Sleepy Sihanoukville
After a few days on my own exploring crazy phnom penh, I caught a 6hour bus to the south of Cambodia to this gorgeous spot called Sihanoukville. I had no idea where to get off as no one spoke any English. Luckily I met a lovely German girl, Susan and French guy, Nikolas just as we got off the bus - as none of us had booked anything so we shared a tuk tuk to the beach (which I had no idea where it was and barely knew anything about). We found a hostel, 'The Moonlight Rock' - the name should have told me to steer away, but hey it was so hot and we need somewhere to sleep. I have actually never stayed in a hostel dorm room before so had no idea if this place was good or bad. The others thought it was a bit steep at $5 a night but couldn't be bothered looking elsewhere. And that's when I started to question what on earth I was doing here... The place was all black - walls, cushions, tables, chairs, even people's clothing, and everyone was stoned and slothing around. My new friends both smoked and drank beer all day (neither of which I was remotely interested in) and I just thought what the fuck, I do not fit in here. This is not me, how do I get out of this? (but also didn't want be a wuss and not stick it out)! After a few days, I learned that no one cares if you're different and I just spent less time at the hostel and more time at the beach front, and I
sat at lunch/dinner with the other two and ordered soda water while they drank beer and smoked. And it was just an unspoken understanding that I wouldn't participate and no one judged anyone. So now I'm loving it here and don't want to leave!! I like our little group of 3 coz we're all a bit different but just know we're here for each other for a bit of company. I sleep between the other 2 on a mattress on the floor with a mosquito net around me. There's a small fan that barely does anything but I'm used to it now. I haven't washed my hair in days because I can't be bothered and to be honest, I don't really see the point in showering because I am sweaty and smelly as soon as I get out of shower. But I still like to cast the soap over me in the evenings before dinner for a token wash in the outdoor shower. My feet are filthy and no amount of scrubbing seems to be making any difference! Again though, I don't care!! Our little family of 3 eat most meals together. We don't always talk which is nice and not uncomfortable at all! I find it very hard to understand Nick with his French accent anyway :) Plus he's high most of the time! ... Oh yeah because the place across the road sells joints for $1.50!!!
Things here aren't quite as cheap as I imagined. I'm not sure if it's changed over recent years but as soon as you make everything in US dollars they tend to make everything $1 and then anything extra is 50c on top- it seems cheap but not really when you think about it. ie. coke $1, diet coke $1.50 - which I would pay less for at work in the social fund fridge!! I just walked past a girl selling fruit from the basket on her head and bartered a large bag down from $3 to $1.50. I'm eating that right now as I write!!... Watermelon, pineapple, mango, dragonfruit and banana. The same girl noticed my horrendously hairy underarms and I promised she could find me later and get rid of the hair with threading!!??! I did a 2.5 hour yoga class yesterday which was so delightful - right next to the beach, as the sun set with a cow wandering past and a gorgeous sea breeze. It's all very lazy lazy, cant be bothered, that can wait til tomorrow mentality here and I feel like no one ever leaves!! Or stays way longer than intended - like me! But somehow I managed to organise a boat trip to the surrounding islands. Turned out there was just us 3 plus a 75 yr old Italian man called Aldo. He was lovely and showed me lots of cool stuff in the water as we snorkelled together. I saw so many lovely fishies. I forgot how much I love snorkelling/diving. I think it's because I feel like I'm transported to another world that I forget exists. And I love being amongst all the fish!! It was so peaceful and serene especially when we snorkelled at the end of the day as the sun set! **Happiest moment away so far!! We also went (attempted) fishing whilst snorkelling ... I got so many bait bites but not one bloody fish!! Instead, I got the hook caught on my palm and my foot! ugh luckily the others caught some and we stopped on 'bamboo island' where the boat driver cooked the fresh fish and squid and some veggie skewers on a tiny portable BBQ for lunch. It was quite remote there and the wandering chickens kept us company. I felt like I was really in Cambodia then!! Also I jumped off a 6m cliff - exhilarating!
