Lolo's Travels

Sihanoukville & PP again....

CAMBODIA | Thursday, 12 January 2006 | Views [1159]

   Hi everyone! (welcome, Laurie, SG, and Karen, to my really long letters.....!)
    I haven't written in forever, mainly because I've been blissfully doing NOTHING. Sihanoukville was amazing, and leaving there this morning was really difficult. The british guys who ran the guesthouse we were staying at, the Monkey Republic, are so great, and by the time we were done there, we had such a group of people together.   Its so set up for relaxation...email and laundry next door, the beach 3min down the road (or a 10min ride on the moto, sidesaddle! - if you want the deserted Otres beach...), and great indian food or cheese toasties at the monkey republic.
    Yesterday was my last Cambodian beach day, and I spent it lazing on the sand, watching wee sand crabs skitter about, and spashing in the waves. The woman that runs the little beachfront restaurant where we've been LIVING is so wonderful, always bringing out fresh coconuts to drink, lemonade, and mango and pineapple salads. The sky was blue, not a cloud in sight, the sea was like a bath, and the sun was perfect..not too hot, definately not cold.
Why would you want to leave??
    Well, my visa runs out on Sunday, for one. For two, I'm getting pretty excited about Viet Nam....and the fact that after Saigon, our first stop is another beach! An island right below Cambodia, almost off the coast where Sihanoukville is located. So, should be more of the same...but Vietnamese?? We'll see.
I'm in Phnom Penh again now....getting off the bus and stepping into the fray yet again was a bit of a shock. After tearful goodbyes at the Monkey Republic, and a sleepy bus ride (helped along by gravol, and the fact that we partied the night away at the beachfront casino last night....) - the forcefull PP tuk tuk drivers were a bit overwhelming.
    You literally CANNOT step off the bus for the masses of men pressed up to the door...waving guesthouse brochures and laminated signs, all yelling "miss miss! you need tuk tuk! you need moto? i take you cheap cheap" . When you finally get off the bus, they all try and take your bag and lead you away. Waking up to THAT will never be pleasant.   Although, one guy caught our attention by asking if we wanted a medium double double, tim hortons coffee. Who is TELLING these guys this stuff? It was funny anyways, and thats who we ended up taking....$1 to the lakeside backpacker ghetto of Boeng Kak.
    Being in the tuk tuk, careening through the semi-organized chaos that is PP traffic....a blend of tuktuks, rickshaws, thousands of motos, toyota camrys, buses and bikes.....as well as masses of people on foot...is like being in a different world. Vehicles turn with seemingly no warning in front of you, motos zip past (carrying entire families, goods for or from the market, women balancing delicately sidesaddle through the traffic), and all you can do is stare wide eyed.
Our driver warned us to hang onto our smaller bags...as men on motos have been known to 'purse snatch' out of tourist tuk tuks. A little girl ran behind and jumped on last time i was in PP, and only jumped off when I gave her a handfull of Pringles. Odd.
    Our guesthouse, at $5/night for a fan room, is decent enough. All the places along the lake have huge patios built over the water, with hammocks and fairy lights and spectacular sunsets...great place to kill a couple days if you need to. Ours has a pool table and a great menu too... I have the definate feeling I'll be back in Cambodia again, though...so I'm content with leaving so quickly this time. (David, you still coming out here??-Im telling you, you will LOVE angkor wat.....)    So....I"m thinking..if PP is a shock to the system, Saigon may well kill me!   Its meant to be incredibly overwhelming and chaotic, with the added bonus of having intensely forward and persistant touts, vendors, and scam artists lurking about. Good times, I literally can't wait! Hannah and I (Hannah, for those of you who may not know, is from Vancouver, lives literally a block from my old apartment, LOVES nevermind and hk caesars, and I didn't have a clue who she was until I met her in Pai. How small world is
THAT story???) have booked bus tickets for 7:30am tomorrow, straight from PP to Saigon. I'm excited for another stamp in my passport, and (ok, I can't lie....) for the SHOPPING.
    Vietnam is meant to be heaven for those who like to shop....ahem.....and I'm dying to have some shoes and boots, clothes, linens, etc made. Look out for a few big packages coming home, family dearest!! Friends who have just returned from Vietnam have told me that you simply pick the shape/style of shoe, fabric and trim, and you have custom made shoes in 24h, between $6-8 usd.   Should come in handy as I'll need warm clothes for Beijing in February (its -1 right now!!) and my pack is currently full of flip flops and skirts.   I'll just have a cold weather wardrobe MADE!!!!!

We just finished a great meal...mixed greens with red wine vinaigrette, smoky eggplant dip with french bread, and crepes with curried veg....$11, with two green apple and lime slushies. I have a feeling Australia, and its first world prices, will be a real wakeup call. But, thats months away, and I've enough to worry about with 'Nam so close now!
I'll talk to all of you soon, please don't forget to write and send me pix etc.!! I miss you all and I'm dying to hear about whats happening back home, too. Linda and Dave, the pix of Dakota are so cute! You will have to send me more as she gets bigger!
xoxoxox, lots of love Laura/LOLO

Tags: Beaches & sunshine