Day Eight,

we were up early for breakfast,

for some reason we both woke up hungry,

so off we went,

juices first,

then a fry up,

that's the way to start the day,

after breakfast a fascinating talk by Dr. Jean Michael Filippe was given in the main lounge, the presentation was called '50 years of Cambodian modern history' I did not record his talk on the boat but above there is a 9 minutes video of him talking about Kep, to give you an idea of his talent,

a ferry makes it's way across the river,

as I settle down,

with my Kindle,

Diana had started reading the book we had bought at School 21,

as loaded sand barges made their way past, we were told that the sand is destine for Hong Kong,

the pool looked inviting, but we decided to keep reading, we slowly made our way downstream as lunch time approached, 

for today's meal lamb was the main course,

plus so many other dishes,

almost to many to list,

so I decided not to,

and just take the pictures,

'Cheers!',

some cheese and biscuits for dessert, that will do nicely,

Diana popped outside,

to take some pictures of a bridge we were going under,

we anchored midstream,

as we were now entering Vietnam,

so as with any border crossing formalities have to be made and visas and stamps put in your passport,

I tried again with a panorama, this time the colours were fine, but the dots that go across the picture does tend to spoil it, I thought at first it was a bird, but having the same result in the next two panoramas I think not, another of the ever growing list of problems the camera is having,

we return to our cabin going through the dinning room,

we then started moving,

villages gave way,

to plantations,

when we heard the sound of a speed boat,

the Vietnamese immigration official leaving for the shore,

next a bit of on board fun,

a cooking lesson, 

with the kitchen team,

teaching us how to cook two dishes,

firstly Vietnamese spring rolls,

the banter was excellent,

and there was no mistaking,

the pride in his work,

the list of ingredients was huge, 

but that is what makes the dish so tasty,

almost finished,

as guest are invited for a tasting,

Diana was listening to every word,

on to the next dish, Khmer chicken amok,

and soon,

it was finished,

now the hands on bit,

we were shown how to make the perfect spring roll,

which Diana did perfectly,

Ta-Da!

I had not planned on this, I was expected to make one as well!

but there it was, twice the size it should have been, but at least you  do not have to go back for a second helping!

it was such fun I had another go,

all fried it was time to try them,

and nice they were too,

and in a very nice gesture Diana was presented with a small booklet titled Cooking Vietnamese and Cambodian Cuisine, how thoughtful,

we did not feel it on the boat, but waves were picking up a bit as we watched other boats go by,

and there was a low bank of clouds heading towards us,

I tried another panorama picture, perfect, go figure,

we settled down in the outside covered over lounge,

in the distance rain was falling,

but it made no difference to the sand barges and grabs,

hopefully the rain will not reach us,

but the wind did,

as the houses and floating fish farms started bobbing about,

I am not sure what these tree trunks are for, pulling a boat sideways up for repairs perhaps?

darkness fell, so it must be cocktail time,

and it was,

our menu for this evening,

Diana made her choice,

and I made mine,

wanton soup,

for our main courses, fish for Diana,

chicken for myself,

followed by dessert, after coffee the film for this evening was Good Morning Vietnam, a neat touch, we had a few night caps and with that we were off to bed.