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Sihanoukville

Posted by Mark Sullivan on November 7, 2013
Posted in: Cambodia. Leave a Comment

Our home for the past few days at the far end of Otres Beach in Sihanoukville

Our home for the past few days at the far end of Otres Beach in Sihanoukville

We’ve spent the last five days chilling out in Sihanoukville, which is Cambodia’s primary beach resort town on the Gulf of Thailand. These beaches were quite the jetsetter destination back when Jacqueline Kennedy visited Sihanoukville in 1967. But only traces of that glamor survived the insanity of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Today this is a thriving backpacker scene, with plenty of bars, karaoke, and cheap bungalows. We’ve managed to find a heavenly little resort on the farthest end of the quietest stretch of beach. It opened just a few weeks ago, and has the design flair of its hip young French owners — and a restaurant with an awesome French/Cambodian menu and bargain French wines.

Besides the stunning beach there is not much else around. We tend to wander as far as the little resort next door, which also has a friendly bar and restaurant. Their competitive edge for our business is their two insanely cute kittens.

The water is very clear and calm here

The water is very clear and calm here

Everybody loves the beautiful beaches...

Everybody loves the beautiful beaches…

...including these guys

…including these guys

Every now and then a group of these guys walk past our place...

Every now and then a group of cows walks past our place…

...which gets resident pooch, Nyu Nyu, very excited...

…which gets resident pooch, Nyu Nyu, very excited…

...but that is nothing compared to the excitement when this pig came by.

…but that is nothing compared to the excitement when this pig came by.

Did I mention the sunsets?

Did I mention the sunsets?

And did I mention the kittens?

And did I mention the kittens?

Koh Kong

Posted by Mark Sullivan on November 4, 2013
Posted in: Cambodia. 2 comments
Plying the river toward our wonderful riverside tent near Koh Kong, Cambodia

Plying the river toward our wonderful riverside tent near Koh Kong, Cambodia

Our floating tent home

Our floating tent home

We are back from a three-day stay in a wonderful floating riverside tent near Koh Kong in southwestern Cambodia. A five-hour road trip led from the traffic-choked streets of Phnom Penh to the sometimes very muddy streets of the pretty Cardamom Mountains and eventually to a riverside dock where we had our last taste of Internet for three days. From there a 20-minute boat ride took us to the wonderful solitude of the Four Rivers Floating Resort.

We rode an hour and a half by boat to visit this remote village

We rode an hour and a half by boat to visit this remote village

Our time there featured frequent jumps into the river for a swim, a night-time boat ride to see huge swarms of fireflies, kayaking through mangroves to gather clams, a visit to a thrilling waterfall (where I did unfortunately slip and smash my face against a rock, but without causing any permanent damage), and a stroll through a truly remote riverside village.

We’ve now traveled to Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s top beach resort, where we will spend four or five days before we head southeast to visit the coastal colonial town of Kampot and the fashionable 60s era resort town of Kep. Then we’ll eventually head into northeast Cambodia on our way to Laos. We are now over halfway through our one-month Cambodian visas, so we may need to stop back in Phnom Penh on the way northeast to deal with getting extensions. This didn’t seem like an issue when we arrived in Cambodia, but there are too many places left that we want to see!

Mother and child greet us upon arrival at the waterfall. They looked cute and innocent BEFORE they suddenly rushed onto the boat, scared the crap out of us, and took off with someone's sandwich.

Mother and child greet us upon arrival at the waterfall. They looked cute and innocent BEFORE they suddenly rushed onto the boat, scared the crap out of us, and took off with someone’s sandwich.

Swimming in the waterfall after my scary fall; don't worry, that gash in my forehead isn't as bad as it looks

Swimming in the waterfall after my scary fall; don’t worry, that gash in my forehead isn’t as bad as it looks

Cute village kids show off their disco moves

Cute village kids show off their disco moves

Early morning kayak ride

Early morning kayak ride

Near the main temple in the village

Near the main temple in the village

Cooking fresh clams in the sun on the front of our boat

Cooking fresh clams in the sun on the front of our boat

Cute kid in a shop

Cute kid in a shop

Jim goes back to school

Jim goes back to school

Phnom Penh

Posted by Mark Sullivan on October 31, 2013
Posted in: Cambodia. 4 comments
Our little hotel pool was a perfect escape from the afternoon heat and chaos

Our little hotel pool was a perfect escape from the afternoon heat and chaos

We were chatting with Ben and Lisa from Southampton, Englad in a restaurant and then decided to stop out for drinks afterward. Before we knew it, it was almost 2 am!

We were chatting with Ben and Lisa from Southampton, England in a restaurant and then decided to stop out for drinks afterward. Before we knew it, it was almost 2 am!

When we were in Phnom Penh 12 years ago, it was a surprisingly low-key place with a certain undiscovered charm. It was strange to be in a national capital city with dirt roads in the center of town.

Every now and again we like to have a drink at one of those old opulent hotel bars scattered around the world. Here is our bartender at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal, who turned out some perfect Perfect Manhattans.

Every now and again we like to have a drink at one of those old opulent hotel bars scattered around the world. Here is our bartender at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal, who turned out some perfect Perfect Manhattans.

But today those dirt roads are gone, and some of the charm seems to have gone with them. Now it feels more sprawling, more trafficky, more chaotic. I guess those are the growing pains for a country that is thankfully seeing more prosperity. It’s still a fun, somewhat quirky place to hang out. And it still has a couple of incredibly moving sites — the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum set in the high school turned prison at the center of Pol Pot’s brutality.

We’ve also found some fun pockets of nightlife here, including a classic old colonial-style hotel bar and a surprisingly vibrant gay scene. And yes, we’ve enjoyed a fair amount of escape time by our hotel’s peaceful little salt water pool.

After three days here we are heading southwest today to a river lodge near Koh Kong, where we will be quite cut off from the world for at least three days. Yup, no Internet at all.

A fun stop at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal's elegant colonial style Elephant Bar

A fun stop at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal’s elegant colonial style Elephant Bar