While Paris was here visiting, we went on a bunch of
different weekend trips to places throughout Cambodia. One place I wanted to take her to was Sihanoukville (and yes, I did just have to copy
& past that name in because I can NEVER remember how to spell it!). Sihanoukville is on the southern coast of
Cambodia and is most well-known for its BEACHES. I’d heard it was a tourist hot-spot, but had
no idea to what extent until we got
there. So Pear, Nom, me, and a friend of mine who Nom
works with, Tommie, all headed down to the beach on a big, fun 6 hour bus ride
playing your favorite Cambodian music videos all the way for about four dollars
and fifty cents J
We spent the first day in Sihanoukville itself, where the beachfront is
just SWARMING with tourists, but the weather is perfect (as long as you like
HOT), the ocean is clear & wonderful, and there are rows upon rows of
places to get some food right by the water. We even found a place that had chocolate-dipped fruit on a stick!!! The chocolate mango was unbelievable!
The next day we decided to
put a little bit of distance between us & the many, many, many other
tourists there, and Tommie found a place for us to go to called Korong (or “Monkey
Island” as it’s also commonly referred to) that’s about 2 ½ hours off the coast of
Sihanoukville by boat. It was a longer
trek than we expected to actually GET to Monkey Island. We knew about the 2 ½ hour boat ride, but
didn’t take into account all the time we’d have to sit around waiting for
different trucks to pick us up and deposit us at different stops along the way
to reaching the actual boat. But 5 hours
later we reached what I’m convinced is one of the greatest places on
earth! It’s a small island with only 2
or 3 guesthouses on it so far, so it’s very remote, undeveloped, with very
basic bungalows along the oceanfront.
By the time we arrived it
was late afternoon and we were all starving but wanted to go to the beach
before the sun went down. Paris stopped
off at the guesthouse to grab some food, while Tommie, Noman, and I walked down
a path for about 30 minutes which was a mixture of woods, rocks, and beach at different
points… and we got to a long section of white-sandy beach and we were literally
the ONLY 3 people out there! All you could see around you was beach that was backed
up to a beautiful green forest & huge rocks, and then just beautiful, clear
blue water in front of you with views of other distant islands scattered
around. It’s AMAZING!!! One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever
seen. You feel like you’re almost on a
different planet because it’s so quiet, so peaceful, so relaxing… I just
floated out there in the ocean until almost dark.
After we had been out
there for a little bit, Tommie said she wanted to go find Paris (I was nice enough to make Paris
a trail of arrows in the sand so Paris would be able to find us like Hansel
& Gretel J).
So Noman & I were out there floating around in the ocean (well, I
guess “technically” I was the only one floating because he can’t swim), what
felt like a million miles away from all humanity, and what do you know??? He pulls
out a box with a Khmer ring in it from underneath the water & asks me to
marry him while on one knee in the middle of the ocean! I was just cracking up, asking him, “Where in
the world did that box come from? You just
pulled it out from under the ocean!!”
But eventually I regained composure, said YES, and here we are, coming
up on a wedding in JUNE! So get ready
for the wedding everybody J
I’m looking forward to celebrating with you!
