Advertisement
Published: January 26th 2018
Edit Blog Post
Thursday is Leo's Lake Fishing Day.Having checked out the lake on the previous day, we knew we were not in for a huge catch but Leo was hopeful of a few fish. Not to be, the Guilie and Leo tried every conceivable fishing method to no avail. It was a peaceful interlude with plenty of sunshine and not too much humidity, but even when floating baits for surface rolling fish they merely nudged the bait. Other Ex Pat fishermen said the late rains had made the fish confused and off their feeding, saying that the lake and nearby river were akin to Hot Chocolate, Oh well, not even a fishy story to tell, of the one that got away. Ravenous late afternoon, as the venue had no food we go to a local Khmer restaurant for a stir fried meal total bill including several beers $8.00, life has its compensations. Paula happily read and chilled out whilst the non-fishing took place. We have had much time to observe local life and customs here in Sihanoukville. We love our accommodation and it's proximity to beaches and villages. Pity that this is the coldest and wettest January for 39 years, or so we're
told. Once again, some of our planned activities have been scrapped. We give Island day trip a miss as visibility not great, cycling a no-no Thursday, so we amble. Everywhere we explore, we are greeted with happy smiles and cries of 'Hello', the local folks are very friendly and laid back. In the main they have very little, but appear contented with the cards that life has dealt them. There is a general vibe that the Chinese investment here in SE Asia is unwelcome, and will dramatically change the vibe of the place. Currently, die-hard barefooted Old hippies and heavily tattooed, dreadlocked youngsters intent on being serious 'Dudes' for the season co-exist happily with local families. This is set to change, drastically.
Friday Morning After heavy overnight rain the paths and tracks are a quagmire but it is dry and bright with intermittent sunshine. We are actually staying in Otres Village which is between 1 and 2, we decide to try a beach day so load up our complementary bikes, which are by far the worst we have experienced in S.E Asia , but they work, so ride the short two km journey. We have to dismount on reaching the area
called Otres 2, as the rain, compounded by heavy machinery used by developers, is too much for the poor road infrastructure. We decide to setup our beach mat and hope for a long-awaited swim, but once again, the sky said 'no'. So we peddled back again. After a late breakfast locally, we decide upon a nap, the humidity is still high and saps our energies. A snoozy hour later we set out on foot and wander, taking in the sights and smells and lushness that is South West Cambodia on the cusp of dry season. You can't be negative here the people are friendly the weather might be extreme but never cold this time of year, we go from tropical rain to overcast to hot sunshine in minutes here. We stop for snacks at an ex pat bar and being ex pats soon find out all the local gossip and do's and dont's. Too late for us as we leave in the morning, decide to spend the late afternoon outside our rooms, finishing the blog and chilling, more YouTube music tonight we think plus possibly a take away Pizza.Back to PhNom Penh tomorrow.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.118s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 51; dbt: 0.061s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Sheila Lammin
non-member comment
Weather
Great blog, shame not more sunshine but just think what the weather is like back home usually worse months for you and at least you can chill out nice beer in hand, people watching and you are setting the scene beautifully for us who follow your blog. Looking forward to the next stop. Xx