We took the bus early to cross the border. We arrived and were treated like cattle at the border. Ah how I missed being treated like a cow. Back to the tourist route. We arrived in Phnomh Penh eventually and were dropped in the middle of nowhere. We were yet to realise that Cambodia doesn't actually have any bus stations. All the buses to Sihanoukville were full. Shit. Cannelle was super pissed at me, because we should have booked. We had a bit of a fight and then went looking for other buses. We headed to the market place and got a bus to Sihanoukville for $7.50. We ended up paying just a little bit more and we were off after grabbing a Lucky Burger. I had to get money, but I didn't understand why all the cash machines were only issuing US dollars. I wanted local currency. They told me that I could draw dollars and then change them. I had a quick flick through the guidebook and realised that US dollars were effectively the only currency in Cambodia, with the local currency being basically the coins. I guess noone has any money and this was the only way to make a profit. Cannelle was feeling homesick and we weren't initially feeling Cambodia very much. A Scottish guy said he had booked the last place online in Siahnoukville, so Cannelle was panicking that we would not find anywhere. I tried to reassure her that Cambodia is a poor country and not all accommodation would be online. Besides Peter may have reserved us something. We arrived in town very late and weren't sure exactly where we were. Some tuk tuk drivers called us disrespectful because we did not want to use them. We hit the main road as we had been smart enough to look out of the window on the way. Using the map we worked out where we were and we were halfway between the beach and the town centre. Some tourists are so stupid they just arrive blind and grab a tuk tuk. We asked one guesthouse and they wanted $30 for a fan room. Fuck that. It was new year, but that's ridiculous. We found an internet cafe and they let us check for free. Peter had reserved us a room and paid in advance for $15 by the beach, so we walked down and checked in. It was probably the cheapest room in all of Sihanoukville for that night. He had gone searching all around the town for us and found a really cheap guy. He really is a nice guy. We owe him one for that. He also gave us a guidebook for the temples at Angkor. Our hotel was supposed to charge us $20 for the next night, but ended up charging us $15 again. They must think we look like gypos. They charged the other $25. We met Peter and went out for a meal. Laura and Jessica had arrived as well, but they ended up spending a lot more than we did.
The next day was new years eve. We met Peter for breakfast and walked around to Victory Beach. The town is pretty uninspiring and the Kao San Road of Cambodia as Peter calls the beach area is pretty shitty. Overall its not too impressive. Victory Beach is nicer though as its mainly full of Russians and families. We got some food and drink and went for a swim in the sea. Laura and Marti joined us there and the five of us went to Airport Bar. We played some pool and found out that Jessica was seemingly with a Malaysian guy now. It was a relaxing place, but the accommodation was mentally expensive for New Year. We walked back and booked our bus to Kampot. It seemed like there was not a lot to do in Cambodia and it was a huge contrast from Vietnam. We met everyone for dinner and went to a really nice French restaurant. There were fireworks at the beach and everyone was lighting lanterns and releasing them over the sea. We went to a few dance clubs, but not everyone was keen on dancing. There seemed a lot of people fucked up on drugs as there were a lot of zombie tourists dancing or shuffling around. At midnight they launched loads of fireworks and a French girl was going round kissing everyone for new year. We left the beach around 1am and Marti and Peter got cigars to smoke. We sat in a cafe as it was our last night together. It was a nice new year.
We got an English breakfast with Peter in the morning. They took ages to make it. They took even longer with the coffee. Then they dropped it. Ah its like Laos again. We took the bus to Kampot and got a $3 room over the bar. It was shitty but cheap. They even gave us two free beers. Not sure how they make any profit off a $3 room with 2 free beers, but nevermind. We went to have a look round the town. One hour later, having seen the bridge, prison and some houses, we realised there is nothing to do here. Its very peaceful though. Then again so is all of Cambodia. There really isn't anything to do. I did lots of writing and spoke to my uncle, dad and mum. My Granny was in hospital and they thought she wasn't going to make it, though she recovered the next day. Its tough when you are away from home. We went to a wooden 'Italian' restaurant for dinner. It was a bit shit, but I had the Kampot pepper sauce for the first time. I listened to the first half of the game and then had to leave. Turned out we won 3-1.
