Christmas on a beach!

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On Friday we decided to catch the boat to Phnom Penh which was incredible, it cost more than the bus but was money well spent. We got to see the floating village which is crazy, and some great views. We were collected from our guest house by minibus and were taken to the pier. The bus was designed to hold 14 passengers including the driver but by the time we had collected everyone else and got there we had counted 23 people on board.
On Saturday we then traveled by bus to Sihanoukville for a relaxing Christmas on the beach. We arrived at midday and although we had done some research on which guesthouses we hadn't actually booked anywhere to stay. We had decided to treat ourselves and get the best room which was available, the first few guesthouses were fully booked but we managed to get a penthouse room in a lovely little place. Unfortunately to get to our room for the balcony view over the bay we had to climb up the 104 stairs. Despite this the room was great, really spacious and came with a sofa and cable TV, what more could you ask for. The afternoon was spent walking down the beach and looking for dive shops in order for me to get a Christmas dive in. But it was not to be, the weather forecast wasn't good so there was no diving whilst we were here.

Christmas Eve was a weird one, not used to not being around my family at this time of year and was a bit upsetting to be honest. During the day Erica and I walked into downtown to our nearest supermarket (which is a good 20 mins away) to get some snacks and some champagne to celebrate Christmas in our own way. It wasn't until we got back did we realise Erica had picked up champagne cognac by mistake, so we had another trip out and decided to keep the cognac to see in the New Year.
The evening was a bit of a quiet one, just had a meal and a glass of white wine. We were both a little tired so went back to our room and chilled out on the balcony.

On Christmas day we woke up rather early and exchanged presents. We watched a festive movie on the TV and lazed around. When we finally found the motivation to move we went to a bar on the beach for breakfast and to do some sun bathing. Feeling the need to indulge a little we had a Khmer Massage and a couple of beauty treatments by the local girls who regularly walk up and down the beach for customers, it was so relaxing! For Lunch we had lobster which was really nice, neither of us had eaten it before.
Christmas day night was spent speaking to love ones, having a typical Khmer Christmas meal (crispy noodles and beef) and then packing (heading back to Phnom Penh Boxing day). Erica managed to get a bucket of ice from one of the bars to chill our champagne, which we enjoyed on the balcony looking out into the sea.

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Photos

Christmas day on the beach
Chilling out with a coconut.