Cindy From Darwin

We took a mini bus to the port in Sihanoukville to catch our ferry. During the drive Andre got chatting with a woman from China. Turns out Cindy had been living in Darwin for over two years. She initially moved to Australia to work and had heard that there were good opportunities in Darwin, although it was a remote community. She laughed and said that she assumed it would be “remote” like smaller places in China that are not really remote at all. After her initial shock wore off she grew to enjoy it and now runs a fishing tour company there. It was really interesting to listen to her speak about her experiences in Darwin having spent some time myself in that area of the world. Cindy said she was surprised how poorly the indigenous people were treated and that she felt very accepted by them, being a visible minority herself. It was wonderful to get to know her and hear her stories. We all got on the ferry and continued to chat about life in Australia. I talked up Sydney of course and told her how much I missed Bronte. I think I may have planted a seed.

Ferry to Koh Rong

Our two hour ferry ride to Koh Rong started off well. Initially it was smooth sailing so to speak. The route was from Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Sanloem and then to Koh Rong. After dropping passengers in Koh Rong Sanloem  (Cindy included) things took a turn. It wasn’t the worst ferry experience I’ve ever had but it also wasn’t the best. It was a rough ride. To sum it up briefly, some passengers were screaming, some like it was a fun roller coaster and others with real fear, and one lady put on her life jacket. At one point the top of the air conditioning unit beside us fell off and struck Andre on the back but luckily it did him no damage. That said, by the end he looked like he was going to toss his cookies. He was sweating quite profusely and looked an odd colour. They did pass out barf bags at the start of our journey so perhaps we should have expected this. He kept it together though. I don’t suffer from motion sickness but I do suffer from fear of drowning, which I think is normal. I made sure we moved to the back seats closest to the door and I had an evacuation plan in my head. Needless to say that by the time we checked in I was ready for a drink.

Tree House Living

After getting off the Tilt-a-whirl we were meant to be picked up by our accommodation, but found out that the water was too rough for their smaller boat to get us so we would have to walk. It was only about a 15 minute walk but it was around 35 degrees in the direct sun and I had lost all of my sense of adventure and fun.

I blame my near death experience (which I accept was mostly due to my overactive imagination) for my initial lack of enthusiasm for our accommodation. I had spent the last hour thinking about what I would do to make sure Andre and I didn’t die in a watery grave, so when we got into our tree house room I only saw the negatives. This place was really no different to many places we have stayed in but in my current state of mind I was in no mood for rustic anything.

I should also mention that I had not been feeling well the last three days. It started one morning in Koh Chang. After eating a typical Southeast Asian breakfast (fried rice and vegetables) I felt like I had a bad case of heartburn or indigestion. I’ve never suffered these things but I imagined that’s what it felt like. I assumed I had put too many chili flakes in my food and left it at that, but it just wouldn’t go away. So basically for the last few days I had gone between stomach pain and nausea. I hadn’t eaten all that much as I couldn’t even think about food.

In my state of mind all I saw were the holes in the roof, large cracks in the floorboards looking down at the sand below, and the non-partitioned cold water shower right beside the toilet. I don’t know about you but I love a wet toilet seat. At least the bed had mosquito netting to protect me from the mozzies.

Having said all this, once I collected myself I ended up really loving this little place. Our deck was large enough for both hammocks and mostly shaded from the intense sun and it was beautifully breezy. There was a great restaurant a few doors down (part of the complex). Showering in cold water is actually not too bad when it’s so hot, although I did hear Andre gasp a few times and he’s much better at dealing with cold than me.

 

They were doing some work on one unit while we were there and we found out that they would  soon be renovating the tree houses. They would be completely redone and it sounded like they would become quite posh. Our place that was costing $55.00 US a night would be going up to around $150 to $200 US a night after the upgrades were complete.

Food

Koh Rong is a very small island and the area we were staying in was off the main strip. There were a number of places to eat along the busier stretch of beach but down at our end it was a lot quieter. Our restaurant had good food so it didn’t matter. We ate all our meals here and really enjoyed getting to know our restaurant’s one and only server, Davor. Turns out Davor was from Croatia. He had come to Koh Rong for a short holiday and never left! He had been there for two years already and had no intentions of returning to Croatia. He worked every day morning till night, taking orders and running food in his sneakers, but he loved it. He said that now he’s paid the same amount as in Croatia, being the head/managing server, and he preferred the life here on the island.

