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Published: August 19th 2008
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So I went back to a nice beautiful beach and was relaxing for a few days without a care in the world...then the bomb dropped. The first really shitty thing happened on my trip. My bike was stolen last night. I parked it in front of a beach restaurant in Shanoukville, there was a lock around the tire and everything, and when I came out around 10:30pm the bike was gone. I talked to the tuk tuk guys and the moto guys but they were useless. It really sucks because I know they saw who took it. They were right near it the whole time. I have been able to bargain the bike rental place down from $1000 to $800 and I am still trying to get them down to $700.
That has not really dampened my spirits at all though. I still had a great time in Sihanoukville. I even wound up getting a ride back to Phnom Penh with a family because they heard what happened and offered to give me a ride back. That was fun there was this really cute little two year old in the car with us and he was just fun to watch
Just Wandering
A cool temple I found wandering on the outskirts of Phnom Penh the whole time. I figure better to have my bike stolen and have to pay for it versus crashing and getting hurt and also having to pay for the bike. You should have seen the motorbike lady's face when I came back with just a helmet and a set of keys. Then when I told her I still need another bike her face dropped. I don't think anyone has come back and paid for a bike that was stolen and immediately rented another one. I figured my transportation needs have not changed and I paid for a week anyways, so I might as well have use of a bike for the last days of my rental period.
I still think Sihanoukville is a nice place. The weather was pretty good the whole time I was there even though everybody told me it would rain all day every day, I just had faith. The water was nice and warm and after coming from the Vietnamese beaches Sihanoukville's seemed really nice. Last time I made the mistake of coming after Thai islands and I was comparing them to that. I spent most of my time talking to the bracelet girls or
PIt Stop
Not a bad hut to take a break from the motorbike trip to Sihanoukville swimming, or just watching the waves come in. The main beach can get a bit annoying with all the people trying to sell you stuff, but I just took my motorbike to a mostly deserted on half the time.
I was a big hit with some of the bracelet girls as it must have been like an early Christmas for them. I purchased about 210 bracelets and necklaces down there and I split it up between 6 different girls. That must have made their week. On one of the days there I even worked up the motivation to take an island boat trip which is always nice in my opinion. I am just happy to be on a boat, especially the little wooden ones where you get sprayed with water constantly and they rock a lot. I was hanging out with a couple of Americans there and one of them got pretty sea sick. I don't he enjoyed himself too much.
The day I left with the Cambodian family we stopped at this really nice waterfall area with little pools for swimming and cool little wooden bridges. There were a lot of Cambodian families having picnics and playing
The Stolen Bike
Before it was stolen obviously. All loaded up for the ride in the water. It was nice. I went for a little hike and then spent some time laying in a hammock next to one of the falls. I can't really complain about a life like that. Nothing ever seems to matter after traveling a bit. Uncomfortablilty goes out the window. Worrying about sanitation and cleanliness gone. No worries about staining or ripping clothes. Basically half the shit we care about at home you just don't give a damn. What matters is the experience and the journey. Every little cut, or bump in the road, or shitty little thing is just what makes traveling such an experience. If it was all easy and nice it would be no fun. You would have no contradictions and contradictions make life more noticeable. The contrast is what really makes you notice how starkingly different things are and then is when you truly begin to appreciate.
As you can see I must have spent too much time alone thinking and reading on the beach, I am becoming a fucking philosopher. Enough of that shit. Hey which way is this bus going? Sounds good to me. See you when I get there.
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Mom
non-member comment
So, people steal all over!
Dear Brett, Finally a story.....sorry about the bike...glad you are okay! You look peaceful and content. It seems that there are not so nice people all over the world. Despite the loss of the bike you looked at it and said it is all about plan "B" isn't it? I am proud that you don't let crap get to you and on you go. Have fun be safe. Love Mom