The beach beach

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***Rebekah says...*

We were sad to leave Phnom Phen, there was so much more to explore. But we it was time to get a move on.

We departed yesterday morning for Sihanoukeville, named after a former Cambodian King. The four hour bus ride here was an eptionally beautiful tour of the Cambodian countryside as well as gloriously airconditioned!

The small towns and villages dotting the road seemed surprisingly developed, rudimentary though pretty and functional structures. Loads of children runningo and from school, busy markets, and many animals in the fields. I wanted to check Cambodia's development index, something I meant to do before we left. Rachel was making fun of me for being nerdy, sorry that i basically majored in this trip... 😊

We scouted out the best place to stay, ultimately deciding on a small bungalow with a great ocean view. I'm gonna lie, lazing in the hammock on our deck gazing at ocean and sipping fresh pineapple juice for $2.50 each a night isn't exactly what we needed and is terrible...

We spent the rest of the day at the beach swimming in the hillariously warm Gulf of Thailand, lingering in the water to watch the sunset over the mountains across the bay. Amazing.

We dined at a unique little restaurant at the top of the hill which boasted French and Cambodian cuisine. The owners it seemed were quite the pair, he a white French Cambodian, she ethnic Cambodian. They were certainly an illustration of the Colonial feel to this beachy little town. Phnom Phen really didnt have a particularly strong post-colonial air, that I experienced anyway. In looking back the Cabodians have been recovering quite remarkably from their French colonial days, among many other components of its tragic past.

Today will include more beach, as will tomorrow. Unless we get too beached-out in which case tomorrow may include an "educational boatride". We'll see.

In hammocks and realxation,
Rebekah

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