After a few days here I eventually got my appetite back and my guts seemed to settle. I was very relieved as I was a bit concerned that it may be the Malarone (medication to prevent malaria) that was causing me grief. This would have sucked as we will be in areas with malaria for the next several months and avoiding the medication is not an option for me because of my magic fairy blood.

I will say that I haven’t experienced much home sickness. I lived overseas for so many years that I am used to being away, and now I have my best bud with me and he’s my piece of home. But… I am a pathetic sick person. When I don’t feel well all I want is to be at home in my own bed. After about a week of feeling unwell off and on throughout each day I did have a longing to be home. I also get very excited when I think about getting to see my friends and family when we return. We have such an awesome group of people in our lives. Our Back to Canada party is going to be so much fun! I was just recently looking through some photos from our going away party and dinners with friends and they made me so happy.

Tree House Friends

We may be missing our friends back home but we always have plenty of guests to keep us company. In the tree house we had adorable nightly visitors, Tokay geckos. Sometimes they came inside but mostly they hung outside on the deck by our lights waiting to catch some bugs.

 

We also had our very own tree house dog. He was timid and wasn’t one for cuddles but he enjoyed lounging on the stairs up to our place. The dogs here are not aggressive like the ones we encountered in Thailand but you’re best to give them their space as I don’t think most people treat them that well and they are nervous around humans. I was happy to hear that Davor feeds them scraps of food and looks out for them.

Human Friends

The day after we arrived in Koh Rong I saw Cindy on a lounge chair in front of our restaurant just as were about to dine. She and her family had gotten off at Koh Rong Sanloem for a night and had just arrived that afternoon. We invited her to join us and ended up spending the evening having lengthy conversations regarding China and the West. Our differences and similarities, media coverage of major issues, both current and historical. It was interesting to say the least. Because of issues in Sihanoukville the Chinese have not been well received in the region. Cindy even told us that places quote her higher prices even when they are clearly posted and many restaurants have Chinese menus with higher prices. The attitude is that the Chinese have so much money they will pay whatever the asking price. It’s pretty terrible to see regular people treated this way as the result of the actions of a few.

Andre and I also got to know a couple of English boys, Jack (18 years old) and Myles (23 years old). We spent a few evenings visiting with them and got to hear all about their adventures and misadventures. They seemed to be having a great time. They were sleeping in a hostel dorm room at the other end of the beach for six dollars a night, although I don’t actually know how much sleeping they did. Every day we saw them they had been out all night. One of my favorite Jack and Myles stories was about them doing Nos (nitrous oxide) balloons. Oh the kids these days. I really enjoyed how they explained it to us and gave us the play by play like we were actually going to try it out. “So basically for the first few seconds you’re going to fit, but that’s totally normal, so don’t worry about it”, Jack said with a big smile. That will be a hard pass Jack.

Island Life

Each day a supply boat came to the island bringing everything the locals, shops, and restaurants needed. It was interesting to see the petrol delivery guy driving his improvised tractor up and down the pier.

Another amusing sight was what appeared to be the after school boat dropping the kids back home to various spots on the island. One guy would jump out and pick the kid up and carry them onto the sand so they didn’t get wet. Such a different childhood experience than ours.

On our last night there was a good storm and plenty of rain. Despite the patchy roof, that looked like it was falling apart, only a little but of rain came through. And, because the floor boards were so widely spaced it ran right out. Ha! We were just happy that no rain came in over our bed. The owners were lovely and offered to move us to a different room earlier in the evening but we decided to roll the dice. That’s just how much we dislike packing and unpacking now.

Speaking of packing… after 5 nights on the island it was time to pack up again and catch a ferry back to Sihanoukville and make our way to Kampot. Again, our accommodation was meant to take us to the pier but the water was apparently too rough. It honestly didn’t seem bad and there were plenty of other tiny boats ripping around but what can you do? Well you can hire a couple guys on bikes, but we just walked. As we headed to the pier I was hoping that the ferry ride back would be less stressful.

138 days in…

Will we make it across to Kampot? Stay tuned.