Sihanoukville revisted

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My last weekend in southern Cambodia.........boy, oh boy, where have the last eight weeks gone? To contradict myself, I feel like I’ve been here forever and not just 8 weeks, but it also feels like I arrived just the other day. I’ve done and seen so much, yet it’s such a small percentage of the things I would like to do......I need a year, or three, here to fully experience everything on my list.

It’s a long weekend here in Cambodia and so I’ve returned to Sihanoukville for one last chill-out session before I head into my last week with my students, and then onto Siem Reap and the second stage of my adventure. I love Sihanoukville, it has a great energy and loads of friendly people. Thanks to the long weekend, it’s crowded down here and I couldn’t get a room in the guest house I stayed in last time – which is a shame as it’s got a lot going for it (New Sea View Villa in case you’re ever down this way). I had to settle for a place right on the beach, for over double the price of Sea View.....the only advantage it has, is its location (though, Sea View is only 50 metres from the beach). Here, I walk out of my room, down a couple of stairs, through reception and the cafe, and onto the beach.....I can hear the waves from my room, and can see the ocean from my balcony. It’s quite pleasant in that regard, but apart from that, it’s very over-priced, is a mosquito-infested, and has a really crappy internet connection..... That’s my only grumble for the weekend.....life is good.

On the bus down here, I met a young Israeli girl that has been travelling for 8 months – 6 through India, and the rest through southern Asia. She had some interesting stories to tell, but the one that sticks in my mind, was her hair-raising encounter with a guy on the Thai/Cambodian border.... She was on a bus waiting to cross from Thailand and the travellers were told by the people running the bus company that the cost of the visa was $40. She argued the point with one of the guys, and he kept telling her that to get across the border quickly, she had to pay $40, and she said she knew the cost of the visa was $20. He told her that for that price, the border guards took 4 – 5 hours to process the visa etc. In the end, she said she would look after things herself and that she’d see him on the other side. She walked to the border, paid her $20 and got her visa straight away. The guy from the bus saw her soon after, on the Cambodian side, and said to her “you’re a clever lady”, to which she replied “thank you”......to which he replied “we don’t like clever ladies, and if you tell anyone on the bus that you didn’t have to pay $40, I will kill you!!”. She said she knew he was serious and she was scared, and so she played a bit dumb but told him she had no intentions of saying anything to anyone about the visa...and thankfully there were no further threats. Wow!!

As I got out of the taxi in Sihanoukville (the air-con’d taxi was cheaper than tuk tuks this trip), I bumped into Melanie (French volunteer that I came with last time, and that has stayed on because she loves the place so much)...we were always going to catch up for dinner, but it was great to see her when I arrived. She’d met another French girl during her time here, Sara, and I caught up with them both for dinner at Sea View. Sara also told me of her own encounter with danger on her trip......in Phnom Penh. A Cambodian lady befriended her and spent hours chatting, and even went to the Royal Palace etc with her. Sara thought the lady was really nice and genuine and accepted an invitation to her house for dinner....while there, she was drugged with something like the date-rape drug and taken to an ATM, where she withdrew an amount of money and handed it over. She was then left alone, in that state, in the middle of PP.... She considers herself really lucky that all she lost was money and that apart from being drugged, she was not hurt physically in any way.

These are two scary stories, and the reality is they can happen anywhere, in any country, so the idea is to remain vigilant and not be taken in by these scammers. Melanie and I are in a cafe now, having breakfast, and we were discussing these stories and I told her of the guy I encountered in Central Market when I first arrived (that I was certain was also a scammer, so didn’t get sucked in), and she said that she and Sara (Belgian volunteer) encountered the same guy at the Night Market in PP a few weeks ago, and that she also realised he was a fraud and refused to give him money. Sadly people like these exist, and as I said above, it’s essential to remain vigilant and not get sucked in.

Melanie and I went back to the Co Co Shack for the bbq last night (we first went there 2 weeks ago) – I love sitting on the beach in the comfy papasan chairs, watching the waves roll in, eating bbq seafood, people watching (gosh, I’ve seen some mis-matched couples down here) and chatting to the friendly staff. The guys that work here all have great personalities, but I do wish they’d stop asking if I’m Melanie’s mother – makes me feel really ancient !!! One of the other things I love about night time in Sihanoukville, are the fireworks. Kids walk along the beach selling all sorts of fireworks, so from sunset til late into the night fireworks are set off all along the beach....it always feels really festive. I’m thinking I will buy some and set them off on the terrace of the apartment one night this week – should be fun...

Another good thing about the location of my guesthouse, is that it’s on the quiet side of Serendipity beach, and so I’m not hounded by hawkers....there are so many people on the other side this weekend, that I’m guessing they’re busy down there. The hawkers sell fruit, lobster, bracelets, sunglasses etc, and offer services such as foot and body massages, pedicures and manicures, and hair removal – using cotton thread. My legs needed waxing and I decided not to get it done in PP as it’s quite expensive there, so had a couple of ladies do my legs, on the beach, in front of the guest house, on Thursday afternoon. How very, very weird....having the hair on my legs ripped out, with cotton, in public...while watching the waves roll in.....not something you do every day...and you really do get used to people watching you as they walk past....care factor = zero !!!

Sadly today, we woke to rain – thankfully it stopped by about 9am, but it’s still really overcast and not good weather for lazing in the sun. No worries, it’s still really relaxing sitting by the beach, listening to the waves pound the shoreline – the ocean is quite rough today - and watching the world go by. The cafe is perhaps 12 metres from the water..... So today, apart from chilling out by the ocean, watching the slimy older guys behaving pathetically with the young Cambodian girls (yes, it continues to get up my nose even after all this time), Melanie are going to have massages at the Seeing Hands massage clinic next to my guest house, followed by a fresh coconut juice.....it’s a tough life, eh, but someone has to do it, and today that “someone” is me.....and I say, “bring it on!!!”

Hugs from beach-side, Rob

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Photos

Golden Lions
a bit of a landmark in Sihanoukville

Comments

[Sylvi]

Waxing and de-licing on the beach :)
Glad you had another lovely week-end at Sihanoukville. Love that you can get your legs waxed on the beach which looked very crowded by your photos. I haven't had a leg wax for almost 6 months and have only shaved them twice so imagine the forest :) Those scary stories about women being taken advantage of by low life scum buckets is horrid. As you say you must always be on your guard for such scams. Very sad but true. We're looking forward to going home though once there for awhile I'm sure we'll pine to be back travelling. We're in St Ives at the moment which is totally south-west. Our camp site has a great view of the beach below and when the wind isn't blowing a gale it's a magical place to visit. I don't think I'll rejoin BCL as I'm not interested in socialising with the John Dees and Malcolms of Brisbane. I'm hoping I've met enough nice girls to form my own private contact group and we see each other once or twice a month for coffee, dinner or a movie. I'm glad Gary is still going strong with BCL and now the music group. Hope he's put on some weight too :) Must away and get breaky on. Have a fabulous last week and safe travel to SR. Love and hugs. Sylvi xo