Cambodia - Sihanoukville: Dave's Entry.

Hey Guys, hope your all well.

On the morning of the 9th we began to make our way to Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s beach town. After a painstaking 4 hour bus journey (on which the ac broke and left us all roasting) we finally arrived in our beach bungalows. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent chilling out by the seaside, haggling with local kids for items we didn’t want and eating some of the freshest, finest seafood I have tasted. Yesterday evening prior to dinner, most of the group decided we would try out a massage as this was a big recommendation from Steve our tour guide who lives here. It was unbelievably good, so relaxing. The place was called “Relax massage” and it certainly lived up to the name, it was $9 for an hour and everyone came out feeling so mellow and relaxed. It was a small massage parlor and the owner was a very pleasant lady from Bournemouth who was probably the first person encountered whilst away who properly understands where Kent is!

Anyway, this blog entry is really dedicated to today’s events! We paid $15 for a whole day’s island hopping off the coast. We arrived at the beach at 8.30am for a spot of breakfast by the sea, before venturing aboard our vessel for the day at a well rounded 9 am. The first location we went too was a tiny island with great coral surrounding it, so we jumped off and got underway exploring the reef. Saw so many unnecessarily large sea urchins so proceeded to the shore with the utmost caution! It was really cool seeing the local guys and the methods they used to catch their Whelk like food. I managed to spot one so decided I would grab it and give it to them. So after a good half an hours snorkeling it was time to make a move (sunburn free at this point) to the next destination. Koh Ru was absolutely stunning, the image of paradise. After arriving and sparking up an impromptu game of 3 a side, during which my side got dominated, it was time for lunch. Fresh barracuda with salad, right on the beach, with ice cold coke, what a beauty. The real treat laid for us after lunch though as we made the journey through the jungle to the other side of the island, which was outrageously serene. There was a solitary bar on the island, in which I found my spiritual resting place, a Hammock. The bar is there to serve the handful of beach huts in which people can stay overnight on the island. Our group were pretty much the only people there though because peak season hasn’t arrived yet so I spent the afternoon swimming, taking photos (many) and relaxing whilst reading in my hammock. Best moment had to be the whole hour of just lying in the hammock with the cool sea breaze, listening the verve and the chilli’s. Pure relaxation. I was so not ready to leave even when it was eventually time to.

Moving on we went to do a bit more snorkeling, though things turned sour when one of the Lady’s from our group managed to stand on a sea urchin and get 4 needles through the foot. So it was time to head back swiftly, thankfully she wasn’t in any serious danger, just a considerable amount of pain. So as aforementioned, for much of the day I thought my policy of wearing no sun cream in 37degrees was working a treat. Until I realized about 1 hour from finishing the trip that things were starting to sting. So after getting back I doused myself in aloe and now find myself in such a position as to be able to tell all you guys the story.

Heading out for more dinner by the sea. (Last night we sat on the beach, under the stars, drinking a glass of ice cold beer, eating the freshest fish). Life isn’t bad.

Dave

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Sam's Entry:

The cultural aspect of travelling is nice, but the thing my diary seems to be filled with is descriptions of the food I’ve eaten. Since we flew in (even when we were flying – airplane food changed my life) we’ve been assaulted with Thai and Khmer food... red and green curries, pad thai (noodles, fried egg and peanuts), excellent Cambodian seafood (barracuda, mutant prawns, squid...) and even a few colonial French dishes thrown in. Everything me and Dave agree on tends to turn into a bet, with our Asian drinking rules in 24 hour play and a blanket ban on Western food. Not sure whether the free pizza I got given the other night counts, but it was free, so...

My perspective of the last week and a bit will be brief. We flew into a cesspit of street sellers, neon lights and ramshackle bars, which was terribly exciting and garish at the same time. I lost at thumb war to a girl of about 6 who was intent on me buying her flowers, and my previously naive self launched 400 Baht (only 80p I suppose) at her... I quickly learned from this, and my education probably peaked yesterday when a crafty little Vietnamese kid offered my a bracelet ‘for free’, tied it on, then demanded I buy it. I told him to go away, tried to give it back, but the threats continued and he said he’d remember my face forever. Fully expecting to wake up with a horse’s head in my bed tomorrow morning.

It was good to move away from the hustle and bustle (hustle being the operative word) of Bangkok. We met up with our Cambodian group, who are all great and sport a wealth of travelling stories. There’s a definite affinity between most of us (other than the condition of our bowels) – I think a desire for travelling is in some people’s blood, and I really want to keep in touch with our gang if only to see what crazy experiences they have.

Cambodia is amazing. It’s similar to what little we’ve seen on Thailand, but the people are arguably kinder, the country is clearly a step behind everyone else and the history is pretty shocking. I went to the Killing fields and the S21 prison the other day, and I still feel a hole in my heart. I’m not really going to attempt to describe what happened, or what we saw – but I will say that I think everyone should see it, or something like that at least. I thought the Gestapo prison in Berlin was hardcore, but what happened in Cambodia in the 70s is beyond understanding. ¼ of the population were murdered, mostly in death camps and execution fields.

I’d definitely had enough of death for one gap year, so the rest of the day was a lot more light-hearted – I loved the sights in Phnom Penh, like the Palace, and notably the Russian Market where I haggled like a trooper. I wasn’t intending to actually buy anything but driven by a bargain frenzy I managed to pick up a pair of Levi jeans, 4 designer tops, a Cambodian bracelet, a fridge magnet (?!) and a pair of Oakley sunglasses among other things I can’t remember... for about $50. Unbelievable.

The travelling we have to do is a real eye-opener. I was imagining we’d need to give a few hours in the day to bus rides etc. but in reality moving from one place to another is an entire day’s slog, often in pretty rough conditions (we’ve not seen the worst of it yet though, most of our transport is air-conditioned and booked for us at the moment). We have a 13 hour train journey looming in about 5 days, just to get ¼ of the way up Vietnam, to give you a perspective.

I don’t want to moan about things like that because I’m loving every moment. Aside from the frustrations of day-to-day life, this style of living is an upgrade from anything I’ve ever experienced, hands down. Today we went on a boat ride in 35+ degree heat... played football on the beach, had an ice cold water... headed back. So my complaining stops now.

Until next time! Sam