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Published: February 23rd 2008
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OK so I've been here at the beach for a week and have gotten so chilled that I haven't been arsed to write! I've reached the Koh Phanghan (Thailand) of Cambodia - beautiful beaches, party beach bars, cocktails galore... We spent a night in a dirty mosquito infested beach bungalow (that's what happens when you arrive in the dark after a 10 hour bus journey) with a weird vibe that conjured up disturbed images of paedophilia - I'm pleased to say there's a great "Child Safe" scheme in place, which trains up moto and tuk tuk drivers and guest houses in how to help children who are being abused by tourists. Early the next morning we moved to a wonderful clean friendly guest house just a few paces back from the beach, and I think I've settled into my temporary home so much that I've abandoned plans of further travel within Cambodia. I walk out of my room onto the roof terrace, where there are comfy sofas and hammocks and a great view of the sea - great for chilling with my iPod, freshly stocked with new and classic albums courtesy of Boom Boom music - highly illegal mp3 transferring going on, but hey I've supported the independent music labels for years, so I'm not feeling too guilty about cheating the majors out of a few dollars.
It hasn't been all relaxing and partying...I spent a day at a Khmer cookery school learning how to make Lok Lac, fish soup, spring rolls and sticky mango and coconut rice - yum! We made a course and then ate a course, so I didn't eat again until well into the next day. We also visited Ream National Park, and got a boat through the mangrove swamps, then walked for half an hour over a hill to a deserted beach. Unfortunately our guide was very young and inexperienced, so pointed out the obvious "bird", "banana", "buffalo"!
I also did an introduction to diving day, which involved a 2 hour boat ride out to a beautiful island during which time I was given the low down on the weird and wonderful sign language that goes on underwater. We practised various exercises in the shallows off Lazy Beach, and then I went for my first dive to 1 metre. I saw 3 shoals of fish and some beautiful coral. My second dive to 7 metres wasn't so successful - I had problems with my ears on the descent and overequalized the pressure in my air cavities in my head. I signed to the instructor I wanted to go back up to the surface, and mistook his insistence for me to stay where I was for him thinking I'd chill out and carry on with the dive. I started getting water in my mask and lost the seal around my respirator, and then freaked out big style. By the time I'd been led back up to the surface all I was capable of doing was crying! It made me realise how vulnerable you are underwater, and thoughts of "I'm going to drown" were very prevalent. It's so hard to tell which way is up even at 7 metres, and the relief at having sunshine on my face again was supreme. 4 days later I'm still a little deaf, so I think I'll stick to snorkelling for the time being!
My introduction to the party scene here in Sihanoukville was wandering down to the beach on my second night in town to see someone fire juggling and people waiting for a boat to take them to a party round the coast! Of course my raver instincts of being well up for it took over; the journery became one of those epics of rave lore...We were just settling into vodkha and redbull on board the boat when a rice sack that was floating in the sea got caught around the propeller. Efforts were made to cut it loose, but in the end the guys had to change the propeller in the middle of the sea which involved swimming round to the back of the boat armed with a spanner. We were kept entertained with some more fire spinning, luckily the other end of the boat to the engine! There were a few frantic mobile calls (I was amazed we had reception, so at this point relaxed) during which we heard mutterings of plans to get another boat to come out to pick up all 10 passengers. But an hour or so later the boat was fixed, and we cruised round to Freakz bar on Otras Beach to be aurally dazzled with breakbeats and electro! Cocktails were poured down a carved ice channel into mouths, so everyone started getting very much in the party mood. The tuk tuk ride back was somewhat scary - 8 crammed into one tuk tuk and 6 in the other, with the drivers swerving towards each other to chat! But hey, it all worked out ok...!
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paul and midge
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green (with envy!)
Hey Shak. Enjoying reading about your exploits...and are of course green with envy! Doesn't supprise us that your homing instincts are very much intact with you ending up at a phat beach party. Good skills. See you soonish! Love paul and midge