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Hi ya,
ML and I got an early bus to head off to make the most of our time left together. ML is working for a development organization and has to head back to Phnom Penh tomorrow. However, all is well as I am meeting Laura and Lauren on Monday. It took a while but we have finally found a cross over point in Cambodia where we will both be in the same place at the same time. Very excited to see two of my fav people again.
We arrived and got a room at a place called Monkey Republic. Getting rooms in Cambodia is so cheap and I have been spending between two and three pounds a night- bargain, much cheaper than Thailand. I have gotten a real soft spot for Cambodia and just love it here. After setting up the room, it was time to hit the beach (you will notice a theme with my time here). Today was all about a pamper day that included a manicure, eyebrow thread and leg threading. Threading is like waxing but with-shock- thread. It was so interesting to watch. The lady who did it was called Tee. She was lovely and told us lots of things about Cambodia. One thing we had both noticed was that there were a lot of kids working the beach selling bracelet's etc. It's really sad that they aren't in school. Tea was telling us that she won't let her kids work the beach as they should be in school. Kids that do work end up being rude to heir parent because they know they can go off and earn money without them. Also when you get one asking you to buy bracelets, you get 5 and they won't go away. By the end of the day some of them were really rude to us. They start off all nice but if you don't buy from them they get really angry and the language they come out with is awful. Swear words and sexual terms that I just didn't understand why they would say those sorts of things. ML and I did make the rookie mistake of letting them make us friendship bracelets (which means you have to buy), but ML did buy some in the end and then when she wouldn't buy more they threatened her!! Ridiculous!! We were both quite shocked but Tee explained that this was what they were like when they worked. We were on the most popular beach that is lined with bars etc. You just get a sun lounger and chill out, although there are lots of people trying to sell you fruit, bracelets or beggars but after a while we just blocked it all out. The sea was so much clearer than in Thailand and even the busy beach was pretty. Cambodia was starting to feel like how I thought Thailand would be.
That night we headed out as it was a sat and went to the main bar and then onto the beach bar where everyone ended up. They lit a huge sign with the bar's name in it and it looked really good in flames. As we found out our hostel is also a main hot spot for pre-drinks before the night out and there is a great atmosphere there.
The next morning I ate cheesy beans on toast for brekkie. AMAZING!! So happy I could see this was going to be a regular thing while I was here. We then headed back to the beach as ML only had a few hours before she left me. Had a lovely chat with Tee before I had to say bye to ML. I was quite sad to see her go as it has been lovely spending time with her and she is a great travel companion. Luckily though Laura and Lauren would be with me in the morning. However, this meant moving into the dorm for a night-which wasn't bad and quite a nice dorm.
The next morning I woke up at 7am to go and greet the girls in my pjs. It was so lovely to see them and finally be together on our trips. Again a beach day, just relaxing by the sea. There is something different to the sea here, it's not sticky when you get out. Normally after a swim I feel gross and feel like I need a shower but its seems fresher and a lot less salty. Then it was time to head out for cocktails and dinner. We also got to share a room together for our time here and it felt like a big sleepover.
The next day was pretty much the same but that evening we went out for a pub quiz. It was a place called the Australian Outback, so we thoughtfully called ourselves 'The Ashes'. It was a very funny night as we had two lovely ozzie girls on our team and we did pretty well. I learnt a lot- like Did you know Russia has 9 time zones?? Crazy stuff. It was great to have the girls with me, like having a piece of home and so much fun being together.
Originally I was planning on leaving on wed but I just didn't want to leave the girls so I have decided to stay till Friday. I already know I want to bring Darren back here and figured it would leave us stuff to do in the future. The girls were both really happy and had been secretly hoping that I would stay longer. So the next day we decided to change location and went to a beautiful beach further away. It was one hell of a tuk tuk to get there. The road was very bumpy and at points we were all holding on for dear life, in the hopes we didn't fall out!! The sea was so clear and the sand all lovely and white. It was also a lot quieter here and we could just lie in the sun, having a gossip and a giggle. I have spent a lot of time in the sea because I just love it here. That night it was the full moon party, Lauren was poorly but Laura and I checked it out. It was a laugh, very bizarre seeing old mean with young 'women' with them. There was one guy who looked like the scientist of 'Back to the Future'. He was just sat at the bar watching the dance floor- you get a real collections of people out and about. It wasn't as packed as it had been sat but there was still a decent number out.
So you have probably seen a theme to my time here with the girls and today was no exception. We got a boat over to Koh Krong, it was a long boat journey and I think we could have swam quicker than it was going but hey ho we got there in the end. Oh my life- crystal clear water, white powder sand-Beautiful!! The island looked tropical and it was lush. With Thailand I found it all so hit and miss, it was a bit too western for my liking. Cambodia however, it just lovely. There isn't 7/11 every 10 meters like Thai and there is so much more culture and character here. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my time in Thai but Cambodia seems more of what I thought I would be getting there too. If I go back to Thailand, I want to go off the beaten track and see places that are newer and not as well traveled. Any who we had the best time and saw the most incredible sunset on the way back. The colour's in the sky are something else, oranges, reds, pinks just lighting up the whole sky-stunning. When I get my pictures up you will see what I mean.
The next day back to the beach to see Tee for a pedicure you can't really argue with it being two pounds.
As it was our last night together we thought we would go out for a curry. We got told where the best places were and off we went. Haha it was hilarious, soooo seedy. Gross!! Old mean openly getting it on with young girls- just wrong. We felt slightly out of place but had to wait for our tuk tuk to come back and get us. However, the other tuk tuk driver's just wouldn't take no for an answer. They pulled out all the stops like óh your driver told me to get you instead' and all sorts. Got annoying by the end but funny hearing their excuses.
Our last day together and we thought we would try something new and go to the beach. We went to a different one called Soka beach. Our tuk tuk driver dropped us off in the wrong place though and they were trying to charge us for a sunbed. Urmmm hello-backpackers!!! So we decided to walk all the way to the end of the beach and we would sit there but it was dirty so we then walked all the way to the other end of the beach and found the public spot. 'DOH'!!. Again what can I say another beautiful quiet beach, lovely palms and trees lining it with big rocks piles separating the bays. I was a little sad to leave the girls and knew it would be a while yet before I got to the beach again!!! After yet another day on a beautiful beach I packed my bag, hugged the girls and headed off to my night bus. This bus was a proper sleeper bus and I had a little bed on it. This was novelty for me as I have never had one of these on a night bus!!. Also a couple of days ago I met a couple of Lauren's friends from Uni and was heading to Siem Reap with them, so I was not alone yet!!!.
I just LOVE it here. The people are lovely and love tourists yet they don't try and rip you off to much by charging for every little thing.
Meeting Jackie in a few days but first it's time for some serious temple action!!!
Hope all is well with you,
Lots of Love xx
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