Outside Phnom Penh

April 1, 2011

To be perfectly honest, its quite difficult to remember what Sarah and I actually accomplished this last week. After leaving Phnom Penh, we made for the town of Kep. We were both dying for a little sea breeze, and figured east to west would be the best way to explore Cambodia's gulf (of Thailand) coast. All we found was crabs. Lots of crabs. We quickly decided that the resort town of Sihanoukville would be a better place for someone who already had an injured toe.

We arranged with Ben et al to meet us at Otres Beach on the weekend, a much deserved beach getaway for them, and just another day in the life for us. This is where the trouble started. With an open wound, I was strictly forbidden from walking in the clean-ish, but very much SE asian sand (please see previous posts for assessments of hygiene in SE Asian public spaces). This (and I've yet to decide if this was a blessing or curse) precluded me from any activities aside from drinking beer. No swimming, no tanning, no diving, no snorkeling, no volleyball, no walking, and no running (who am I kidding? Even with a good toe, there would be no running). At $1 a glass, or $3 a jug, this wasn't a significant strain on the budget; and with the likes of Ben, Hanna, Liz, Kolja, and of course Sarah, I was not lacking willing accomplices.

Over the 4 days we stayed in Sihanoukville, only a few highlights and lessons stand out. They are, in no particular order:
- Loosing a game of pool to a 9 year old. And in turn being obliged to purchase one of his bracelets for the prescribed price of 'one doooooollllar'...
- Having my upper arms and neck 'threaded' in what I now know is the most painful hair removal technique ever devised in the known universe.
- The added 1/2 glass of beer provided in a jug (vs 3 glasses) is not worth drinking at a keen 35 degrees. All my training (in the Canadian winter) led me to believe I could finish it before it warmed. One glass at a time is the wiser choice.

While the lasting memories may not seem so positive, our first taste of the beach in SE Asia was fantastic. No amount of gauze, russians in mongs, or blinding hangovers were going to ruin my weekend.




Sander