Sihanoukville - Not Really Serendipity!

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So my blogs are behind by a couple of months but I am determined to get them done eventually... and here is finally another one down! The memory is getting tougher and with long breaks between blogs, I am sure the real funny stuff gets missed, but I will do my best.

Day 8 in Cambodia saw us waking up bright and early to catch a bus to the beach resort area of Sihanoukville. Having researched it extensively before going, I was in two frames of mind as to whether I would like it or not, but decided to keep an open mind until I saw it for myself. It was going to have to be pretty special to beat Kampot!

We were picked up in a small minibus and literally squeezed in on top of our luggage for the 2 hour drive... it was hot, cramped and not the most comfortable ride, but with only 2 hours to bare, it was fine. After leaving Kampot we recieved a text message from our new friend Donna, telling us how lovely it had been for her to have some 'girl time' while we were around. We text back telling her that maybe she should have some more 'girl time' and ride on over to Sihanoukville for a few days! We were stoked when she text back saying that it was a brilliant idea and she would head on over that afternoon!

Arriving in Sihanoukville, we walked for a short 5 minutes along Serendipity Beach, until we located our guesthouse, The Cove Beach Bungalows. Having seen gorgeous photos of it on a friends facebook I was really looking forward to staying there, although a little apprehensive due to some mixed reviews on Trip Advisor. Upon arriving we were shown to Bungalow 2. In my correspondence with Nick, the owner, he had assured me Bungalow 1 was the best and would be reserved, but I figured they were probably just the same so didnt say anything to the staff.

The bungalow was pretty basic and dare I say, slightly run down for $29 a night... Now I know $29 a night is still cheap, however, in Cambodia you can get some pretty nice rooms for that price. It had a musty smell to it, and the bathroom was a little too mouldy/dirty... nothing we couldnt handle but slightly disappointed. There was a hammock and some chairs on the balcony to chill out in with a great view over the ocean.. Only the problem we encountered was that a) the cushions on the chairs were musty/damp/smelly and there was a strong stench of rubbish or something dead wafting through the air... I solved that mystery on our last day so more on that later...

We dumped our bags and went for a wander to get some lunch and explore around the area. We stopped at Mick and Craigs Restaurant for lunch and while my chicken fajitas were fantastic, Danni's Nachos left alot to be desired (if you could even call them nachos! LOL).

You want massage.... you buy my fruit.... you hairy girl... you want threading???

After lunch we headed down to the beach... Along the beach it is wall to wall beach bars and restaurants (with no space between them). As you walk along the boardwalk in front of them you get hassled ALOT by all the bar staff trying to get you to eat/drink at their place. Every place also had a stack of sunloungers/umbrellas directly out the front, free to use if you eat/drink there. The beach wasnt that fantastic and there was no room to just chill out unless you used one of the bars/restaurants sun loungers.. And if that wasnt enough to spoil what could be paradise, then you had the hassle of the beach vendors... Ladyboys selling fruit, women trying to massage you and do beauty procedures such as threading on you.. and little girls selling you personalised bracelets etc. We were tired of it all before we'd even chose a bar to buy a drink from *just so we could have a sun lounge*

Once we were seated, I took a quick dip and came back to see Danni surrounded by women wanting to thread the hair off her arms, legs, face and bikini line for a few dollars. I eventually gave in to one for a massage but didnt ask how long it would go for... not only was it slightly uncomfortable her massaging me with oil when I had sand all over me, but my $9 massage barely went half an hour (a complete rip off in Cambodia!) ... Guess I should have remember to negotiate price and TIME... I then gave in to the threading craze that is all over Sihanoukville and allowed her to thread my arms and face (something I loved and have now found a place back at home that threads facial hair!)

If you don't know what threading is, its basically where the girl has cotton string and somehow between her hands and mouth rubs it over your skin ripping out all the hair.. its a waxing alternative which originated in India! Its kind of painful but really good!

