It occurred to Elenka shortly after we left Queen Hill Resort that the plight of not just the resort, but all of Otres Beach might lie in our hands. After breakfast she sat me down and told me of her plan. We'd approach the business owners and ask what they thought of the boom-boom base bar - it's called "Otres Corner - Last Hippie Standing". Then we would explain how we felt about the place and how nowhere in the Western world would a bar be allowed to carry on the way this one does. Finally, we would explain that the owners must band together to rid themselves of this ear-piercing horror show.   

On day three, we struck off on our mission: me, a dyed in the wool Bolshie, Elenka, a neo-national socialist - opposite ends of the spectrum - joined in a common cause, to unite the business owners of Otres. The first place we visited was the largest resort on the beach, but neither the owner nor any of his managers spoke English beyond the dining menu. From there we went to the Queen Hill Resort and its restaurant. They seemed to think we'd returned to taunt them after we'd left the place in anger just a couple of days earlier, swearing like troopers because of the boom-boom base coming from the bloody Otres Corner bar. They too, spoke no English and we weren't well received. One after the other after the other, all we managed was frustration - the woes of the Revolutionary. 

The following day we found an owner who understood us very well. After telling him of our initial boom-boom experience and how it just wasn't right, he waved his arms in the air saying that he'd called the police on a number of occasions about the noisy bar, but the police had done nothing. As he started walking away I shouted way louder than I should have, saying that he needed go to the business owners and tell them they must unite against the boom-boom bar owner. 

Two nights later there was no boom-boom. That lasted a lengthy forty-eight hours. Then the noise came back, but not as loud. Elenka and I think there's a peeing contest going on between the bar and a newly united owners association. As the kerfuffle continues I've begun planting good rumours of the two unknown Canadians who might have caused this insurrection.   

The name "Otres Corner - Last Hippie Standing" is a joke in itself. The person who chose this moniker wouldn't know a hippie from a rusty hypodermic needle; real hippies would never listen to the boom-boom s*** that is blasted freely at this place.

I did a little googling. Here's an excerpt from someone who'd posted on reddit.com:
"Sihanoukville, if you go to Otres corner, there's a bar called The Last Hippy Outpost that sells eccies, acid and weed behind the bar for certain, they may sell other stuff though, I didn't check." (Eccies mean ecstasy; acid is LSD; and weed could simply be referred to as the new scent of Toronto.)  
 
The massive difference between Thailand and Cambodia: 
Elenka and I once met an old British dude down in Panang, Malaysia who'd been living in Thailand for thirty some years. He told us a story of his next door neighbour, an American, who had bought an older boat and decided to do a bit of refurbishing. Within hours the police arrived and told him that he could not do this work himself, that if he wanted to have the work completed he would have to hire Thai nationals. 

Cambodia has polar opposite ideas to those of Thailand. You immediately get a sense that foreigners rule here. That Cambodia couldn't survive without foreign business leadership, no matter how good or bad it might be. Otres Corner is a good example of bad. In Cambodia prostitution is illegal, but runs rampant - mainly because of the white folks. Yesterday, at a restaurant table just opposite ours, sat an old pony-tailed white fellow, seventy if he was day, who had not one, but three pretty young hookers. He looked somewhat like the country and western singer, Willie Nelson. Along with the four of them was a Khmer man, tour guide/pimp, perhaps. There's nothing like being with Elenka when over-the-top prostitution rears its ugly head. For that is when the true Germaine Greer in her rises to the top. Red face; hair standing on end; hands shaking; stuttering a little. It's so much fun to watch and listen. 

To take this odd foreigner need that the Cambodians seem to have a step further, if a foreigner were to come here with the intention of opening a w****house, he would be welcomed. He would most likely have to pay a small bribe because after all, prostitution is against the law, but because they feel foreigners are so necessary to their survival, the brothel would be built as quick as you could say, "Bob's your uncle."

And speaking of Bob's your uncle, there are a lot of Brits and Russians here at Otres. As we breakfasted in a nearby restaurant the other day, a couple of Ruskies sat to the left of us, a pair of Englishmen to the right. When the Khmer waiter came the Russians ordered fried eggs, bacon, potatoes, bread that has been placed on a fire-grill so that it becomes crusty, coffee and vodka. The waiter smiled, nodded his head and walked past us to the Brits who asked for a pot of tea with sugar and milk. I understood the order perfectly, but I guess I have a thing for languages. The poor waiter however, was dumbfounded. The lad kept pointing to items on the menu hoping to hit what these fellows were looking for, but it wasn't to be. The Brits were getting more and more frustrated - "a pot of tea, milk and sugar" they kept repeating. Sure, I could have gotten up and explained to the waiter that all these gentlemen wanted was a pot of tea, milk and sugar, but I was having too much fun with it. It was just like sitting with Elenka, across from the old dude and his hookers. Real pleasures are hard to find. We must never miss an opportunity to relish in them. 

Footnote: Regarding the Bolshevik and National Socialist references: Elenka's not a Nazi and I'm not a Commie. Truth be told, Elenka's always been a touch left of centre, and I'm right on the fence. Over the past few months North American right and left wing nuts have been showing their craziness with regularity. I just wanted to demonstrate that the little guy can be a bit crazy at times, too.       



    

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