of time here so we go with him to the FCC (foreign Correspondents Club) for a drink. We go to and from by Tuk Tuk, it's a different experience being back in a big city after the peaceful quiet countryside.
We return to the boat on time at 11pm.