The Beach, the Bike and the Beer

     There has definitely been a change of pace on our trip.  This is our 6th day on the Gulf of Thailand.  Three different locations.  Kep, Kampot, and Sihanoukville.  I have mentioned how the accomodations on this trip have been an uptick over other S.E. Asia adventures.  Well in Kep we got to the hotel, rather out of the way both from the ocean and anything else, and discovered we had gotten the dates wrong.  So "no room at the inn".  We got back in the Tuk Tuk and put our fate in the hands of the driver.  He took us to this place that was right on the water.  Immediately we were charmed. (JB was charmed.  Cynthia not so much.)  Then we looked at the room.  Oh yeah, that it what they used to look like.  Small, dark, no AC, needed a paint job, but heh, $20 for the three of us.  Sure, we'll take it.  It did have a fan and that puppy ran 24/2, the entire time we were there.  Most of the time the one sheet they gave you seemed like too much.  On the second night we were there Cynthia went to use the bathroom.  A frog was in the toilet. Scared the hell out of her. There was also a mosquito in the room. The frog lept out of the toilet and I would like to think ate the mosquito!!  Kep did have fabulous sunsets and a row of restaurants that are famous for their crab.  One sits over the water, watches the sun go down, and eats the local sea food.  We enjoyed it but decided it was time to move on after 2 nights.  Frankly, the realities of the room were too much.
     Kampot isn't too far and we grabbed a tuk tuk for $15 and headed out.  We  had a room booked, and celebrated as we walked into the clean, cool, bright surroundings.  If one wanted to do a serious hang Kampot wouldn't be a bad place to do it.  It's not on the ocean, but is on the Kampong Bay River.  They have done a great job preserving their riverfront and there are a number of restaurants and bars to take care of one's needs.  There isn't a lot to do in Kampot, but when we read up on it it seemed that two things stood out.  One was the cave with the small temple inside dating from the 6th century, and the other was the "firefly river tours".  The cave turned out to be an absolutely spine jarring one hour tuk tuk ride across a flat terrain dotted with deep green patches of a crop we couldn't identify.  Again, the journey was just as interesting as the cave.  A look into the life of the poorer farmers of the Cambodian countryside.  Cynthia and Kathy spied a beautiful kingfisher as we were enroute. The cave itself was interesting enough but we spent about 15 minutes there. Worth it?  Well our backs recovered so I guess I would say yes.
     That late afternoon we got tickets for the firefly boat ride up the river.  We set out with a sceptical attitude and that's a good thing.  The tour was supposed to last 2 hours, until 7 p.m.  We figured no problem we'll eat afterwards.  About an hour and one half going up river the boat turned around.  No fireflys yet.  As the hunger and thirst began to set in, and we were truly in the boonies, the boat headed for the shore.  When close to the shore the boatman said, look fireflys!!  Well the whole boat teatered as everyone scrambled to see the fireflys.  Sure enough, up in the trees were a few fireflys.  Now not to be too critical but Cynthia and I have seen what fireflys can be like.  In Guatemala they are so bright (albeit only for about a month before rainy season) that they look like people with a flashlight.  I also remember in the fields outside of State College, PA seeing an entire meadow absolutely on fire.  It was incredible.  But, no tours!!  We made it back to the "dock" (actually there wasn't one, you just scrambled off the bow and with luck found the shore!) about 8 and just made it before hunger took over.  Of course we did miss cocktail hour which was a real bitch.  Worth it?  Yes if you like cruising the river as the sun goes down.
     The next morning we got in a mini bus and headed to Sihanoukville.  They apparently took some pointers from the Guatemalans on this as they crammed 14 passengers AND their luggage into the van.  Unbelievable.  Made me a believer in buses as at least one has a seat to themselves.  We arrived in Sihanoukville, a bit stiff, about 2 hours later.  We got to our hotel and were thrilled.  Overlooks the small pool, is clean and bright, and a 5 minute walk to the beach.  I again rented a moto and have been out the last two days exploring the nearby areas.  On our first night we made our way along the walkway between the very low key restaurants and the ocean.  A sign saying 50 cent drafts caught our attention.  Now that is a deal.  Couldn't pass it up.  They were good on their word.  6 beers, $2.  We also took a look at the menu.  Quite extensive including their "happy menu".  Yep, just what you are thinking. An entire page of various drinks and dishes cooked with the herb.  The last entry was "joint", $1.50.  The ladies definitely cautioned me about embibing, saying it could come back to bite me in the ass.  So I didn't, but then we have one more night left!!
     This is our last beach day.  Tomorrow we fly to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, something I have been looking forward to for many years and the culmiination of Kathy's trip.  Next entry will tell the tales of the temples.  Know that we are healthy, happy, loving the road, and ready for the next adventure.               JB