Hello All,
Our Thai Visas are due to expire so it is time to leave but we will return to explore Southern Thailand in a few weeks time.We need to catch a ferry over to the mainland to catch a mini bus in Trat to the border.We had no idea as to what time mini buses left Trat but our aim was to get to the border and cross it well before nightfall.
We had had a thunderstorm overnight which had resulted in localised flooding in Thailand but our minivan which was virtually spitting ice from the air conditioner ploughed through the water without missing a beat or slowing down and our journey was swift and uneventful.The minivan was packed to the rafters as per usual with people and possessions and we once again were the token foreigners.We didn´t have any idea as to where the border crossing and all the other passengers had disembarked at various other small villages along the way so we just had to rely on the driver to let us know when the journey had come to an end.It is a strange feeling not know where you are going and not being able to speak a shared language with the driver but 99.9 times out of hundred you usually arrive at the correct destination
We had been informed by numerous travellers and several guide books that the Thailand/ Cambodian border crossing was going to be ´interesting´ and potentially costly as corrupt immigration officers had been known to ask for money for numerous reasons from paying for electricity to switch on immigration computer ,photocopying fees (no photocopying required ??)etc etc but we crossed the border with relative ease thanks to the fact that we had applied for and been granted Cambodian visas in Bangkok Once over the Cambodian border the touts the scam masters surfaced . Like hyenas circling their intended victims the taxi drivers slowly but surely encroached on our personal safety and comfort zone until we did the only thing that we could do and that was flee.We escape from the pack that had virtually encircled us and started negotiating with one young driver until we reached an acceptable price for our short journey into Krong Koh Kong .It is supposed a Cambodian frontier town of smugglers,gamblers and prostitutes according to Lonely Planet but either this activity only comes out at night or the Travel writers actually needs to visit the towns and actually do some research before they put pen to paper because it seemed rather laid back to us
Forget Paris,Milan and London Fashion weeks for we have a scoop for you from Cambodia .It seems that the look for 2010 is relaxed and comfortable. No matter what time of the day no matter what type of activity you are engaging in when it comes to the ladies of Cambodia the choice is obvious pyjamas.We saw ladies in the markets in their pyjamas we saw ladies in their street cafe in their pyjamas.We have asked numerous people why the ladies wear pyjamas during the day and no one seems to know.Our driver secured bus tickets for us for the following day to our next stop Sihanoukville and even helped us to find a nice guesthouse so maybe we got lucky.
Very little seems to surprise us these days because as a man boards our bus with an AK47 strapped over his shoulder he barely warrants a second glance from us.
Sihanouk Ville is Cambodia´s most popular beach town but we didn´t find it overly appealing at all .It is a picturesque place with long sandy beaches and clean water and once upon a time it was probably a nice place to relax but now days it is just too touristy.Sure if you like having happy hour drinks every hour of the day and night,like having your nails painted on the beach or having a massage with sand than maybe this is the place for you .It seems that tourists are perceived as a lazy bundle of people in Sihanouk ville incapable of walking more than a few metres because if you walk 100m you will probably encounter at least 20 tuk tuk drivers all wanting to take you somewhere even if it is just around the corner.It becomes a little annoying and tiresome after a while and tends to ruin the tranquillity of being by the beach.
We stayed 30metres away from Serendipity Beach in a guest house which whilst being nice was rather expensive by Cambodian standards but what the hell in South East Asia we are flashpackers.We donned are swimming gear and grabbed our snorkelling equipment and headed off to explore the underwater world. Unfortunately the visibility was only about 2metres so it was rather difficult to see anything until you were virtually directly on top of it and I guess two giant shadows looming overhead has a tendency to scare away small creatures rather quickly.The coral has been extensively damaged to the point where it is virtually non existent off this beach which consequently meant that there wasn´t that much of interest to see.We did however stumble upon an octopus clinging to a rock which quickly went into a defence colour changes as it moved along a coloured rock,brown to green to purple,in an effort to escape from us it obviously thought that we preying upon it and maybe if we had been the diver that we had seen collecting critters than maybe it should have been afraid but we were merely observing it.
We had BIG plans for our time here as we had read on an underground travel site about an island that was all but deserted except for small fishing villages.It was suppose to have no regular transport . no tourist infrastructure and was about be located 40km off the coast of Sihanouk ville so we thought that it sounded prefect. We knew that it would be challenging to not only get there but to find edible food and more importantly drinkable water and we thought that these factors would be enough to deter most people so we had planned to escape to Koh Rong.Upon arrival at Sihanouk Ville we learnt that in the past 12mths the island has started to be developed and now bungalows have been build and transport is easy to arrange.It seems that it is no longer a secret and we are 12mths too late as it has been discovered and its are about to be exploited as numerous developers are planning to build an ´eco´ resorts. I guess the fact that we are not the only people that read can be a problem sometimes!
After our disappointment of discovering that Koh Rong is no longer inhabited only by fishermen and the Sihanouk ville isn´t the diving and snorkelling hot spot of the world we decided that we would have a rest day so basically after another swim we retreated to the air-conditioned room and watched pirated videos for the remainder of the day.I don´t think that Sihanouk ville has been a very good introduction to Cambodia so tomorrow we will head to Kampot the pepper capital of Cambodia
Bye
David and Vanessa
