Much in need of beach resort destination we headed to Sihanoukville on the Cambodian south coast.We took a route via Phnom Penh so we could put our passports into the Thailand Embassy to get our free 60day visa, which would take a week to process or $20 same day express visa -we opted for the week FREE one ! When we arrived in Sihanoukville just getting off the bus was crazy - 20 or so tuk-tuk drivers were running like Usain Bolt to be the first to meet the passengers and secure a fair. I choose the one who had ran the quickest, however East had already spoken to another guy - I thought WW3 was going to break loose between the two guys, all over $2! We already had in mind that we wanted to stay at Monkey Republic on Serendipity Beach, but unfortunately it was full when we arrived, so we headed to GST1 round the corner! $7 per room per night with $1 breakfast, lunch and dinner menu… SWEET! That night we'd arranged to meet back up with Casey at JJ's Playground Bar for a Beach Party….. We were on top form dancing round like….. erm…. Lunatics - East taking handstand shots and playing the fool… his job was actually to look after us 3 girls…. Which he did bless him.

The next day was all about getting some rays, so after securing some front row sun loungers we were set for a relaxing day! You do however get beach sellers coming up to you every 10mins selling fruit, massages, jewellery & even leg waxing. We did meet a couple of great locals! An 8 year old boy named You who gave East a free friendship bracelet (on the promise we'd meet him again to buy more) & a women named Jenni who gave me a gorgeous leg/foot massage! As I said the people in Cambodia seem to be the friendliest.

East decided to make best use of his time here and booked a 3day Scuba diving Open Water course - 1 day of theory & 2days on Koh Rong Island just off the coast. As East set off bright & breezy for his day in the classroom I was going to head to the next beach along to meet Casey & spend the day in the sun! I was just finishing breaky when she stumbles in to our Guesthouse bleeding with a massive head injury that defiantly needed stitches! s***…Straight in a tuk-tuk & straight to the hospital. Where overall they were very good, she was seen immediately! The first doctor we saw spoke perfect English but the two guys who stitched her up didn't, so I had to translate everything that was going on. I was trying to be strong for her but blood is not one of my strong points I felt really queasy! Bless her she had 9 stitches in total, a load of anti-biotics/painkillers & and at least 5 days off drinking (which I think upset her the most ...ha ha!) I looked after her for the rest of the day & told her to come to Koh Rong Island with us. But she didn't want to catch a 3hrs boat ride, which is understandable & she was sharing a room with some nice people who took care of her! That evening we met up with Steph & Rod again for a $3 beach BBQ of Barracuda, jacket potato, salad & garlic bread….probably our best meal to date! And a couple of quiet beers as we were up at the crack of dawn to set sail to Koh Rong to do some diving!

The boat journey over to the island was a little choppy & I haven't felt seasick since Australia but luckily East's dive instructor Dennis had some spare tablets. The island was stunning with pure white sand, turquoise waters & fringed palm trees and to add the beauty there was no roads just a few bamboo huts for accommodation & homes for the locals. East set straight off for his confided water dives & I headed to find a spot on the beach to relax. When he got back late that afternoon he was buzzing - he'd enjoyed the day so much and due to lack of diver students east got a special 1 on 1 with Dennis for no extra cost - sweet! Whilst diving he seen rare seahorses which just made his dive even more special! We were spending the night at the dive shop's dormitory which was built on the pier (you could see the water below through the gaps in the bamboo), and that night there was a mother of all storms with thunder, lightning & water crashing all round us but unbelievably we didn't get wet & the following morning all was calm like it had all been a dream.

Early the following morning East went out to complete more of his dive skills, then after lunch I was joining them on the boat for his last two Open Water dives. His training skills went well, he was back for the two dives before I knew it and off we sailed to another part of the island. The first dive I went diving with 3 Danish guys and a crazy French Dive Master! I used this dive as a refresher / buoyancy control training exercise which was really helpful as I havn't dived in nearly a year. East had completed his 3rd dive with Dennis and was ready to dive with me on his 4th & final dive. The visibility wasn't fantastic but made us pay more attention to what was a couple of metres around us… the coral gardens were just beautiful and when we saw a blue spotted sting ray it just glowed like an electric blue light under the water! A great first dive together with plenty more to come - now that my baby is a certified diver…WELL DONE!

When we came back from Ko Rong we'd told Casey that we would stay with her on Ottres Beach for a couple of days to make sure she was on the road to recovery…which she was!! The beach was really quiet and peaceful, the guesthouse was cheap and basic but the food was a little more cost than Serendipity Beach. There was a new guest house being built called Mushroom Point which I think will be fantastic in a years' time…. Each bungalow was in the shape of a mushroom, made from bamboo with circular mattress and mozzy net which looked cool and the owners was very friendly. However they couldn't have been as crazy or nice as the owner of our Guesthouse…Ara… "like the cigarettes…SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT"!!