At one point during my massage I had a ladyboy trying to sell me fruit... I told him 'maybe later'... well lets just say, I should know better than to say anything other than NO. He kept hassling me for the whole massage... I was like "um I am getting a massage and I'm trying to relax.. come back later"... Just when I thought I had got rid of him I felt like someone was staring at me... I opened my eyes to find him within inches of my face just staring at me... creepy but very funny!

Later that afternoon, Donna turned up and we decided to head back to our hotel for showers before meeting for dinner. Once we had freshened up we headed in search of some good food. None of us could really decide what we felt like eating, so in the end we picked a fancy looking Indian place that was all pretty with gorgeous lanterns and lights. We decided to pick 3 different dishes to share and so picked butter chicken, chicken korma and another dish I have forgotten.. It was at this point that they advised us that a) they didnt sell alcohol WTF and b) they had run out of raita for the day! Grrrr

When the food eventually came out, all three dishes were the exact same colour and consistency and that colour was not the bright orange you expect of korma's and butter chicken dishes! They were all a baby poo colour... and surprisingly they were bland and all tasted the same... Hmmmmm did they get our order wrong?? How hard is it for Indians to cook good Indian?? I wouldnt have thought too hard! lol We were all SO disappointed with the meal and didnt even have alcohol to numb the pain!

After dinner, we headed up the road to Monkey Republic for drinks. The whole town seemed pretty quiet, even though there appeared to be an American Navy ship in town. After a few drinks, we decided to go for a walk and see if we could find somewhere more happening. We stopped at another bar closer to the hotel for a drink but decided to call it a night. Sihanoukville just wasnt doing it for me!

The Girls Get Burnt, and I Have Time Out

The following morning we headed into town to visit the local markets. We got there bright and early and while the markets were interesting, they looked like every other local market I have seen while travelling around Asia. It was stifling hot in the market, even though it was still before 9am! Sweating, we decided it was time to find some breakfast. We went in search of a recommended bakery but couldnt find it so stumbled across Starfish Cafe . It was hidden down a side alley but was one of the many cafes run for the disadvantaged. This cafe supports the disabled and had a craft shop onsite. We had a gorgeous breakfast and if you happen to be in Sihanoukville you should check it out!

We headed back to the beach and decided to have a massage. Donna took us to a place she had been on previous trips that she recommended... and she was spot on, I had the best massage ever and regret not going back for more now! I wasn't feeling 100% all day so after the massage I decided to head back and have a chill out day on the balcony of our bungalow and try do some blogging. The girls decided to battle the bars at the beach and try get a tan! I ordered some food to eat in the bungalow and had a very quiet day/night. Ben and I were starting to struggle with the distance at that point, so I think I just needed some time out to myself.

The girls turned up around sunset, both burnt to a crisp and after Danni freshened up they headed off for a night of drinks and dinner somewhere. Danni stumbled through the door around 1am from memory and wasn't walking a very straight line! Hehe.. The next morning, we woke up and had a final breakfast at the hotel with Donna before saying a sad goodbye. Donna was heading back to Kep and we were heading out on a snorkelling trip before catching the overnight bus to Battambang! Originally we were going to do a day bus to Battambang but its a 10-12 hour bus journey so decided we would save a nights accommodation and head off overnight instead.

While out snorkelling for the day, we were able to leave our bags at the Bungalows after checkout and were told we could also use the staff quarters to shower before getting the overnight bus. After breakfast we were shown to the staff quarters by one of the staff member.. it was directly next door to our bungalow and slightly behind..

Something Fishy At Cove Beach

As I rounded the corner of our bungalow (I hadnt walked that way previously) I was horrified to see why my bungalow stunk... the resorts rubbish tip was pretty much all leaning against the side wall of our bungalow (where our heads would be when laying in bed!)... I have to say I was really disappointed, not only to discover why our bungalow was so smelly, but that a resort would be that inconsiderate to guests! We went to leave our bags in the staff room and it was full of ants and dirty ... There was no way I was having a shower there later on!

