Sihanoukville Routine

We have been in Sihanoukville for the past four nights with two more to stay. We have been steadily discovering some enjoyable features of this town. It has been especially enjoyable since the end of the new year celebrations and the mass exodus of vacationers and tourists. In its wake it has left a sleepy rainy season tourist town.

The beach here is beautiful but it is not exactly ideal. The presence of garbage, both physical and aromatic, lessens our desire to hang around. We have adopted a hit and run method for the beach. We go, we swim, we dry a bit, we leave. So far it has served us well. Ashely even swims with me as the water is quite warm. I even started sweating in the ocean while swimming on a particularly warm day. I imagined that it was helping me to swim faster but I am sure this function was very limited.

Our days have been spent mainly reading. There is a book shop down the way that sells photocopied and used books. If you return a book purchased from there you get fifty percent off that books price toward the next purchase. I am on my third book in three days though I have intentionally been choosing books with fewer pages. I hope to buy a larger book the day before we leave to last me until we find another book store. It is probably no consolation but I have tried to purchase books of authors who are dead as xeroxed books are not exactly supporting those that write them.

We have discovered a way to beat the heat here. We are on the third floor of our hostel which backs onto a field which extends to the beach. There is a narrow open-ended hallway for room access with balconies on either side. The sun never shines on it so it stays cool and the sea breeze is channelled and intensified in the hallway. It provides the perfect place to sit and enjoy with a view and a breeze. Today we switched from a middle room to a room facing the water. We lost a second bed but we gained another window, a view, a table and chairs, and a sea breeze. I am very excited.

In two days time we will be meeting our friends in Bangkok to start a month of travel for them. We are so very excited for this. We have been on our own for four months now and to have established friends coming will be wonderful. They are also bringing vital supplies such as dinosours, books, deodorant, and pens. I am particularly excited about the dinosours but even more excited for sharing adventures with friends.