Arrival in Sihanoukville

Tuesday was a lazy day to let my legs and eyes rest from the early temple visits and late nights. Wednesday subsequently began with a very early start and a long bus journey down to Sihanoukville on the south coast. This was a lengthy but comfortable journey. It was largely problem free, other than the baby just behind me who decided to relieve himself on the bus. Frustratingly, it took the driver about half an hour until he angrily pulled up to let the mother relieve us all of the stench!

In the evening I checked in to Monkey Republic guesthouse. In the distance, for the very first time on my travels, the ocean was in sight. Beach life is commonly a huge part of travelling, so its incredible to think that this was my first sight of sand and sea.

Just moments after strolling onto the shore, I bumped into the crowd I had been spending Sunday night with in Siem Reap. I spent the remainder of the night with them, and subsequently joined them in the purchase of a beach party ticket for the following day.

Thursday, therefore, involved a midday boat ride to a nearby island for music, food and drinks. It wasn't long until I took the opportunity to enter the warm sea and take some further strides in learning how to swim - or more accurately, how not to drown. I enjoyed this far more than I expected (not least for it took me out of the blistering heat) and I spent much of my time paddling around in the ocean.

Time seemed to travel very fast on the island, and before long it was dark and we were boarding the boat again. Being one of the very last to board, I found that there were no seats left, but I had no quibbles with sitting on the floor in the isle between the wooden benches. Shortly after the boat set sail and the amps began to blurt out their loud dance music, a particularly lardy Cambodian boatman suddenly placed himself directly in front of me in the isle. With a huge and proud grin on his face he promptly began to sway from side to side and wave his arms about to the music. As I peered up at the man from my ants-eye view, he became increasingly energetic, gleefully dancing away at my feet.

Before long the man had a desire to take advantage of the entire isle, but unfortunately I was in his way. Under the assumption that I must be tired, he asked me if I would like to move into the front cabin where I could get some sleep. Not wanting to get in the way of a pot-bellied man and his dancing feet, I accepted and climbed into the front. It turns out that the fat dancer was the merry driver of the boat, but second in command was currently at the wheel. Unsure as to why I had suddenly entered the front cabin, the current driver asked me if I was looking to steer the boat. I said yes.

The journey back to shore, therefore, probably took slightly longer than it should have done. The fifty or so members of our boat were not only under the hypnosis of the captain and his wibbling belly, but were also at the mercy of Captain Alexander and whatever the ocean wished to throw at me. Other than being informed that there were rocks to the left, it was actually plain sailing, although much harder to go in a straight line than I would have expected. To make a turn seemed to require a huge spin of the wheel; It took about ten or fifteen rotations until any change in direction was noticeable. It then seemed impossible to work out how far you had to spin the wheel back in order to sail in a straight line. Despite being just a learner, however, we successfully snaked in the direction of the shore, and as we drew near the beach, the merry captain wisely put down his dancing shoes and donned his captain's hat once more.

Our day on the island seemed to have tired everyone out, and before long we had all gone back to our rooms to bed. The following morning, I woke up to find myself covered in bites. Unsure of whether they were mosquito bites, sand fly bites, or possibly even bed bugs, I decided to stay covered up for the day in the hope of not acquiring any more unnecessary itchiness. In the early evening I finally ventured down to the beach only to discover that my friends had also found themselves with dot-to-dot patterns down their arms and backs. This was actually a bit of relief to me, for it ruled out that my sleeping blanket could be ridden with bed bugs.

In the evening we went to a beach side bar. One notable thing about Sihanoukville, as in many tourist locations, are the beggars and sellers. An hour won't go passed without being offered numerous wristbands, flowers or fireworks from local adults and children. Sometimes a limbless mine victim will ask for money, or a mother will carry her sleeping child to you in the hope of a few Riel or Dollars. The sellers are persistent and annoying, while the beggars play on your guilt. It's impossible not to feel sorry for them, but there's little an individual tourist can do to effectively solve the problem.

At one point on Friday a little girl approached a group of three of us. As normal we would imply we were not interested and subsequently blank her out. This time was different, however; the girl didn't appear to be selling anything and didn't actually say anything. She was just standing there with a glazed look in her eye. We then noticed that she was crying, but she would not respond to anything we said. Nevertheless she just stood there looking silent, motionless and distant. I eventually found someone in the bar who spoke Cambodian who took the girl to the back and gave her some food. Other than that we failed to discover exactly what the situation had been, but apparently she was okay in the end.

Overall I am finding my time in Sihanoukville relaxing in the daytime and fun at night. It's probably partly because I once again have a group of friends, although as they've all known each other for a while I kind of feel like the extra guy who turns up now and again - but nevertheless we get on well. I think they are all intending to remain here lounging about in the sun for a few more days yet, after which they will head to Phnom Penh. At this point I will stay along the coast, possibly heading in the direction of Vietnam, or maybe briefly heading west beforehand.