Thursday & Friday

Forgotten to mention in previous blogs saying hi in Laos, 'sabadee' and thank you sounded like 'Kopjai'
- Which we used both often!

Thursday we checked out of Eighty8 and got a tuk tuk to the bus station where our bus was to set off at 8am and was supposed to be a 3-4 hour trip. Within 5 minutes of being on there they had a TV on the front of the bus which was blasting romantic ballads of Cambodian music, which if you want you could sing along to as it had the words along the bottom karaoke-style. Not something you'd think is a thing at 8am on a Thursday. Anyway, after about an hour I couldn't stand any longer of listening to what sounded like the same song over and over again, so I put my own earphones in and zoned out thinking about the life I've been blessed with.

It wasn't until about 2'oclock when we arrived. We hopped into a tuk tuk and after being initially concerned we were being driven to the middle of nowhere, we pulled into our new guesthouse called 'Bohemiaz'. On arrival, the lady Michelle who owned the place was spending her last few hours with her sisters family who she rarely sees and there was an emotional goodbye. Michelle is originally from Kent and set up out here by buying the land with her dad after being bored of her life back in the U.K. It was a lovely place which was really peaceful. There were little huts you could stay in, but Lauren and I were staying in a cheaper room which was about a 500 metre walk away. This was a bit scarey in the dark at night but we found singing follow the yellow brick road helped!

Shortly after we arrived a heavy storm came over so we were isolated to the bar area with wifi not working and just read our books and waited for it to pass. I found this really relaxing with the nature that surrounded us. We didn't do much that evening, I was delighted to see they had affordable cider as it's normally expensive out here, and I had sausages and mash for dinner with a nice thick onion gravy, some good home food.

Michelle had a couple of dogs and there were lots of cats, two kittens called Pickle and Pumpkin who were mischievously cute! They would jump up on your lap and want lots of fuss. This terrified Lauren that there were more cats here than the last place and she was very jittery during our time there.

We got an early night and rose early the next day in hope to see some sunshine. It was sunny with some clouds, we lounged around and enjoyed the tranquility of the place. The people who stayed here were all very friendly and it was the sort of place you felt really comfortable and at home in. The only downside for us was that the room was hot, we had a fan but no aircon as it was an Eco-friendly place where even the swimming pool was natural. There were dragonflies everywhere and fish would swim past you in the pool. Hammocks were comfy to lounge in and on our walk to our room the local children and adults who went past would smile and wave at you,
I've never felt a place so friendly in my nearly 6 weeks of travelling. Michelle told us about how she always gets invited to weddings as its an honour to have western people at their weddings even if she doesn't know them shel get invited. She even received and invite off someone while we were there, it sounded like she goes to about 3 a month! Michelle also said its correct to refer to the people here pronounced as 'Kamai' people, all the signs around said Khmer so I don't know if it's the same but I've been referring to them as Cambodian as i haven't been familiar with it.

Michelle had invited us out that evening as she had 2 friends she knew from uni visiting (Leanne and Kate) so we got ready and joined them in the bar for a drink. Michelle took us all to a local restaurant
called Koi Koi where she explained westerners aren't normally welcome as its a place families save up to go to on special occasions and there are live singers which also allow people to do traditional Cambodian karaoke. The people there knew Michelle and it was nice to have the owner come over and welcome us. Ri who works for Michelle behind the bar also joined us with her two friends Detoo and Julia. We ordered lots of separate dishes and all dug in.

After dinner we went onto a bar where there was live music called, 'Banyon tree'. We ordered jugs of rum and coke and danced late into the night. They even had Michael jacksons thriller on at one point which we were doing all the moves to. We then all got a tuk tuk back together and safely fell into bed.

xxx