Falling in love with Cambodia!
Otres Beach, pure paradise! We've been in Sihanoukville for nearly a week now and ideally would stay here for another 3. I don't think we've ever been so relaxed!
We first arrived on a lively backpackers beach called Serendipity and had booked for 3 nights, however after one night we knew it wasn't the place for a pair of old farts! It was a fun place if you wanted to get drunk, but all we wanted was a beach to lie on and nothing else! Plus this beach was dirty and you couldn't lie down for 5 minutes without being hassled by a rep or beach seller!
So after 2 nights we moved to Otres Beach, 20 minutes away and stayed in a English run beach hut style hostel called Footprints! Perfection is all I can use to describe it. It was all we needed, on the doorstep of a stunning white sand beach, and for £4 a night we were made! The only downside if you want to find one is that there are power cuts every day (which happens everywhere in Cambodia) and all the rooms only have fans so its unbearably hot! You can't enjoy luxury like air-con all the time though.
Cambodia has been great, but definitely feels like the poorest place we've been so far. There are children beach sellers everywhere, some as young as 6 years old, staying out until 4am! We met one little girl called Elan who was 8 years old and all she wanted to do was play games on our iPhone. We saw her again at a beach party and she was out until 4am with school the next day at 7! It's ridiculous but I guess you have to accept that life out here is like that! I did want to do a Miss Joliè and bring her home with me though, she's adorable!
Phnom Penh, the capital was much the same but the children just beg! We arrived there last week and decided to visit the Killing Fields, a tragic place where 25% of Cambodia's population were killed by Cambodian dictator Pol Pot! It was such an eye-opening experience and the kind of place which really makes you value your life! It's enough to say that we left feeling very depressed.
We've only got 5 days left in Cambodia now and leave for Siem Reap tonight! Although we really wish we were staying in Sihanoukville. On the hostel menu tonight is Roast Pork with Apple Crumble....we could cry! :(