I know I have been pretty bad about writing this last week and I am sorry about that. I got caught up livin the good life on the beach in Sihanoukville. Basically I arrived there from Phenom Penh mid afternoon on the next day...the 23rd I believe. Didn't really know where to stay but got hooked up with a really cool place after seeing one or two places that were too expensive...$7 a night. Chiva's Shack is where I ended up staying, really relaxed place where the rooms were $4 a night with a shared shower down some sketchy steps and down a long hall...but I guess you get what you pay for. First day got there and made friends quickly through a soccer game on the beach at sunrise.
The crew I would hang out with for the next week doing one thing after another. The unit was myself, James...my buddy from Siem Reap and Phenom Penh, Tony...a guy from Britain, Adam...a fellow American from Santa Barber, Mats...funny kid from the moon (that's what he told me but he later confessed that he was from Norway), Toby...another British kid who had been traveling for close to 4 years, and 4 British girls...Lisa, Leila, Lauren and Laura. That was the main group and then Laura left, followed by Tony. Then a few days later Adam and the other girls left. So we picked up crazy Kelly...a kid born in Jamaica that lived in London for a while and now lives in New York. Kind of a crazy bunch but the experience is all you make of it and who you meet along the way and these people were a really group of people that you could feel comfortable around so I was happy.
Basically the week in Sihanoukville was a lot like Spring Break in college. Drink too much at night and spend all day recovering to do it all over again. The only reason I could really justify it was because beer was 25 cents and it was cheaper to drink than water...I know that is a pretty bad excuse but it was a good time and I am on vacation. Some of the big highlights were as follows...the booze cruise that James and I did with Sessions, Small but sweet (a restaurant on the beach that our local Cambodian buddy ran), and the parties on the beach every night. The boat trip is a story in and of itself.
So this guy that owns Sessions...can't remember his name but he was pretty nuts. He was from Leeds and had moved down to Sihanoukville two years earlier and bought this bar that was going under. He put some money into it and got some of his buddies to come down and work for him and now he does a pretty good business but he runs this boat trip twice a week. It is a basic booze cruise except Cambodian style. We get to this deserted island with about 30 people and drink all day and play Frisbee and football and the whole lot and come back at 10 ready to paint the town red. I found out he pays off the military to stay out so late but I guess that only adds to the adventure. The beach was beautiful though. It was like something you see in the movies, not a person anywhere or any form of people living on the island and that was home for the day...it was great.
Next was Small but Sweet. This place was run by a very friendly Cambodian named Dhara. We would basically go there every night for dinner...anywhere from 5 to 8 of us so he came to like us quite a bit because we brought him some great business. He would always buy our first round and would constantly save us some of the good food. The place was on the beach maybe 100 meters from our guesthouse so pretty close and you always go first to stand on the beach. There is fresh seafood there that he will BBQ for you all you have to do is pick out what you want. Barracuda, king prawns, shrimp, squid, scallops...he also had a menu with other stuff on it but I would mostly eat seafood. So anything I listed above you would get a lot of it for $3 and then we would have 3 beers with one free so spend $4 on a really good feed. He liked us but we liked his food, his prices, and him most of all so it was a good friendship. I later found out because on my last night I went to say goodbye and hung out for a beer that he is only 25 and he has the place for 4 years and it is getting better every year. It is a difficult business though because rainy season lasts 6 months and nobody visits Sihanoukville then so you hope your money can last till the tourists come back.
The beach parties were the last thing that was really great about Sihanoukville. Every night a new place would have happy our where it was 25 cents a beer which you really can't beat. Towards the last few nights it rained and that really killed things and it now makes me appreciate being here now instead of rainy season. We would frequent Nap House, Dolphin Bar, Sessions, and Utopia. The nice thing about our place was that it was right on the beach but it was about a kilometer or so away from the action so during the day you weren't around all the people. That was good during the day but it made for long walks home at the end of the night but you were usually with someone so you could look out for each other. All in all I am really glad I went there... a little mad about not getting to Kampot or Kep but it is hard to justify leaving a place with good people where you just feel comfortable. Gives me another reason to come back.
Mats and I left Sihanoukville yesterday and it took us 10 hours to get to Ho Chi Mon City (Saigon). We met a guy on the bus from Scotland and shared a room with him last night and went out for a few. Ran into Ruki...the Finnish guy I rode the bus from Thailand to Siem Reap, and James again. I bet I run into some one again before I leave although I won't quite be on the backpackers’ cycle anymore. My mom comes to town tonight...in an hour actually. I am quite excited about traveling with her and it should be good fun.
Yeah today I woke up and checked into the hotel where I am staying with my mom...holy smokes. I forgot what a hot shower and having a room with your own toilet does to a person. I don't feel like a backpacker at all anymore...I actually washed my hair after a week and a half. After freshening up I went to the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum. Just visiting those two places I really wish I knew more about the Vietnam War. I felt quite horrible after the War Remnants Museum to be an American. I know the winner of wars always write the history of the encounter but some of the stuff that there are photos of is absolutely horrible. Using Agent Orange was the worst possible thing I can imagine any country doing and we were the ones that die it. It caused such bloodshed and I know that there are plenty of bad things the Viet Chong did but it absolutely blew my mind.
The palace wasn't quite as moving. It was a cool place that acted as the center for military head quarters. The basement of the place reminds me of the war room in London where Churchill went during WWII. All these big old receivers, radios, and phones. This is where on April 30, 1975 tanks broke down the gate and made the leader of the Republic of Vietnam get on the Saigon radio and fully surrender. I enjoyed seeing such a historical place. I should be getting back to the hotel, my mom will be here at any point and I think I might just enjoy the air conditioning a little more. It will be nice to have a traveling partner for the next little while. Keep you posted. Later!
