We First had to travel to KL, Malaysia to catch our flight so we took the night bus into the country, arriving early mornign in Phenom Penh the capital of Cambodia.
As the 5 of us are students we wanted to maximize the already cheapness of the country. The easiest way to do that is to sacrifice sleep and take night buses and flights. Its tiring but worth it. When we got to the city we found a driver that drove my 4 friends and I to Sihanoukville in the South of Cambodia. Here is a map to better understand where exactly I went.
Our drive to Sihanoukville was exhausting we squeezed 4 in the backseat of a car. The countryside was beautiful and the small towns that we stopped at for pee or water breaks were fascinating. They were also fascinated with my blonde hair and most people spoke very little english. The country uses American money and everything is so cheap. A water bottle or a beer costs 50 cents.
First breakfast. $2 US each for smoothies and pad thai
(difficult to order when no one speaks English and there is only a few pictures to point to).
(difficult to order when no one speaks English and there is only a few pictures to point to).
Stopping for some fruit and water in rural Cambodia
Welcome to our hostel, $3 a night & a pool. Yes PLEASE!
The town of Sihanoukville is currently under development. We went here under recommendation from some friends who had just backpacked SE Asia. It arguably was my favourite beach town yet because it was not yet commercialized and filled with tourists. The people who live there are hippies who have come and never left or backpackers like us. A lot of backpackers live here for a little bit during their travels to make some money in the bars as servers or leading the boose cruises. I really liked that there was a French flare to the whole town, with little petit-dejuner places with homemade croissants, pies and good coffee.
our hostel "vip beds"
I bet in 5 years this place will not be anything like it is now. Most of the buildings near the water were being torn down and renovated. I predict it will be like any thai island and much more popular once some higher class hotels are built and the rubble of torn down buildings is cleared. 
There was a boardwalk as well as bars and restaurants that lined the beach. It was so inexpensive we were shocked. The prices for drinks above is in American. Coming from Singapore where a drink can be $20 this truly was very exciting!
Chocolate pie as a mid-day snack
Casual dinner on the beach
Our night out at the bar on the beach where all the backpackers go
Coincidentally it was called "JJ's" which is also one of my friends names.
Coincidentally it was called "JJ's" which is also one of my friends names.
Feeding stray dogs although I shouldn't. It is sad because they are everywhere and sometimes really cute.
Our french breakfast with homemade pastries and great coffee!
This restaurant had a breakfast special that
including homemade baguette for $2.50 US with eggs, coffee and juice.
including homemade baguette for $2.50 US with eggs, coffee and juice.
After my spa hour(s), I began to notice how many young woman and their daughters were doing this along the beach. There were children and woman selling beauty treatments and jewelery, as well as young boys selling sunglasses and watches. They were not as "in-your-face" as I thought they would be and it was interesting to compare this Cambodian beach to other places I have visited such as the Philippines and Thailand. Later that day we walked around the town and got snacks and I bought a bathing suit for $6 dollars.
I was also shocked and scared when we entered a corner store and watched live coverage of the Tsunami in Japan. As it was live and there was little being sad about the effects in other parts of the world, we all felt a little nervous about traveling to Indonesia after. It ended up not affecting our trip in any way other than cellphone reception towers were slower (although that may have been just a lie we were told when our sim cards didnt work). We were happy to be safe, but our thoughts went out to those affected by the horrible event.
Our moods were drastically lightened when we got on a boose-cruise boat with a bunch of other backpackers for a tour of some islands and cheap drinking. The boat ride, two beers, and dinner cost us $10 American each. It was a blast and a great way to meet other people as well as see the beaches and islands nearby. Here are some great pictures from our time at sea.
Jumping off the boat.
(ps-you could get $75 cent beers this whole time, $1 jagerbombs, or 50 c shots of alcohol)
(ps-you could get $75 cent beers this whole time, $1 jagerbombs, or 50 c shots of alcohol)
That night we decided to be efficent with our time and deal with the consequences of drinking in the sun all day on a night bus to Siem Reap. We left at maybe 8 pm and arrived at 6 am the next morning. The bus was made up of double level bunk beds and we were each given a small fleece blanket. I slept almost the whole time except for the times when we would hit a bump and I would bounce almost off the top bunk into the isle. The scariest thing was that we were driving maybe 150 km an hour and I swear not in control what so ever. Put it this way, glad it was dark out so I had no idea what was going on.
Eating our packed dinner for the journey on my top bunk.
Goodnight.
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