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Whoops!
Some boat did not quite make it and nobody bothered to move it, Ha! Shhanoukville. The wild west of Cambodia. With its beautiful beachs and laid back style it attracts people from all over SE Asia. So much in fact that the Russian Mob decided to move in a take over half the town. But you gotta give um credit, their doing a good job. Its a heady mixture of crushing poverty and luxury living. I took the 6 hour bus here from Phnom Penh and expected to stay only 3 nights, and ended up here for the better part of a week. Sure some of that was due to the gut wrenching food poisoning, but you gotta give some credit to this place, it puts a strange and wonderful hold on you.
My usual day went something like this: I would wake up at the crack of 1130 because my non-airconditioned room would start to *really* get hot. In retrospect maybe I should of spent the extra 5 bucks a night but hey, Im here on the cheap. But dang, It got hot in there. Like leave a pile of dough and come back to find bread hot. Rolling out of bed then became a simple task of throwing on my board
Beach Hawker
One of the many beach vedors selling everything from fruits to flutes. shorts and walking across the road right to the beach. This was the main attraction. Not the prettiest beach I'd ever seen, but what it lacked in looks, it made up for in personality. Every 15 ft along the shore, some enterprising Cambodian had set up a beach shack and was serving a mix of fresh bbq'ed seafood and beer. Lunch for me would often consist of grilled king prawns, soaked in butter and garlic. A light crust would form on the outside of the shell, making every part of the prawn a delight. Have these prawns in a restaurant and you've got yourself a great meal; but have them with your toes in the sand, looking out over the ocean that these badboys had been swimming around in this morning. That, that is an experiance. It rises above simply feeding yourself. I mean, can you remember what you had for dinner 3 nights ago? Me neither. But having a meal like that is something that leaves its mark in your memorys. Oh and don't forget that a prawn lunch and ice cold beer only costs you about 4 bucks. Take that McDonalds.
It would not be Cambodia though
Seafood Feast
This meal was the cause of my food poisoning. I think it was that curry crab... without the poor. Almost anywhere you go, any place you eat, the poor and disabled will come begging. Most restaurants don't seem to try and keep them out. Its a really sad situation. In one hand you cannot help but feel sympathy for these people, many of them little kids. But on the other hand you know that giving money to these children will only reenforce the idea that begging, and not school, is the way to go. And with education up to highshcool in Cambodia free, these kids should be in school, not it bars and clubs at 4 AM.
As I mentioned earlier Sihanoukville is a very, uncontrolled city. Guns are pretty blasie and laws are more optional then anything else. There are some pretty funny offshoots of this kind of culture. You can gamble in Cambodia, and Sihanoukville has a few casinos. A handful of people from the hostel wanted to go out and try their luck and I came along. At the first Casino we were greeted by armed guards, metal detectors, and I kid you not: a place called a "weapon consignment." That right, just drop off you AK or Glock, gamble a couple
Tuk Tuks
Every 10ft there is a driver shouting "tuk tuk, tuk tuk" While this can get annoying its it really convienient. of hours, have some drinks, have some fun, and well give it back to ya when your done. I wish I could have snapped a picture but cameras were strictly prohibited.
Okay, that brings us to the food poisoning. It all started with an innocent enough suggestion by one of my fellow travelers to try this seafood restaurant out of town. It sounded like a sweet deal, they served the seafood by the Kilo, and look at that price! So we got a tuk tuk and hunted this place down. This driver took us out into the middle of nowhere. The driver was a nice enough guy who seemed a bit spaced out. It tooks us about 10 mins, when we were out in the middle of the sticks, to realize that this guy was drunk outta his mind. I mean hammered. But credit to him, we found the place. As we hopped out he slurred that he would wait for us and them promptly fell asleep. My first warning that this restaurant should not be trusted is that at 8pm at night it was dead. Just our party of 5 and nobody else. But hell we made it
The Airport Bar
Yes, a bar with a real airplane in the middle of it. I could even go inside! This place would'a made a killing in Daytona. all the way out here, we were not going to turn back now. So we sat down all ordered a dish and braced for the worst. I myself ordered the curry crab, and was not sure to expect. Against all odds the food came out and tasted wonderful, the crab was cook just right and the curry added to the overall flavor. Life was good. We woke our tuk tuk driver and headed back the the hostel for drinks.
Chapter 2: Trouble in Paradise. I woke up the next morning to what I thought was the worst hangover of my life. I could barely sit up, I had the chills, and my stomach was churning like it want payback for last night. I knew I had a few drinks, but this, I hadnt felt this bad after a night out since freshman year. And then that sick feeling, when you mouth start to water uncontrollably and you know whats coming. Rushing over to the toilet I unloaded an ungodly amount of black and green, stuff. God knows what it was. I know its gross but I just want to convey how much it sucked. But it only got worse.
Beach Shack Shrimps
Right on the beach. Right on the Price. Right on the Money! After the third time I puked I knew that this was no ordinary hangover. My temp started to rise, I started to sweat and shiver at the sametime. Then mother nature decided to twist the dagger. The sun was up and in full force, and outside the air temp was in the mid ninetys. My unairconed, unventilated room was cooking me alive. The one fan blowing on me was keeping me from curling up and dying. And then, POP, power outtage! A VERY regular occurance in this town. The fan slowed to a stop and believe me, If you could wish yourself to death I would not be writing this now. For 36 hours, I was miserable. Hot, sweaty, and super sick. I laid in my room, on my sweat soaked bed for a day and a half. The thought of food just made me want to puke again so I ate nothing. Just laided there fading in and out of sleep, having the most crazy, vivid dreams. And then one morning just like that, I sat up and felt better. From kill me now to, "lets grab a beer". Hey don't blame me, I'm travelin!
Over all I
Dara's Shack
A late night, on the beach shantie bar. Fire shows all night. You can try out your hand, if your drunk enough... love the town, it people, but most of all it atmosphere. I have to admit that I was starting to get excited. My birthday was closing in and with it a whole day at the legendary Angkor Wat! Keep tuned in, there more to come!
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