Beach and Beer in Cambodia

(We forgot to publish this some time ago so are doing it now whilst in Sydney...1st Jan 06 - happy new year by the way!)

Four hours after leaving Phnom Penh we arrived in Sihanoukville just in time for Steve to reach a toilet before losing control of his bowels. So while Steve sprinted to a nearby bar to find a loo, Si, Han and Suz collected the bags whilst trying to avade the many motorbike drivers wanting to drive us off to a resort without Steve.

We had been told that sometimes hotels or coach companies sell your names to drivers/hotels so when you arrive somewhere there is someone with a your name on a sign wanting to take you to their guesthouse. this hadn't happened before Sihanoukville, where some poor man stood there holding a sign for 'Mr Steven and Mr Simon'! Obviously we didn't acknowledge that it was us, but half an hour later whilst sitting in a bar waiting for Steve, the guy found us only to be told we didn't want to go with him! We eventually got on four motorbikes to 'Bungalow Village' near a quiet part of the beach, equipt with bar/restaurant, pool table and dart board of course. We headed for the beach for a swim- the water was clear and warm which was nice, though whilst Steve was digging his foot around in the sand beneath the sea bed, a crab pinched his toe which was rather amusing! (we have also just heard that sharks often roam the coastline here - good job didnt know at the time!)

The following day we decided to hire bikes to explore the town, but when we saw the grey clouds overhead we changed our minds and spent the day playing cards and pool and wandering around some nearby shops. To our surprise, we had no problems finding insect repellent and sun cream for a reasonable price (we had a nightmare trying to get them in Laos and Vietnam) and we even found a supermarket selling things like olives that we hadn't seen for ages! Food shopping in England is always a chore, but strangely, having not found one for several months, our trip to the supermarket was an enjoyable and exciting day out.

After our shopping expedition and some drinks with Si, Han and another couple from our guesthouse Suz and Han went to bed while Si and Steve, Tim and Gemma stayed up till around 3am, so they could feel especially good for our 6am start for Siem Reap the next day.

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