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Published: March 31st 2017
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From Phnom Penh I hopped onto a bus ($5) six hours South to Sihanoukville - Cambodia's premier beach destination. At the bus terminal in town I hopped onto the back of a mototaxi and for $1 had him drop me off at the Vietnamese Embassy. I needed to secure my Visa to enter the country so in the parking lot I took off my tank top and put on my collared shirt, with bags in hand walked into the embassy, filled out some paperwork, handed over my passport with $60, and ten minutes later I had my Visa. I was shocked with how easy and painless the process was. Normally it is very time consuming and tedious to arrange a Visa. I decided to skip Serendipity Beach in Sihanoukville, which is known for its party scene, and headed further South on a mototaxi ($2) to serene and quiet Otres Beach. Good decision.
Otres Beach was the perfect place and exactly what I was looking for. The little stretch of white sand is backed by a narrow one lane dusty affair of a road and the beach itself is lined with little shacks with thatched sun umbrellas, BBQ's all grilling up
the freshest catch of the day, and cold draft beer for $0.50. I wandered down the street and found a simple bamboo bungalow for $7 a night. Once I was sorted I made my way down to the beach to let the art of doing nothing commence. I needed a holiday from the holiday as it were.
The days here were spent doing as little as possible. I read my book under an umbrella, sat in the sun, went for a swim - you get the idea. My day would culminate with glorious sunsets filled with vivid colors that the western facing beach gifted me each evening. At night I would walk down the beach to my favorite little restaraunt (I ate here every night) run by the sweetest Cambodian family for dinner. The food was fantastic and consisted of grilled fish, rice curries, and tropical fruits all served right on the beach with the sand inbetween my toes. I did not feel the need to go into town to go out to the clubs, so I stayed in the calmness and serenity that my little section of Otres Beach provided and pretty much kept to myself.
I
stayed here for four nights and absolutely loved it. Was the beach the nicest I've been to? Not by a long shot. But it was the perfect place for me at this point in my travel. Picking up my bags I booked a trip to nearby Koh Rong Island two hours off of the coast of Cambodia. I booked with The Dive Shop a two scuba dive package which turned out to be exceptional value. For $65 I was to get a ride to and from the island (which cost $20 in itself with the transport companies), two scuba dives, breakfast, and lunch. I was up early for the 7am departure and was on the island by 9am. We did the first dive around 10am. The diving here in Cambodia was alright. Certainly not the best (nothing has come even close to my experiences in Indonesia), but not the worst as I had in Thailand. Regardless anytime I am diving it is very special for me. I really love this sport.
After the first dive this is where a serious of unfortunate events took place that would strangely benefit me. The dive masters received a call from the mainland
and the office on the mainland had burned to the ground along with several other businesses including Monkey Republic - a popular backpacker guesthouse. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the staff on the island lost everything (as did many travelers in the guesthouse) and I felt terrible for them. We could obviously not complete the afternoon dive as the entire staff left the island to go back to the mainland. I was told I could stay for free at the dive shop on the island until the staff could return. As I wanted to stay on the island anyways, no big deal. It was strange to be at the dive shop with no staff. Me, and Israeli guy, and a Belgian guy made the best of it. In the mornings the Cambodian workers would come and make us breakfast which was nice and I also got lunch each day. It took two days for the dive staff to return. Upon their return we completed the second dive and I was offered to have a third dive for free, which of course I graciously accepted. For $65 I had now received three dives, a ride to and from the island,
two free nights accommodation, and four meals. The cheapest dive trip I have ever done.
The island itself was beautiful. Not a whole lot going on as you would expect and a great place to waste a few days away. An unexpected encounter happened to me as well. I used to run into a British couple traveling around when I was in Brazil and later Argentina and we would joke with each other over drinks about how we would always see each other in different cities and countries. Well, ten months later and on the other side of the world I ran into them here on this little island off the coast of Cambodia. It was great to catch up with John and Lex and talk about our experiences as we all make our way around the world. The world is such a huge place, but so very small at the same time.
My Vietnamese Visa does not become valid until April 6th, so I have been killing time here in Southern Cambodia. Sitting on the beach all day I obviously had a lot of time in my own head. Now more than ever my thoughts are on
home. I miss it so much. I miss Denver, all of you, I want to sleep in my own bed. With each passing day I miss home more and more. That being said I have purchased a plane ticket back to America and with this purchase I think that is why my thoughts are so strong about home right now. Their is now a finality to all of this madness. The time is right for me to come home and I know this because of the way I feel now.
My plans are like this: On the 6th of April I will enter Vietnam at the Mekong Delta in the South of the country. Over the course of a month I will work my way North and end up in Hanoi. I have a flight on May 6th to Manila in the Philippines. I will spend three weeks there traveling the archipelago and its beautiful islands and beaches (tough life, I know). On the 28th of May I will fly from Manila to Hong Kong. I will spend three days here over my 33rd Birthday and on May 31st I will fly to Los Angeles and onward to Phoenix
to see my family and get my truck. I will be Stateside again some sixteen months after I left. I figure after a couple of days in Phoenix with my family I will then drive home to Denver. Maybe that gets me home around the 5th or 6th of June. Shine up your shoes, get out your party hats, I'm coming home.
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