Brighton Leech Patrol

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Well I have guite alot to catch up on. We have been all over the shop and back again. I shall go in chronological order but Im sure some straying shall be done here and there.
So Sihanoukville. It took no time at all to get there as we decided to carry on in the style of opulence and splash out the 5$s on a private taxi. Still, it was long enough for the batteries on my new iPod to run out, which I had to buy as my mp3 got robbed (as did my mobile phone, winner). Id like to take a moment to comment on how god awful ipods are and what a ridiculous waste of money they are. incredibly low battery life, almost impossible to put music on and take it off (i need 2 different programs) and quite spendy. At least I have music again but the cost has never been higher. rage.
Anyway we rocked up to the beach and got settled, even found the old bar we hung out in last time we were here, the Dolphin Shack. Its built on the beach although there is no longer a beach. A cyclone came through and took away the beach. Its now about 5 feet of sand. Quite pitiful and seriously bad for business. We were sat sipping our white russians ( awesome) when after about 10 minutes some of the staff came over and started chatting. It quickly became a job offer as they desperately wanted some westerners to flyer and bring other westerners in, as business was not good. We werent so up for it but the offer of free food and booze sounded too sweet after our massive spending spree in Kampot. Little did we know that once a barang as hooked they quickly assume all responsibility. What was meant to be flyering very quickly turned into me running the bar, almost by my self. Some days of nagging were needed to make other people get behind the bar but the Khmer staff basically left once I got behind the bar. They said they really wanted our help but their method of 'running' the 'business' was awful frankly and they really weren't receptive to my genuinely good advice. I fear for their future as their competitors are run by westerners ( which means run well) and have mopped up all the lost business as they arent on the non-beach. The Dolphin is a family run place and the people were very sweet but they are very set in their ways and didnt seem to want to accept that the town had changed alot. Oh well. It was fun and made our time very cheap. They even threw a party for adams birthday which was rad.
Aside from swim, eat, work, swim, eat, work we also went on a little boat trip to some of the nearby islands for some snorkeling and swimming and bbq action. We saw some freaky urchins and fished a bit and generally had a laugh.Good times.
After about a week it all got a bit too much and there is certainly a dark side to Sihanoukville, it has all the vice of Phnom Penh but condensed into a much smaller area, which can at times be hard to ignore. A hell of alot of people come to Asia and Cambodia for shit reasons, sex tourists are everywhere and nothing is as infuriating than being surrounded by very young girls wearing very little and the fat, old white men who buy them. I shant go into more detail but violence was at the front of my mind alot of the time I was there. But I digress, it was mostly all lovely and friendly and we had a great time.
As I said after a week our time was up and some relaxing jungle time was required. Quite how we ever imagined jungle time could be relaxing is beyond me, it probably had something to do with the free alcohol situation. We left Sihanoukville super early for Koh Kong town, further north and neatly situated. Its on the border with Thailand, next to Koh Kong island and also next to the Cardomom Mountains. Maybe ive siad it before but border towns are the worst thing ever.
Ever.
They are always dirty and mean and crap and full of the worst people ever. The second we arrived in Koh Kong i wanted to leave. Luckily we spend very little time there. The next day we took a trip to the mangrove forest and Koh Kong island. Whilst both were very beautiful the whole day was basically Cambodia in a nut shell. The mangrove is like grade-a listed super awesome protected area, very vital for maintaining the coastline, dissipating wave energy and full of untold species . Given that this is Cambodia the governor of the province decided to build TWO houses in it. Re. Tard. Ed.
huff.
After walking through it and marvelling at how nice and pretty is was we got on the boat to Koh Kong. The trip was slow and beautiful. We met some fishermen in what was basically a canoe out at sea and bought a massive bucket of squid for a dollar and a beer, later we met another fishing boat (slightly bigger this time) and got some fish at the same rate. This was so fresh it was still moving. yummyyy. Something ive learned from my privileged travels is that buying seafood from a guy in a small boat at sea is extremely cheap and always the best you can get. Note this.
A sight which once again blighted our eyes was the gaggle of sand trawlers digging up the ocean floor around Koh Kong (but not on it as its 'protected', Cambodia style). These were basically huge steel containers dragged by tug boats with massive machines on various beaches and sand bars digging everything up. All the sand was to be sent on a week long journey to Singapore by various Asian companies. None Cambodian. The effect this would have on the wildlife was obvious but our captain told me that in the past year (the time they have been trawling) the average catch has gone down to one tenth of what it was. There is no sign of them going soon. Good news though! Oil was been found! Loads of it! So anything not destroyed by sand trawlers will be ravaged by international oil nazis in the next year. This will be the end not only of fishing but of tourism too. Who wants to sit on a tropical beach when the view is of oil platforms and brown water? In reality this will have a terrible effect on the local people as the fishing will dry up (faster than it already is) and they will, as people do, leave for the city to find work. There is no work in Phnom Penh really, alot of tuk tuk drivers doing nothing, prostitutes and drug dealers. This influx of even more, ever poorer people into the capitol cant possibly be good and i dread to think of how the government will chose to handle it. As it is now their policy for poor city dwellers is to bulldoze their homes and send them to live in camps with no clean water or food so they can build yet another freaking hotel. Soon there will be more hotels than people. Idiots.
