“Oh Sihanoukville, let me count the way we love thee.” We slid into Sihanoukville in a cloud of dust as the tour bus jolted to a stop amongst the eager touts and tuk tuk drivers. I often wonder how they expect to give you a ride when you can’t even get off the bus due to the cramming elbows in the fight for the new customers. The frustrating madness is always the same when exiting a travel bus but is quite amusing also. Four beaches create most of the travel scene, so after bag retrieval we split a cab with a nice Holland couple and headed out to find our beach paradise.
Paradise is all in what you make of it we’ve found. At $12 per night the guesthouse Makara, provided A/C, cable tv, hot water in a comfortable size, clean room. It was not the Reitz but the Reitz is a wee more pricey! In addition to the modest amenities, the white sand beach of Ochheuteal was only 200 steps across the street and the Guesthouse’s restaurant sat next door for snacks in between sun bathing sessions.
Most of our time was spent getting lost in our books or cat napping in the lounge chairs by the ocean. One day we got motivated enough to go on a boat trip to the nearby islands. Three islands were included on the day tour. The first and third islands included stops for snorkeling. With the temperature of bathwater, Todd and I had no problem diving into the teal blue. Key elements for good snorkeling are nice tropical weather with light breeze and warm water. Forget about equipment wrapped in plastic protection bag for your hygiene safety! If they soaked the mouth pieces in sanitizer I’d consider myself lucky. When asked how the pieces are cleaned I received a reply of “with salt water.” Dirty mouthpiece considered, it was still a great experience.
On the second island, lunch consisting of a baguette, grilled fish and Khmer salad was served along with fresh watermelon and mango for dessert. It was a dramatic hour off the boat with Todd and I both coming in close contact with sea creatures; I suffered a brush with a jelly fish and Todd stepped on a sea urchin. Both of us obtained minimal damage. Note to self: “The adorable little jelly you see floating so carefree has bigger relatives close by.” Even with the slight injuries, we trucked it twenty minutes to the other side of the land and found the most beautiful beach we’ve seen. Nearly secluded, the barreling ocean’s front occupied approximately thirty bohemian overnight guests. The allure to move locations was there but without our packs a second trip would be required and let’s be honest that involved workJ
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came. Khin’s Shack is that place for us. Eighty percent of our dining took place in the papasan chairs on the sandy coastline. Sokna 17, worked and lived upstairs at Khin’s along with some of his kin. A motivated young man working to pay for his education never missed a shift while we were there and appeared to work all day up until 2am. Also among the cast of characters was Oun 11, a cute girl who had no idea what “personal space” meant. She literally climbed all over me constantly insisting we buy her a coke. “Belly Man”, (aka staff worker at Khin’s), kept cool by removing, unbuttoning or lifting his shirt and resting it over his perfectly tan, Buddha belly. These became familiar faces and entertainment for us over the week. Highlights on the menu were ten fresh sea scallops for $2, vegetable curry and icy cold draft Angkor beer for fifty cents. The “squid lady” became a favorite too! 14 perfectly grilled squid over open coals for $2 also.
Khmer New Year took place on April 14 and was celebrated by weekend trips to the beaches with family or visits to “Pagoda”. Ochheuteal beach flooded with Cambodian’s ready to ring in the New Year with Roman candle fireworks, traditional food and cases of Ankgor beer. Todd and I did our part to keep the celebration going by stuffing ourselves with local food and drink, lying around and setting off a couple Roman candles. It was the best New Year’s ever!
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