We headed off on our snorkelling trip. We paid about $22 per person for the day including lunch and breakfast... but as we had already eaten breakfast we passed on the bacon/eggs they served (looked nice though). Setting off on the boat we were in a group of about 15 people on a long tail boat. We met a lovely young doctor from England, Prashanthy who we spent the day with.

Our boat captain/tour guide didnt really speak good English but he spoke enough to tell us the bare minimum we needed to know... how long we were at each location etc. Our first stop was a snorkelling spot near some small island. He told us to watch out for sea urchins and that set a fear in me straight away.... I got about 20 meters away from the boat and put my head in the water only to see a massive sea urchin straight under me... and it didnt look too far away! I decided I didnt really want to snorkel and the clarity of the water wasnt fantastic anyway... When I got back to the boat there was no ladder to get back up... I got the captains attention and asked for a ladder... Clearly his English didnt extend to 'ladder' so he just gave me a blank stare... I tried again.. making hand movements as best I could from floating in the water.. but again he didnt understand me... It took me about 2-3 minutes of repeating myself and playing charades with him until he finally understood what I wanted! DOH!

From this location we were moved to some island that is on every tourist brochure to snorkel/swim at... we were all pretty underwhelmed by the beach/island... and unluckily were joined by about 20 other tourist boats. We were starving and decided we couldnt wait for lunch, so ordered some fried rice and other stuff from the one little restaurant on the beach. The fried rice was amazing.. We then went for a swim and not long later, our lunch was ready. Thankfully we had already eaten the fried rice as the BBQ lunch left alot to be desired. Some of us were served chicken and others fish but noone was really given a choice, you just swapped with someone else... I swapped my fish for chicken only to find my chicken wasnt cooked properly... I wasn't even risking that! LOL

After lunch we were keen to get moving to the next destination, but the captain said we had to stay there... we ended up on this stupid island for about 3 hours and all of us hanging to go! ... Eventually we left and at the next snorkelling spot, I chose to jump in to cool off but not go snorkelling... I was sunburnt and not super keen for snorkelling, especially since there seemed to be a strong current in the water. After about 15 minutes every one else was done and it was time to head home... All in all a very average trip to some very average spots! An okay day out but nothing to really write home about (oh I am!)

We arrived back at the Pier and I decided I would rather pay the expense of a cheap hotel room in order to use a clean bathroom. We asked at a hotel close to the Pier and from memory I think we paid about $6 for the room (which was a nightly rate!) ... We headed back to the hotel, grabbed our bags from the rubbish tip/staff room and headed off to freshen up. After a quick shower we met back up with Prashanthy for a quick dinner... and then it was off for a 10 hour overnight bus to Battambang (or sooooo we thought!!) ... And on that note, the overnight bus can wait for the next blog (yes this story is GOOD!)

All in all, I was not a fan of Sihanoukville. We dropped some girls at Otres Beach on the way back from the snorkelling trip and I would say from the boat, it looked the pick of the beaches... Serendipity where we stayed was a real tourist trap and full of really old Western men with VERY young Cambodian women... it seemed run down and there was alot of construction going on.. the nightlife seemed crappy (not that I really tried it out but it was very quiet from what I saw) but on a whole, it just seemed very underwhelming in comparison to the rest of this beautiful country! If you have the time and are in the area drop in and let me know what you think.. but if you are on a short time frame, skip it and use the time in other regions!

Love Reet xxx

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Comments

[Rat on the Road]

Otres
We went to Sihanoukville last week and stayed at Otres. Much nicer than Serendipity. If you go to the other side of Otres there is an even nicer part. In case you are ever back there....

[D MJ Binkley]

Hoping you get caught up.
As always .... enjoyed the blog. Love that snorkeling boat.