This young fellow had his water bottle fishing line reel and line. He was casting a line into the river in Kampot looking for the big one. In reality, they take home whatever they catch, no size limits.
After experiencing the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh we made the decision to explore a quieter side of Cambodia. We headed off to Sihanoukville on the west coast. On the way we stopped off for a night in the rather sleepy little town of Kampot. We only stayed overnight so we did not do a lot of exploring, but from the tiny slice that we saw it is a perfect place to unwind.
In the centre of the main traffic circle in Kampot is a giant durian fruit. Thailand is one of the world’s major exporters of this unique fruit. The interesting thing is, many hotels will fine you if they catch you bringing it to your room. It may taste great, but the smell of the skin is incredibly nasty.During our stop in Kampot we saw a number of street dogs. Some looked pretty rough, but all minded their own business.
We took a minivan from Kampot to Sihanoukville. That was quite an experience. As we were just at the edge of Kampot I watched out the side window of the van as a motorcycle came around the corner too quickly and crashed into the side of our van right beside Karen. It was quite impressive watching his head bounce off the window (he had a helmet on) and the driver disappear from view toward the rear wheels. Amazingly he got right up to examine his bike. The left handgrip had broken right off. After about 15 minutes of both drivers and numerous bystanders milling about the motorcycle driver got on his bike with only one handle and drove off. Not before our van driver delivered a solid jab to his left jaw. I guess with no licenses comes no insurance.
We arrived unscathed in Sihanoukville a few hours later.
Serendipity Beach is not a bad beach. However it suffers from severe popularity. You literally cannot walk for more than 1 minute without being offered some type of service. Your best bet is to stay near the waters edge. If you go on the walkway by the restaurants you are fair game for everyone.One of the consistent things one gets to see in certain areas of the world are the cows wandering the streets. I am not sure who owns them, but they are relentless in their search for tasty trash.The required stop after a day checking out a new beach.
Though much quieter than Phnom Penh, there was no lack of things to do or hawkers to sell you any number of services. The beach was quite nice, not too littered, and the beer was cold and cheap.
These wonderful ladies walk up and down the beach and through town selling food from their kitchen on the go. One end of the yolk has a coal fired burner/stove and the other end all the ingredients. When you buy they cook it right there in front of you.As a photographer you quickly learn to appreciate the abundant Buddhist monks. They add a wonderful splash of colour to any scene, and are great about having their photo taken.By pure chance we met Sohka who is a tuk tuk driver in Sihanoukville. He made it a point to be available to us during our stay in Sihanoukville and we became quite friendly. He invited us to his home one night for dinner, which turned out to be a wonderful experience. So friendly and willing to share. A truly humbling experience.
In an effort to find an even quieter corner of Cambodia we hopped on a ferry and headed over to the island of Koh Rong Sanleom. This is a sleepy island. Not to be confused with the island of Koh Rong, that apparently is where you head to drink until dawn. Too old for that.
As we were sitting at the beach bar one night I noticed an interesting light coming over the bay. I set up my gear and was rewarded with a spectacular double rainbow and an other worldly light come over the bay. An awesome way to round out our first day there.The beach dogs on Koh Rong Sanleom were amazingly well behaved. If they were not sleeping they would be sitting watching the world go by. This one reminded me of huskys at home sleeping in the snow.We weren’t quite sure what to make of the sign for our bungalows when we first walked up. Turned out to be lovely.
Our home for the next three nights was The Beach Island Resort. If you want a good laugh you can read the reviews on the front desk staff on Trip Advisor, pretty hilarious. She is a bit stand offish initially, but by the end of our stay she was reasonably pleasant.
This was our home for three nights on Koh Rong Sanleom. 20 metres from the waters edge.
Ned our “Big House Gecko” (Tokay) lived behind the mirror in our bathroom downstairs. He would come out and watch us when we brushed our teeth in the morning.
During one of our days there we took a short 20 minute walk across the island (easily done in thongs) to Lazy Beach. Well worth the trip. Beautiful beach, stunning I thought.
On the west side of the island was Lazy Beach. On that day, it was the best beach I have ever been on. Absolute perfection. The snorkelling was awesome as well.
As our time ran out on our Cambodia visa it was now time to head for the border and see what Thailand has to offer. Bangkok here we come.
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