The last place on our agenda in Cambodia was Sihanoukville on the coast, a popular exit point to Thailand. The bus-ride was a straightforward 4-5 hours on one of the country's best roads through a rather unscenic countryside. We took our quarters in a comfortable hotel right opposite beautiful Serendipity Beach: palmtrees, clean, super white sand, gentle waves, turquoise & warm water... you get the picture! There were often a bunch of girls walking around with large platters of fresh tropical fruit on their heads. And the sunsets were memorable. I did spend a lot of time there, often later in the day with papa, playing in the waves or making pools and sand castles. Sometimes there were other kids to play with too, like a girl from Australia or the Indian ambassador's two sons. Yes, he and his family were staying at our place too and he even called our room to see if I wanted to play with them the next day again and at what time would it be convenient...! Buffet breakfasts were served on the top floor of the hotel overlooking the beach and one day we even had pancakes with syrop. Every evening we went out to a different restaurant, but usually ordered fish or seafood. One night we ate at a candle-lit beachplace managed by a family from California.
One day we rented a motorbike and went all the way to a national park to find out there were no boats available to take us inside. So in stead we toured around to the other beaches of Sihanoukville. Named in honour of the king, this town is Cambodia's main beach resort and by the looks of it they are expecting a large influx of tourists in the commng years; even casinos are being built. But for now the beaches had very few people which was kind a nice. We had a great excursion by taking two moto taxis to the fishing village of Stung Hau. Getting there we rode along the beautiful coastline, past a refinery and Hun Sen's private island and through rolling hills. We visited the pier with its many fishing boats and watched the loading of a boat with lots of large bags of dried fish destined for Vietnam (where they make fish sauce with it). Driving around some more we came to a wide tidal area from where we walked back to the village, where Mommy had a great time "shooting" the kids.
But towards the end of our stay in Sihanoukville my parents were getting a bit uneasy about our security. Our hotel recommended we put our valuables in their safe; we heard a French couple had been robbed during the day; and while driving on his own on one of the other beaches at sunset, Papa encountered a bunch of people on the road, some with guns, and police or army rushing to the scene. You see, Cambodia is considered safe, as long as you don't stray from the main tourist areas, which we didn't. Anyways, our program had come to an end, so on February 29 at noon we boarded a fast ferry that would shuttle us (and many other travelers) along the coast to the bordertown near Thailand. As usual we sat outside on the front deck for the good view and the breeze. Inside it was freezing cold and the videos were way too violent for me. But the sea was very calm and we passed many green islands with white beaches. At Koh Kong we took a taxi to the border, checked out of Cambodia, walked a few meters accross and checked into Thailand.
Here we go for some miscellaneous thoughts on Cambodia:
- A couple of weeks before flying to Siem Reap we heard of the riots in Phnom Penh, the burning of the Thai embassy there and the resulting dispute between Thailand and Cambodia. Even though we knew that the situation wouldn't last long, it gave us an feeling of the still potentially volatile mood that lingers in the Indochina region.
- We always had to be very careful not to stray of the beaten paths in this country, even around the temple ruins, because of the thousands of landmines that are still supposed to lay around the countryside. And since this country is really considered safe for tourism for only the past few years, we didn't feel like getting too much "off the beaten track" or outside the major cities as we would without any problem in other countries.
- As soon as we landed we noticed a major difference with the people in Laos (and even with China for that matter): the Cambodians are Very dynamic, always trying to make a buck and busy recouperating from of the many years of (virtual) civil war. After passing immigration many taxi drivers and hotel touts called out at us; motorbike (or regular) taxis asked to take us all the time for a ride; vendors (mostly but not only of souvenirs) were very often calling out "Hello, you buy something?"; we saw many beggars, sometimes landmine amputees, who approached us; and of course there was often a relatively steep US$ fee for visiting various sights. But the good thing is that everybody always remained courteous and very friendly. Also, the Cambodians seemed to speak better English than their Lao or Thai counterparts. We actually didn't learn any Khmer word (shame on us...)!
- Most of our expenses were in US$: hotels, restaurants, intercity transportation, souvenirs, groceries, etc. Smaller items like moto taxis, snacks and fruit would be paid in Riel (approx. 4000 to the US$). And in general we paid more for these items than in Laos.
- And last but not least, it is daunting and incredible to know that virtually none of the Khmer Rouge leaders have been brought to justice and that there doesn't seem to be any ongoing concerted effort to still try and bring them to justice. How can the Cambodian people simply get on with their lives and try to forget the past? They are clearly focussed on the future that will bring them a better life by trying to catch up economically with Vietnam and Thailand.
