Sihanoukville and Siem Reap, Cambodia 11-29-09

Emma, Will, Rich, and I piled into a mini van along with 4 other travelers; I was all the way in the back sitting on a single seat with everyone’s backpacks on my left and kilos of rice bags at my feet. The soup I had ordered from our guesthouse before we left was too hot to eat quickly so we cut off the top half of a liter bottle of water and I ate my noodle soup from that on the drive.

Just 2 hours later we arrived in Sihanoukville, only stopping once to pick up a woman rice farmer who was on the side of the road and needed a lift. When we arrived we were mobbed with people directing us to one guesthouse or another. It’s the kind of feeling like, even if they were giving the best advice on the best place in town, you almost don’t want to go just because they are pestering you so much. We started walking down the street and stopped at one of the first guesthouses we saw, which was also the largest, GST.

Sihanoukville is known as touristy beach town in Cambodia that we were almost going to skip, but we figured since it was sort of on the way back North, we might as well stop and check it out. Within 5 seconds of stepping onto the beach, we knew why it was known as a tourist town. The “beach” consists of less than 10 feet of sand and all along the shore are lounge chairs occupied by westerners. Cambodian children and women walk up and down the beach selling bracelets, jewelry, scarves, bathing suits, sunglasses, and services like massages, manicures, pedicures, and even hair threading! We walked up and down the small strip of sand to check out what was around and all we saw were endless lounge chairs and restaurant after restaurant situated behind them. The three of us eventually settled into a few lounge chairs and were soon swarmed by local children.

They kids were tying bracelets on everyone and actually being pretty rude demanding money from us. Rich and Will said they didn’t want bracelets and the children started screaming at them calling them all sorts of bad names. One girl even spilled Richard’s drink on him! Emma and I gave in to the pedicures and had our feet scrubbed and toes painted for $4. Another little girl talked me into having my legs threaded, which is sort of like a form of waxing, but it’s a hair removal method that works by using the friction of two pieces of thread running past one-another to remove a strand of hair, one at a time. Well, for the next hour and half everyone had a good laugh watching me wince in pain as each hair was individually plucked from my legs. It was pretty unpleasant and only by the end of it did I distract myself enough in my book to not think about the pain.

From our lounge chairs we watched an incredible sunset and then headed back to our place for some dinner. In the morning we packed day packs and left our big bags at our guesthouse as we set off on a boat day trip to a few islands nearby. A tuk-tuk brought us to a restaurant where we were to have our “complimentary breakfast” which consisted of a cold baguette with jam. 10 minutes later a man with a Cadillac picked us up and the 4 of us hopped in our private car which took us to the beach. A long-tail boat was waiting for us in the water and we climbed aboard along with a few other people and two of the smallest dogs you’ve ever seen. A gay couple from china had 2 puppy Chihuahuas that were about the size of one of my hands and each had a little puppy outfit on. They were so cute!

Our long-tail boat first took us to a small island nearby to snorkel around. The visibility was pretty poor and the reef was over visited so most of the coral was dying or broken off. Most people don’t realize that when you touch the reef or coral, it damages it and prevents it from growing as well. I’ve been snorkeling most of my life and could only look with astonishment as I watched dozens of snorkelers stand on, kick, and touch the reef.

Next up we went to Bamboo Island where we had lunch, fresh grilled fish, baked potato, and veggies, and a fresh coconut to drink and for dessert. We hung out on the island for a couple of hours and just lied on the beach and snorkeled around. We found a huge red starfish with black spikes on it on the ocean floor and later I made friends with a little black reef fish who had lost his way and was near the beach. For about 30 minutes he stayed right next to me following my hands wherever I moved them. I thought he might be sick so I led him to little rocks with algae on them so he could eat. I wished I could have taken him home with me and nursed him back to health, but we had to get back on the boat to leave so I left him behind.

Will and Emma planned to stay on Bamboo island and had packed little bags in advance to sleep there over night. Rich, the rest of the boat, and I stopped at one more island where we snorkeled before heading back to Sihanoukville. When we got back, Rich and I packed up for our morning bus and ate some soup for dinner. We found the soup near the beach where a few Cambodian women were crouched around the pot. They were all eating it so we figured it must be good, and it was! The noodle soup was incredible; it was in a yellow broth and was savory and slightly sweet with a peanut sauce and had all sorts of vegetables in it like scallions, bok choy, cucumbers, and maize.

Since Rich and I left our passports in Phnom Penh a few days ago to get our [Laos and Vietnam for me, Laos and Thailand for him] visas, we had to stop off in Phnom Penh before heading to Siem Reap. Our five hour bus ride to the city was pretty comfortable and normal, aside from the baby chicks that were in a cardboard box and chirping in the isle next to me. The bus only stopped once at a little rest stop where there was a dirty toilet and a few choices for meals; mangos, pineapples, sticky rice, and what looked like the same yellow noodle soup I had last night. Well, my choice was clear and I went with the soup. The lady picked up some noodles with her hands and dropped them into a bowl before adding some of the lovely yellow broth with vegetable in it. It tasted so good at the time, but this was a decision I would later regret. A few hours after our stop we arrived in Phnom Penh, picked up our visas and left around 6pm on a bus that would get us up to Siem Reap in another 6 hours.

During the tuk-tuk ride to the bus station I started to feel ill, bad stomach cramps that I tried to ignore. The six hour bus ride could not have been more uncomfortable as I was freezing and in so much pain, while the bus was bumping along the road and swerving. Thankfully a tuk-tuk driver from our hostel in Siem Reap was waiting for us at the bus stop (planning ahead is the best) and we got back to our guesthouse in 10 minutes where I went straight to bed.

Will and Emma arrived to Siem Reap in the morning so we could all explore the city together, but I was unable to do anything. I had a horrible stomach virus, loss of appetite.. and plenty of other horrible symptoms (damn rest-stop yellow noodle soup!). So, while my three friends explored the famous temples in Angkor Wat (the only reason why most people come to Cambodia), I just stayed in bed for three days, only able to drink water, Gatorade, clear vegetable broth soup, and eat bits of rice and bananas. The stomach pains were the worst I’ve ever felt, I wasn’t allowed to take pain killers because they would upset my stomach more, so I just had to ride it out. Looking back, I think a stomach virus is worse than Swine Flu.

Luckily by my 4^th day I was 70% recovered and able to get out of bed and walk around. Rich, being the nicest guy in the world, spent the day bringing me back to all of the best temples. I owe him A LOT of credit because I wasn’t in the best mood and he really was a trooper. I should probably buy him a big plaque or something for how great he was.

The temples were incredible, built in the 1100’s and larger than life. So much detail was put into each stone, which was obvious by the elaborate engraving covering every surface. Most of the temples were so large I had to take between 6 and 12 pictures of the same site and stitch them all together in a photo-stitching program I have to fit the entire image in one picture. Five hours of walking and seven temples later, we had completed our day.

Emma had to leave enroute to Goa, India (she’s moving there for a month), so now Will, Rich, and I are a traveling trio. Today is our day to relax and do the productive traveling thing; like book hostels, flights, respond to emails, upload pictures, and write in our journals/blogs. Our next destination is Vang Viang, Laos, and we have the option to either take a 30 hour bus for $70 or fly for one hour for $130. It’s a blow to our budgets but we going to take the flight, it’s the only reasonable thing to do after all. Tonight will be our last night here in Siem Reap and I am happy to note that I can eat whole (bland) foods again. Yay! :)

Speak to you soon from Laos!