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Published: July 23rd 2009
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well, this blog is only about one place. and the reason for that is becuase i wanted to put vietnam all in one blog so this was the only way to do it.
on we go.
so we went back from siem reap to number 9 in phnom pehn for 1 night because we had to pick our passports up that had been with the vietnamese embassy getting our visa for vietnam. the next day we caught the bus 6 hours down to the only beach action cambodia has to offer... sihanoukville. this consists of about 2 roads and a loooong beach with multiple beach bars, many of which cater for cambodians who come in their throngs for their weekend and summer holidays.
our room wasnt on the beach but it was right next door... perfect.
i wish i could say that we did some cultural stuff whilst we were there, but quite frankly there isnt anything to do there, which also suited us just fine coz we had done at least 6 days for pure culture and sweltering city heat. so we meandered up and down the beach and sat and drank lots and chilled out.
it was never really sunny (actually that is possibly a lie, we became pretty nocturnal there so there may have been sun but we didnt see it coz we were sleeping!) and there were a few large thunderstorms which was refreshing.
one thing to note or consider when visiting this beach or cambodia, the kids that sell things, highly unuseful things as well, mainly chewing gum and crisps. there are millions of them on the beach, some of them friendly, some of them cheeky but all of them immensely pushy! 'no' is not a word they have in their vocabulary. they have every trick of the trade from telling you that your money pays for their education (which it doesnt, school is free there, and they all go because you dont see them at certain times of the day) to asking where you're from and then reeling off every statistic and fact they know about that country, which is often highly impressive, name a country and they'll tell you the capital, population, prime minister and all sorts of other trivia. sometimes the police will come along and the kids will cut short or run off and hide behind you,
for the obvious reason that they're not supposed to be selling things on the beach. other times the kids will just hang around you, playing with your pack of cards amongst themselves (i donated my pack to one boy instead of giving him money. he insisted on doing the same card trick again and again so i gave him the pack to go and practise some more. he was thrilled but unfortunately when i saw him the next day he said his brother had hidden them and he couldnt find them anymore) or just talking to you and each other. you can have a laugh with them but you'll never properly be friends with them or crack them because the end of the conversation, be it 5mins or 1hr will always come back to hard sales. hmmm. and the rest of them look so bored they're just monkeys repeating the lines their parents have given them not really knowing whats going on.
theres another problem with the abuse of children in cambodia, and its a grim one to say the least. everywhere you go there are massive billboards up warning against sexually abusing the children of cambodia. even in
our hostel there are big rules up about abusing children and underage prostitution. its a big issue for cambodia and although we were lucky enough not to witness anything our selves its a stark wakeup to the reality that the native people have to face everyday.
on a lighter note we spent many a happy day in this small tourist beachside town, drinking buckets (which became coke bottles cut in half), getting free drinks and shots all night in every bar and not paying a penny - bless low season and ladies nights! and generally having fun, making friends, controlling much of the music and being the last ones standing every night! hurrah!
during the days we ate square pizzas and watched movies in a cinema created by an american guy which was tiny rooms equipped with big tvs, every film under the sun, fridges full of beer and water and the facilities for takeaways. perfect... except when we tried to go on july the 4th, independence day and the one day of the year he closed. boo.
so thanks to the dolphin bar, nap time bar, moonshine bar (where happy 'hour' started at 1pm until 11pm!)
and utopia (where if you drink and eat enough there you get free accommodation!) we had a holiday away from travelling (which is NOT a holiday, as i keep telling all of you that would like to think that, its a lifestyle!) and it was muchos fun!
cambodia with all its cultural chillaxing... done!
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