Day 22 - RV La Marguerite - 28th September 2014

RV La Marguerite - Day 22 - 28th September 2014 - Sunday

Awake just after five am, but I lie in the silver light, resting, and listening to the steady breathing of my Beloved, feeling grateful. Gerald has had a good nights sleep and has hardly coughed. His eyes are looking better, the salt water and drops and disprin have helped. He eats a little at breakfast. The sky is dark and the clouds are so low and heavy, he remakes that the earth could just rise an inch or two to meet the rain in one huge black cloud. The heavens open, and it buckets down, but the excursion is leaving at 8.30 am and he wants to go. Donning ponchos and our new and wonderful for travelling Sketchers shoes, modestly clad shoulders and knees, we head down a gangplank into the rain. The crew are standing their soaking wet, and have laid rubber matting down on the more muddy puddles and assist us through, this is potential ankle breaking walking, and I am careful. We climb the first batch of 300 steps to the Buddhist monastery above, in the ancient hilltop pagoda of Wat Hanchey. It dates from the 6-7th century, and there are magnificent views, the best views of the Mekong River from the top, but unfortunately the rain is bucketing down. It is a beautifully situated hill top pagoda overlooking the mighty Mekong, which is truly vast, the longest and must be the widest,river in the world. The hill sits next to a river bend with a huge is,and in the middle of the river.

We see an Angkor period temple at the foot of the hill where we are moored, which is right next to a main highway, a muddy road. It has been restored, and there is a beautiful pond filled with vibrant pink water lilies. We are told that the. Inks have started a museum of old Khmer agricultural and domestic implements which can be viewed in 'a caged hut close to where the main flight of steps opens to the hill top'. Hmmm. This was an important place of worship during the pre Angkor Chenla Empire period, whatever that was, sorry I cannot enlighten you. Whatever it is gorgeous, filled with amazing structures, brightly coloured statues, both Buddhas of men and women, and loads of fruit, larger than me, including a bizarre phallic one of three giant bananas, skewered on a bamboo pole, and Tove explains is 'grill banana'. Now that would be a talking point in our garden. A huge heart shaped gate, decorated with flowers to the head Buddhists house, a dining room, sleeping areas, wide open saturated grounds, pretty gardens, and garbage, garbage, garbage. These Buddhists are also non vegetarian, surprisingly. There are five sort of commandments for the 'ordinary people' says Tove, no killing, no adultery, no intoxication, no lying, no stealing. He fails with the intoxication one as he likes Heineken beer too much he says. Nuns, who do good work and help the monks, can be both men and women, have another three, no entertainment, which means they can play games or watch movies or listen to music but cannot sing, they have breakfast and lunch at 12, and four times a month they must fast at dinner time. And the male only monks have another two, no woman can touch them, and no sex.

The women are selling a pack of exercise books and a box of,pens for $10, Tove says pleas do not buy direct, go through me, as the 'may fight'. Buddhists?? I can buy a pack of books and a box of pens at Coles for less, and would rather give the money to Colleen. Sweet faced children have followed us about in the rain, our group have given them ponchos and sweets and are holding their hands, being led carefully through puddles, big beseeching eyes following them. Tove says they are worried we will fall. I cannot help but feel this is a calculated gesture to gain money at the end of our walk, but people have a big smile, and are clearly enjoying the company of the kids, I just don't know that it's a good thing. I have two bananas which I give to toe little girls, who bow their heads and glass their hands in prayer. They all have had enough crap, judging by the lolly wrappers and drink cans all around.

Gerald and I leave the group who are having fifteen minutes free time, and descend a very steep and slippery set of concrete stairs in the rain, heading back to the ship, where we are assisted on board by our excellent crew, our shoes are removed for cleaning, clean slippers placed on our feet, a iced towel placed in our hands with tongs, and a glass of iced fruit given to us. Oh, the rigours of travel.

I have learned that facing your home or any building to the east ensures enlightenment. I shall have to make a slight adjustment at The River House which is east, south east, maybe partly enlightened?

We see an