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Published: January 8th 2009
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Sunday the 14th
On Sunday morning Myself, Babette and Matt headed off back to Phnom Penh. This time we took a minibus and did actually have a seat to ourself, despite the fact that there were 5 cambodians squashed into 3 seats for a while (the are really thin). It took 8 hours to get to Phnom Penh which felt like a lifetime, but we were kept entertained, or you might even say in a state of total fear, by the drivers passing out attempts on blind corners. Back in Phnom Penh we checked into a hotel and then myself and babette went off in a tuk tuk to meet Chris the english lady from our trip in Kratie. Chris lives in a house with 5 cambodians, one of them being a child, and a finnish girl. Chris put on a great spread of local dishes which was amazing and we spent a really nice evening with her and her cambodian family. Again we all sat around on the ground as we ate. I have to get doing this with guests in my place. It will save buying furniture.
Monday the 15th
Monday morning we headed off again,
really we have being doing a lot of moving around in Cambodia, this time we were heading for the beach town of Sihanoukville where we intended to relax for a few days. We got there about midday, checked into a hotel and then had a look around the town. The beaches in town are nice enough but have lots of bars and restaurants all along the beach front, so if you are looking for a non touristy beach, its not for you. But all the same i thought it was pretty relaxed on the beach. We found a dive shop and they had an offer of a diving trip for two days to an island 4 hours away. I pushed for it and Babette agreed. She doesn't dive but she decided she would snorkel and maybe do a learners dive.
That evening we went to a lovely restaurant where we again filled up on Cambodian curry, not long left travelling so getting as much of it as I possibly can. Then got an early night to be ready for the boat trip.
Tuesday the 16th
At 7.15 we were at the dive shop and at 8 we
were boarding our boat to go diving/snorkeling. There were 7 tourists on the boat, 4 aussied Remy, Roxy, Fi and Hannah, a french guy Thierry and myself and Babette. As well as that there was Erfan, peter and Shina, the instructors and the crew. The boat was amazing with lovely cabins, a kitchen and dining room, a great bar area and an open sundeck. The trip to the island was 4 hours and with perfect weather this was easily passed eating breakfast, fried eggs and bacon, and reading up on the sun deck in the sunshine.
We arrived at the island just after midday and soon we were all in the water, diving and snorkeling. The diving is probably not as good as Koh Phi Phi in Thailand or the great barrier reef in Oz but it was still very impressive and we did see a leopard shark. That evening after the diving was finished we all sat around in the bar area and started playing drinking games which is a real love of the Aussies.
Wednesday the 17th
Had my first dive before breakfast and two more dives after breakfast. Babette who had spent most of
her time snorkeling, and loving it, did an introductory dive. Good fun watching her all nervous before she went under the water. In the afternoon we headed back to the mainland, and with the sun blazing we all sat up on the sundeck for the return journey (not something im used of in december).
That evening, all the crew from the boat, including the instructors, met up at a restaurant owned by our dining instructor. I had a fantastic seafood BBQ. After the meal we went to some of the bars along the beach.
Thursday the 18th
After a good sleep in, the first in ages, we had an english breakfast and then rented a motor bike. Driving in Sihanouekville was a lot more relaxed than previous experiences in Phnom Penh. Since the beach in the town is fairly touristy we decided we would try and get away from the crowds and go down the coast a bit. After a half an hour on dirt tracks we ended up at a section of beach where there was nobody. It was beautiful and serene and our only company was a herd of cattle that were grazing in the
grass right beside the beach. After a swim and a few hours in the hot december sunhine we hoped back on the bike and made our way back to town on the dirt tracks. After a tour of the town we found a temple on a hill. With the monks chanting, some monkeys playing on the steps of the temple, children saying hello and asking us to take photos and a beautiful sunset it really toppen off one hell of a relaxing day. In the evening we met Thierry my diving buddy for an aperitif which was a jameson irish whiskey, and we had a tres french evening eating and talking about wines whiskey and food (as opposed to an irish evening which involves eatin, drinkin the wine and whiskey and roarin).
Friday the 19th
We got on a bus at 8.15am and said goodbye to cambodia. We were on the bus for the whole bloody day crossing the border into thailand and heading for the bright lights of Bangkok
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