The depth of the political corruption here is staggering and i could write reams on the messed up shit im finding out but this is not really the time or place for all that, ill save it for another time.
Anyway we eventually made it past big business and onto the island, it was like being in Lost, the jungle was so dense so quick you could literally only stay on the beach. Plus the soldiers with massive guns might mistake me for a poacher or something. The bbq we had on that beach had to be one of the meals ever. Not only was it varied and delicious but simple, fresh and educational! I learned that the inner tube of a squid, where it shoots water from, is basically platic. Seing plastic in nature is odd, shes always one step ahead. Plus the ink they squirt at you is totally edible and kinda tasty.
yummm.
After this relaxing trip we went into the Cardomom mountains, well part of it. Its divided into 3 parts as its huge and its the 2nd biggest virgin woodland in all Asia. Its so big and awesome it holds at least 16 distinct ecosystems and is part of the Cardomom Conservation Corridor, which means its protected against logging and poaching. How much that actually means is debatable. The only reason its in as good a condition as it is is because several decades of war and its comparative inaccessibility have meant that it was more or less left alone. That last bit is basically lifted from lonely planet though so dont trust it too much. We met our guides, 5 dudes who lived in the Cardomoms at like 8 in the morning and sat on the back of a moto as they throttled it over crappy dirt roads for a couple hours. I say roads, I mean dirt and gravel tracks with alternating trenches and mounds, kinda like dirt jumps for a bmx. Once we reached a seemingly random point along the road we turned into the woods and drove a bit through them and hid the motos ina bush somewhere as it became impossible even for these infinitely useful machines to pass. What followed was a 2 hour trek through the woods and a battle with leeches which turned personal quickly.
I dont know what it is about leeches, they dont hurt or itch when they bite and you dont even know they are there until either you see them or they get so fat the blood dribbles out and you feel a strange wetness. Still, I hate them. They piss me off no end. No matter how good your defenses they will get through. They start out so small as to be almost invisible, impossibly thin strands of slime with teeth at either end (i think) , which means they can easily wiggle under your shoelace and into your shoe where they feed at leasure until you have wet socks. Despite the constant checking and murdering of these vile creatures a good number made it through and gobbled up my inner goodness like the greedy little filthbeasts they are. To be fair adam was like a giant hamburger to them but i found one on my boob which is just not on!
After this trek we made it to the bank of a river, surrounded my densely wooded mountains. It was absolutely gorgeous and splashing about in the river after a such a sweaty,dirty day was most refreshing. We (the guides) set up camp there and we went on a little nature walk which was pleasant. That night we slept in hammocks but not before marching through the woods at night when it was pitch black looking for animals who didnt want to be found and getting done in by leeches who couldnt believe their luck. The next day we feasted on the fish the guides had caught and set out to our next spot, which meant another 2 hour trek, some more driving and a possible illegal lunch, with another hours hiking/trekking thrown in for good measure. This was quite acceptable as we were camping in the riverbank inbetween 2 waterfalls. Much swimming hilarity was had all day and even better food washed down with rice whiskey and some drunken khmer/english lessons. Camp was 2 posts and some tarpaulin with no hammocks so we slept on the rocks by the water. It was one of the most beautiful nights of my life and the FULL moon was so bright i couldnt believe it. Not like "wow the moon is bright tonight" but like "wow thats a bright light shinning in my face". The soft murmering of the water a few feet away, the roar of the waterfall in the background and the raw beauty of the woods were enough to distract me from the total discomfort of laying on rocks and the thought of the snake we saw just before bed returning. I would say that i fell asleep at around 6 in the morning and was awoken at 630. not really sleep but at least i had something good to look at the whole time.
All in all a good couple of weeks. Pretty intense at times but then Cambodia always is. Were just chilling in Phnom Penh for a few days before heading up north for some more Nature party. This time im wearing bin bags to guard against the wildlife. Im sure ill have something exciting to relay in a couple weeks.
Be well.

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Photos

An island
they pretty much all look like this.

squidiot
thats real squid ink there. Yummy.

Forest graffiti
Good to know purile humour exists in even the most remote of places

Grenade fishing
Khmer proverb: dont blow up the boat your sitting in

Comments

[mum]

fantastic adventures
Hi Pat it is great to hear from you and read about all your travels and adventures. It sounds like you are getting a huge amount in and getting to see the country more in depth. Some amazing sights and stories. Really sorry to hear about your iPod and mobile phone very annoying for you. You sound very excited and interested in your journeys and the people you meet. It is good soul food. Glad to hear that you are eating well. Tasha is away in France on business this week was very excited to go I think she is coming back today. Weather here in the UK continues to be pretty bad there is hardly any let up in the rain. The house is moving forward I am painting skirting boards at the moment which is quite a big job. Love to hear your news. Take care lots of love mum