Sihanoukville (Days 7-9)

Oh..how I've waited so long to see a sight like this again.
Why dont I just live somewhere like this?

So we left Phnom Penh around 8am and took the Angkor Express 4 hours ($8) to S-Town.

It stops once along the way, and you are greeted with this:

Cambodian Girl - "Sir...you wanna buy some (FRESH-ORGANIC-PROBABLY WILD-AND- UNBELIEVABLY CHEAP) jackfruit?"

Me - "Why yes...YES I WOULD."

Me (to the FORCE) "THANK YOU!!!"

Youve got to love the roadside hospitality.

I found one to take a pic with...super cheesy...yeah yeah yeah, I know.

This massive amount set me back...1 DOLLAR!

And remember, when you are finished, save those seeds and give them a fighting chance!

I threw these over the ledge into some brush next to the bungalow.

Speaking of bungalows...here's a pic of where we stayed.
High season price? $15!!! WITH a hammock on the front porch!
PEAK SEASON TOO!!! Unreal...

I told the owner to plant more fruit trees! Such a no-brainer, right?

And most places have breakfast included. Usually a fruit buffet with eggs (if you want them).

I had pomelo, watermelon, and pineapple. I had a big papaya in my backpack for later so it was
all bonus. You could always take some for the road if you wanted to....they dont really care.

The main part of S-town that is appealing to the tourists is the long stretch of beach with
bars and restaurants along the whole way. There are quiet places too, but this is where its going on. At night each place has a happy hour, and if you or someone you know still digs seafood, all the restaurants do "Seafood Buffet BBQ" right on the beach for....3 DOLLARS. Crazy right?
They have salads and lots of sides too...its just ridiculous.

S-Town was our big nature part of the trip...so we did this hike through Ream Nat'l Park.

Its a protected mangrove and coastal area, and we were lucky enough to see dolphins.
You take these boats for about 45 min until you reach the beach area.

Then you hang out on the beach, eat whatever food you brought with you and swim a bit.
After that they take you on this "jungle trek" which was SUPER lame. The only highlight was walking behind this local kid.

He walked with us the whole time totally barefoot. And this was some nasty terrain...
super rocky and slippery. He made me feel like the biggest weenie EVER.

I mean...LOOK at those rocks! Good lord...
Then they walk you through this local village which was pretty much a big let down and then you take the boat back to where you started.

Word to the wise...there are two trips usually offered to tourists in S-town...
one was this, and the other is a snorkeling trip to nearby islands.

DO THE SNORKELING.
We did snorkeling in Thailand a year ago so the "JUNGLE TREK" seemed like the best option.

My mistake...your benefit. Enjoy...and youre welcome. Haha..

The next day we rented electric scooters and zipped around the area.

Ended up checking the S-Town markets and found them to be the SLOPPIEST I have ever seen.
I would love to take my parents here and really blow their minds.
So much slop, and each pathway has gutters where they dump their fish-water.
Really crazy smells of course...think about what that smells like in your body!

Here are some favorite pics from there..

Real oranges are SUPPOSED to be green...take note everybody...

More Jackfruit...yeeeessss!

Me sipping on some coconut water mixed with green superfood.

Roasting little bananas...

Do you think her scarf matches those banana flowers on purpose?

Fish fish everywhere.


So we took the 2pm bus back to PP for our last night. By day 9, I was a bit worn out.
Lots of sun and really on the go. We hit up the fruit markets from Day 1 again and got more durian and a soursop to bring back to HK. We snuck the soursop in somehow but we lost the last pillow of durian at security. Actually, they let us eat it FAR away from them.
Treating us like lepers...I swear. THEIR LOSS.

I was thinking about doing a post for each day, but I want to catch up quick so I can get on with the present moment. We did a total of 10 days (flight days included) and I think it was just perfect. We were REALLY happy with the itinerary and the variety of what we saw.

Cambodia is still VERY affordable and a dream for a raw foodie. Just bring a good superfood with pro-biotics in it. I was eating lots of unwashed fruit and Im sure I was ingesting bacteria. So try to have GOOD bacteria in your system so you have a chance. My stomach only got upset once when I really overdid it with mixing fruit.

The fruit there is WAY powerful so you have to respect it. Stuff that strong likes to be left alone in your stomach. Dont eat a bunch of pineapple after eating durian. PLEASE.

Or maybe its just me...?

Feel free to ask questions if you are interested in going, and I had the
"SE Asia on a Shoestring" from Lonely Planet. It really helped, but once you are there you can really wing it. I loved each day and wouldnt mind going again at all.
So many other places though....

The big permaculture project starts in May, so I think Im going to stay put in NY and try to earn as much as I can because Im not going to have any income probably for 4 months and will be spending about 90% of my savings on the whole project...so no trips for a while.
At least big ones. There are always quickie weekend trips though...

Much love everyone...do whatever it takes to travel. I really feel that it makes us so much more compassionate and well-rounded as humans to do so. Cut out some minor luxuries every day like coffee or make your own juice instead of buying it, and the difference in $$$ at the end of the year will pay for a big trip like this. Sounds crazy, but its true.

To the future!

Anthony

Or the 70's?

I shaved off everything from the trip and thought Id leave the 'stache. Any takers? HAHAHA!

I cant rock this in NY, so I gotta make the most of it while I here...never had one before and its SO funny to see it in the mirror. Ah...the little joys of life.

-A