This morning was an epic fail for me but an adventure nonetheless... So I went for morning jog which I have been doing
around 7/730am to beat the sun. Then packed up all my dirty laundry to walk to the next beach over coz it was 75c/kg there as opposed to 1.50/kg here. I forgot how far away that next beach was and my laundry got very heavy... an hour and a half later I found that nowhere could have it done before I leave tomorrow grrrr so I consoled myself with a cup of coffee and found a motorbike to take me back to my beach!! Today's plan is finish my book (First they killed my father, which I'm loving - about the tragic events in Cambodia during Pol Pot era) Such a tough life here in coastal Cambodia!!
* stupid traveler mistake never to make again *
The morning I left sihanoukville, I left my passport in the hostel (locked behind the desk) I remembered about 20 mins away from the hostel and 10 mins from the bus station... I was determined not to miss the bus and was afraid I would if I went back, so I looked to the heavens and asked Babina and God to ensure that it got back to me safely, before asking the tuk tuk driver to call a friend and get him to pick up my passport and bring it to me. I still can't believe I did that, but low and behold I got the passport within 10 mins, safe and sound!!
On the bus ride from Sihanoukville to siem reap I suddenly seemed to have this new air of traveller confidence about me. I knew when to get off, I knew where I was going, I knew how the system went and I was so chilled out about it all! So much so that when we had our first pit stop I moseyed over the the locals cooking on a BBQ and bought something wrapped up in a banana leaf - which I pretty much deduced and later found out was a local specialty - sweet sticky rice stick with cooked banana. It was yum! I was sitting next to a 26yo girl from Cambodia called Monica who told me a bit about her life and at the next stop when I told her I wanted to buy some pineapple she told me she'd get a better price as a local and she bought it for me - saying it was a gift for a new friend. She also introduced me to sprinkling salt and chili over the pineapple - weird but not bad! :)
Sparkling Siem Reap
First impressions - wider streets than Phnom Penh therefore seems less busy despite the same chaotic traffic with motorbikes tuk tuks and cars fighting for a spot on the road and not obeying any road rules. The city also was noticeably more glamorous and cleaner than PP, probably because its more geared to tourists. The main city centre was remarkably small and super cute. It has a frenchy feel to it - gorgeous little alleys with terracotta tiled walkways, plants hanging from the ceiling, bright colours and restaurants/cafes with small tables and white, red or black tablecloths on the alley edges. - perfect for people-watching! :) I indulged in a $2 foot, leg, neck and shoulder massage for 30 mins on side of the road - amazing!! in fact, so good we came back the next night for a pedicure!
Almost every restaurant had an appetising mix of Khmer and western food, including pizza, pasta, steak, curry, salad etc. I made an effort to try a few of the Khmer culinary delights including the Fish Amok - a curry-like dish served in banana leaf and the Lok Lak - diced/stir fry-like beef with a lemon and pepper sauce, served on a salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and steamed rice. Both were quite nice!! I actually made a seafood amok in a cooking class along with a mango salad, and I must say I'm a pretty good chef (when someone tells me exactly what to do and provides all the ingredients)!!!
Angkor Wat - we spent 3 mornings exploring the temples, including Angkor Wat, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. It's funny because there are actually a number of temples in the area, some of them more interesting and beautiful compared to the Angkor Wat temple itself... But Angkor Wat is very dramatic from far away, especially the iconic three rises with jagged edges. It was quite magnificent watching the sun rise around the monument, despite the hundreds of other tourists around because it was Khmer new year! Other temple highlights for me were Ta Prohm (aka tree temple) and Bayon. Ta Prohm had this amazing aspect to it whereby over the years tree roots have grown in and around the temples between the cracks in the sandstone and wrapped themselves around, looking very alien-like!! Bayon was sort of like a main cylindrical rise surrounded by smaller rises engraved with the face of Buddha on each side. The Buddha faces made me feel very safe and comforted walking through this temple, like they were smiling down on me and filling me with good luck, fortune and protection. Most of the temples are made of sandstone and were constructed in the 9th-12th centuries, usually at the request of the king at the time. There was a royal palace and others, like Angkor Thom were a whole city with smaller temples within. The most remarkable part for me was all the intricate etchings into the walls of the temples, done with such precision and detail. The most common themes were a flowery swirly pattern, a cobra and the image of the 'apsara' - a female dancing spirit found in Hindu and Buddhist religion. We actually saw some apsara dancing one night in a restaurant- the girls can bend their fingers back so far and all the movements are slow and carefully placed with hyperextended toes/feet/hands/fingers.
