Beach Bum

For a very long time, I was looking forward to this part of my trip. It was a vacation within a vacation, and I was so ready for it. I could spend my life happily on a beach, and I always feel rejuvenated and relaxed after a few days of sand and sun. And I won't belabor the point, but it's not a bad feeling knowing that its winter back home while you sip a mango smoothie in a bikini.

Justsayinn.

I started in Sihanoukville, on the southern coast of Cambodia. I opted to stay a few kilometers outside of town, known to be a bit trashy and full of young, drunk backpackers. I stayed on Otres beach, a strip of white sand, clear blue water, a few guesthouses and restaurants/bars, and not a whole lot else to do. I was a complete bum for 3 days there and could have easily spent more time. I met some great people, some of whom came to Otres for a few days and ended up staying 3 weeks! I got a massage on the beach ($5 full body, heaven), watched beautiful sunsets over the water, swam, read, tanned...just enjoyed myself. I spent a bunch of time with 2 Canadian girls Mia and Kristine (part of the 3 week group) and with Nelson, a guy I previously met in Phnom Penh and who came out to the beach for a few days.

After a few days on Otres Nelson and I headed to Koh Rong, a small island off the coast (about 2 hours away by boat). So from one small, rustic beach town to a smaller, more rustic little island. It was so gorgeous there! There's electricity for a few hours a day at most places, the wifi worked for like 30seconds a day, there is just sand and water and places to eat and drink. It was such a nice little getaway from the rest of the world! I got my first real stomach rumbles while on the island, but I just relaxed on the beach or in a hammock until I started to feel better (maybe it was the sea air,
possssibblyyyy the antibiotics I started taking, but I managed to feel better quickly which was really nice).

I got back to the mainland and spent another 2 nights on Otres. That brought me to a full week of beach bumming, so I knew it was just about time to move on. Luckily for me, Mia and Kristine had the same gameplan as me for the next few days, so we decided to travel together for a bit.

I'm going to try really hard to update the blog more regularly. Hopefully I live up to the task!