We took an early bus to Kep next. Its a quiet place as well. We got a $7 room and it seems like noone lives there. Apparently there are 30,000 locals, but I assume they live in holes as I didn't see anyone. It just seems like a resort town. We decided to go to Kep National Park. You have to look for stuff to do with your days here. I was already getting very bored with Cambodia. its all very nice, but meh. At least the locals are nice. We went to Led Zep cafe and got a route guide and a cheddar sandwich (the cheese was not cheddar). We decided to walk around the perimeter of the park that has some ok views, but nothing special. You can see Kampot from the distance. We hiked up to sunset rock. Its nice. Cannelle liked Kep more than me. I was suffering from Nicaragua disease. Look up my old blog to see it, but you can just read = boring country, with nice but mediocre scenery, nice people, fuck all to do and everyone loves it because its cheap and you can live like a king. There was no internet in town. Shame as I could have written here. We walked round to the crab shacks, saw a lot of monkeys, which was cool. We relaxed in some hammocks. Fuck it. This is not my style of travel. I am not cut out for lounging around doing nothing. We had an exceptional dinner in the place LP recommends. I had crab with the chilli/coconut sauce and Cannelle had the fish with kampot pepper. Excellent. We went to sleep early.
The next day we met two Americans at the bus stop and chatted about teaching English. Then we got a bus to Phnomh Penh. 'Would you like a tuk tuk?' became the phrase we would hear every 2 minutes. It got very annoying, very fast. We went for a walk around the city. It has some pretty parts, but its mostly just uninspiring and boring. We went to Tuol Sleng Prison Museum. Its ok, but they could do a better job with the presentation. It was still good as a basic intro to the Khmer Rouge rule. We met Jessica and her Malaysian man for dinner. The street food is much more expensive than Vietnam. Then we watched Les Miserables, which I liked, but apart from Anne Hathaway it lacks the passion of the stage version. Cannelle was stressed for my birthday the next day.
She had booked us into a hotel with a private swimming pool. It was a nice day. We got a picnic of stuff from home and went to the grassy area near the palace. Then we checked in and finally got to have sex in our own swimming pool. Highly recommended. We lounged around the hotel all afternoon and just took it easy (not that Cambodia is taxing). We went to China House for dinner and had excellent Latin American tapas in an old Chinese house. It was a very nice birthday and we had an excellent time.
The next morning was darkened by the news that my Granny had passed away. It is always difficult to deal with when you are travelling as you can't be there for your relatives and it seems very surreal. Her funeral is tomorrow and it is still a little upsetting. Peter had come to town and we were going to see the Killing Fields that day. Well I now had the perfect mood of sombreness to visit. We eventually rented some bikes for $1.5 for the half day. they told us it would take 90 minutes to get there, but it took us around 40 minutes. I doubt its 18km like they say. I reckon its around 12 or 14km maximum. Some tuk tuk drivers were insulting us and some even wanted to offer us tuk tuks when we were cycling. Seriously... I doubt they even engage their brain before they use their mouths. The Killing Fields were really interesting and after a week in Cambodia it was the first thing that I really thought was worth visiting and was informative. The audio tour is really in depth and amazingly well put together. We sadly missed the free video. Its a must see and there aren't many of them in Cambodia. I read about the French Embassy who had handed over all the locals to the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Bravery that wasn't. They should have been ashamed as I doubt the Khmer Rouge would have attacked the Embassy if pushed. Babou had met a guy in Amsterdam and luckily it wasn't Cyril again. Good for her. Maybe she will get back to herself. We went to watch Jack Reacher at the cinema, which was surprisingly really good and much better than we were expecting. Spurs won 3-0 in the FA Cup against Coventry. We were going good. Cambodia so far was unbelievably underwhelming. Not sure why so many people love it. Nicaragua disease, which is also applicable to Bolivia. Oh well. We were off to Koh Kong in the morning and we still had Angkor, so I was hopeful.
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