Sihanoukville

The last leg of Cambodia, and we headed to Sihanoukville, a beach resort. My flight wasn't for two days and I didn't want to stick around Phnom Penh, so the beach it was. Another six hour ride South - the closest to the Equator I'd ever been. I could feel the blisters growing just walking for five minutes. So this is what it's like to be a vampire!

The beach was incredible, though. Pure luxury, and again, not yet a popular tourist destination. There were a lot of women and children constantly trying to sell junk and offer massages. So much so that if you wanted peace and quiet it was quite useful to have one kid sit with you so others would stop harassing. Buying them a coke (and perhaps a bracelet or two) and chatting about their lives and allowing them to practice English was a great way to pass the day. Nick was pretty awesome:


Some girls sat with us for a few hours. They taught me an interesting version of Hangman, I taught them some other games, and Des gave them a geography lesson.

The sea was warm and glorious. I really am a coastal boy. But not big on boats. Hmm...


The room (a shack next to the beach) was pretty decent as well, although we had what I was told was a gecko living in our ceiling. Not that I'd ever seen or heard one, but they make a funny noise just like their name.


The evenings on the beach were magical - as the sun set, the bars moved their tables out to the edge of the sand just in front of the tide and started BBQs. The cool breeze, the star-filled sky and the water rolling up to your toes was breathtaking.


The last night, I walked past a group of young boys swinging around a meat cleaver (used a lot for hacking into coconuts). As much as I'm going to worry about 8 year olds' welfare, the language barrier and the swinging of the cleaver were the bigger deciders. Best to stand back and observe cultures, after all.

The final morning, back to Phnom Penh and a quick ride to the airport. An hour flight to Thailand (after a $25 departure tax) and then a short wait for my flight back to Japan, arriving 6:30am.

Cambodia was nothing like I expected, and far exceeded any expectations I could have had. Highly recommended.