Oct. 17, 2018 Sihanoukville, Cambodia

We docked at 6a.m. about 15 miles out of the city of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. I didn’t have an excursion planned and not sure if i even wanted one bad enough to stand in a long lineup at customer service to pay for one. There were shuttles to take passengers for $15. return trip and so far it’s not clear if i’d have to take a free NCL shuttle to the gate of the dock first and then wait there for the pay shuttle to town. I think the reason i’m hesitating is because i know it’s going to be real hot and humid and i’m wondering if or why  need to go there.

I started out my day by going to the buffet for breakfast where i met up with Sujata. She was in good spirits as her son is set to join her tomorrow at the port in Thailand. I sure hope it happens this time. Sujata told me about how she lost her husband many years ago when she was thirty something. Her husband was the chief of police in the Punjab and he was shot to death by a criminal who had been arrested. The arresting officer had frisked the guy but missed finding that he was in possession of a gun. He took him to the jail to see the chief of police and the guy pulled his gun out and shot her husband in the head and killed him with one bullet.

So i was still unsure if i really wanted to go to Sihanoukville or not so i decided to debark and see what was happening on the pier. The first thing i saw was a sign saying the next bus will be here at 8:30a.m. It was 9:45 at the time. I thought what the heck, there’s a lineup a mile long and no buses in sight and they’re either obviously sloppy with their info signs or maybe there really hadn’t been a bus return in that time? It was a stupid mystery to all.

There was a tent or two with souvenir sales and a few chairs so i sat down thinking i’d probably miss the next bus because it would be full and i’d have to stand in the lineup for the next one and who knows how long that might take. I started talking to another passenger and he said he had been there before on another cruise and that the sellers and beggars were real aggressive and persistent even as you step off the bus they touch you and do things to confuse you. They might come up behind you and place a hat or something on your head and of course right away you want to get it off and see what it is. Maybe that’s the moment when an accomplice has the opportunity to get your purse. My roommate later told me she had a bunch of fresh flowers placed on her head and she was spooked and grabbed it and took it off because who knows what kind of wildlife there might have been in those flowers. I worried about that scenario because i’m not very assertive and i don’t like to be rude so knew it might be a problem especially once they clue in that i'm there alone. Then i talked to some passengers who were already back from their visit to the marketplace and they said it was extremely dirty, full of flies and aggressive mobs of sellers who actually manhandle and confuse you and they work together to herd you like cattle. Working as a team they can make you go the way they want you to go and make you get lost and helpless. I also knew there’d be nowhere to sit and pickpockets would be very talented at what they do. So i sat around some more watching the action on the dock then bought a few postcards and at 11:a.m. I climbed back onboard my beautiful cool, clean, safe ship. It was a shame because i'd seen the brochures that showed Cambodia is a beautiful country but it seems the excursions we were offered weren't going to the nice safe beautiful places.
So i hung out around the ship and went to the buffet twice today. I spent the afternoon organizing this blog entry as i had started it with Day 1, Day 2, etc. and it has clearly been the wrong way as posts were all out of order and some didn’t have the date on them.

Note to self........always start with the actual date......

Finally finished with all that and so i went to the spa to rest and relax and to warm up. It was lovely in the whirlpool and on the heated tiled lounger and then i washed my hair in the awesome big showers in there. Just so you know - Cambodia is a very warm place but the ship is overly air conditioned and i get cold easier and faster than the average bear. I had stupidly put away my “winter clothes” but pulled some out of the suitcase because i need long sleeves and warm flannel etc more than i need or want to wear summer fabrics on the ship.

So i went for dinner and sat with Julie, the lady from Dublin, Ireland and she told me more about MSC cruise line and it’s sounding better and better the more i hear about it. She said it’s super cheap but the ship is awesome and you have a better chance of an upgrade than on any other line. As well, and this is the best part ......they’ll give you credits for all your cruises done on other cruise lines. WOW, that part really excited me as i’ve spread myself around onto 4 different lines so my points are scattered and i’m not in a very high category on any of them. With MSC taking them all that means i’d be in a great category and in the running to get a super good upgrade and save a lot of money doing it!
Later i walked to the fwd and into the casino before i reached into my pocket for my keycard which has to be entered into the slot machines and it wasn’t there so had to turn around and go all the way back to customer service to get a new one cut then back to the casino i go as had no intention of going to the show tonight to watch ballroom dancing. I wasted my money yet again just when it seemed like everyone else was winning i had to leave, bah humbug.
So i retired to my room cuz there was nothing i wanted to do and i was too pooped to walk anymore anyhow.