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Published: January 26th 2011
Lasse and i have made a bee line for cambodia by taking two long days on buses from nha trang down to saigon (ho chi minh city) and then crossing the border to phnom pehn city in cambodia. we had found the cities in vietnam to be busy bustling places and not to our liking. what a pleasant change of pace is cambodia since its a much less populated country and seems more laid back. we arrived in phnom phen and went for a walk on the causeway by the river. it was an interesting place to go as lots of people were out an about in the evening. pretty soon i was able to observe several cases where old, fat and balding white men were engaging with very young pretty cambodian girls. in one case the mother was watching her daughter and i could only presume she was the one approving the fee for the night. how disgusting.this is inspiteecurtiy presence on the boardwalk and warnings everywhere against child prostitution. my guess is that the security is paid to turn blind eye to this crime. children also beg for food while their parents watch from a distance. at the same time there is lots of positive things to see or to do, for example. you could join an aerobics/dance class on the boardwalk or watch the local fisherman down on the water.
the next morning Lasse rented a yamaha 600 enduro motorbike and we loaded our gear on it and headed down a main highway south to a town called sihanoukville which is a beach town. the road was well paved and not as busy as we experienced in vietnam so overall it was kind of relaxing...still crazy drivers in cambodia though and lack of traffic rules. several stops for cows crossing the road. lots of open flat dry grass and red sandy along the road. we passed by a big bush fire running wild and close to the road and no one trying to put it out. there was smoke on the road and it was so thick and hot passing through that part on the road.
it really here and humid too...over 33C, humid and no wind. we rode with long sleeve shirt and pants and bandanas as we couldnt bear to wear anything heavier. we took butt breaks every hour..boy that seat was hard as a rock.
i learned a new traffic rule here which is that it is ILLEGAL to drive with your motorbike lights ON during the day. however, it is NOT a requirement to drive with lights ON at night!!!
sihanoukville has a great long stretch of white sandy beach and calm turquoise waters where the water is so warm its like having a bath. along the beach are lots of umbrellas and beach chairs and theres loads of bars/pubs for refreshments and food. we've got a nice place by the beach where its quiet. when we got up this morning we had breakfast on the water. lasse ordered french toast and ended up with toast and jam. it was clear that the owner thought this is what french toast means so we explained the real french toast and she was surprised. she is cambodian of course and didnt know the difference. apparently this kind of mix up happens here with the cambodians trying to serve american style food and not always certain what that is. overall the beach is not too crowded but its all tourists down here. the same big fat white balding old man with young cambodian woman thing going on here as well.
the sunset here was so amazing..a red sun sinking into the ocean and pink sky around it..incredible!
today we needed to relax after so much travelling on the road and just enjoyed the water and the beach all day. we love this beach town and will stay a little while in this area so we can pursue some trips to islands, snorkeling and hiking. hard to imagine grey victoria as we type on this computer overlooking the beach...hee hee
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Lisa M
non-member comment
Grey?
Thanks for the dig about grey Victoria!!!! LOL. At least it's not raining, even if we do forget what sunshine looks like. The beaches sound lovely! That bike is probably a blast to ride too. I'd love to try a 600 cc enduro.