A Few Days in Paradise

After working our way through the jungles of SE Asia for the last month a few days at the beach were in order. The only beach resort/area is Sihanoukville a few hours south of Phnom Penh. We didn't really know what to expect on arrival, but were pleasantly surprised. I kept having bad thoughts that the beach would be like the ones in Goa, covered in rubbish, but they were very clean and lapped with clear blue water. However, if your looking for a deserted beach to relax on, this one is definitely not it. There is a constant parade of kids and adults selling everything from bracelets to baby lobster. The beach is also lined with thatched beach huts, which gratefully supply all manner of food and drink. We camped at one place that also acted as a rest area for the children selling their bracelets. Setup by a NGO this beach hut supplied materials for the children to paint pictures and generally act as kids for an hour or so. The beach hut was decked out in dozens of pictures all done by local kids and available for sale.
After a couple extra days more then initially planned we got the bus back to Phnom Penh then onto Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon for those of more advanced age.