No posts so far in Cambodia yet because I've been having too much fun!
Ban Lung and Kratie were pretty quiet but nice scenery, cheap and good to see real Cambodian towns rather than just tourist destinations.
Next was Phnom Pehn where we visited the killing fields and genocide museum. A day of quiet reflection as we learnt about Cambodia's atrocious recent history, it was difficult to understand how such things can take place but definitely a worthwhile visit.
Siem Reap was a lot more of a party turn than I expected. We did 3 days of Ankor wat which is one of the must magical places I've been to in my life, but 50c beers meant that we had to take a day off in between each temple day ... Definitely recommend Villa Anjuna for it's tripped out goan hippie vibe and beautiful garden but rooms are expensive and the German owners seem to be slightly falling apart at the seams. For a cheaper option Garden Village is only 5 dollars per room and 1 dollar for some of the dorms.
Sihanoukville was next and it is where most tourists in Cambodia seem to stay. We heard Serendipity has all the parties and cheap booze and Victory is full of prostitutes so stayed on chilled Otres (venturing onto Serendipity for a few drinks every now and again).
Now I'm on Ko Rong where the water is blue, the sand is white and most of the bars seem to be run by people back home so the music selection is like being back in Bristol.
Our boat over here had one of the best unexpected stops ever! We thought we bought the normal return ticket to Ko Rong but turns out that for the same price we ended up on a boat that gave us breakfast, stopped for 30 mins for us to swim and snorkel and then have us lunch before we arrived!
It's a popular thing to come out here and work at the bars for the whole season and I can see the scene only getting bigger. It's a good lifestyle, western staff work for no money but get their accommodation, food and drink for free, it's long hours but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. The smaller places like Otres and Ko Rong have building work going on all around and there are still plenty of undeveloped islands in the area...
Not sure how long I'm going to stay here this time but I can definitely see myself coming back for sure!
