I have entitled this part two because I started onto a subject at the beginning of my last post which I quickly abandoned in lieu of giving you all a run down of what I had been up to. The point that I was trying to make, is that Cambodia embodies all that is Southeast Asia. It embodies the best of it and the worst of it. However, as is normal for most people we tend to dwell on the annoying and forget all the effortless smiles and genuine hospitality we were given. I was eating dinner by myself in Phnom Penh and a group of tuk tuk drivers sat down next to me. About twenty minutes later they poured me a beer, and then several more after. One of them spoke a little bit of English and had apparently seen me about 4 times in the city at different places and wanted to share a drink with me. At Otres Beach the people were wonderful and friendly and would willingly share their lives and their time with you. You didn't even have to be a paying customer to get their time. They would sit and talk and bring their kids over. The hospitality and kindness is something that I will never forget.
Now again, onto the bad. The other day was a perfect example of some of the bad parts of Cambodia. AsI walked off the bus in Phnom Penh I was hounded by no less than 20 tuk tuk drivers all shouting and grabbing to try and get me into their tuk tuk. As I walked out of the area I was followed by 3 for at least 4 minutes before they left me alone. Besides the common attempts at ripping off the tourist which honestly happens everywhere in the world you go, the tuk tuk drivers were the worst. The only exception was the guy who we hired for three days in Siem Riep who was a young guy who did an excellent job running us around. The rest of them, whether moving or not were always going to charge a higher cost to tourists. Yes, you can negotiate the price down, but even then you're still paying at least double what a local would. I'm sorry, but most Cambodians and most Southeast Asians that I have seen or met could not afford to do a 3 dollar tuk tuk ride every day. There is a reason that these guys post themselves out of every tourist spot and ask every single tourist if they want a ride, even if that tourist has walked past twenty other tuk tuks just to get there. The constant hassle and demand just grind on you until you just don't want to deal with it anymore.
Now that that is done, I should fill you in on the last few days of my trip. Gisela and I headed down to Sihanoukville and Otres Beach for our last few days in Cambodia. Upon arrival and after finding our guesthouse we slid on down to the white sand beach to catch some sun, some swimming, and a glorious sunset. That night we parked ourselves at one of bungalow establishments on the beach and drank and talked with both locals and other travelers. The following day we spent snorkeling and visiting Koh Russei. Koh Russei is also known as bamboo island. It was a great way to spend a day, and while the waters were not as great as those around Thailand, the coral was far better. That night I ended up drinking with some Estonians who were staying at our guesthouse. After one or two too many scotch and cokes I stumbled to bed. The next day Gisela took off heading back to Korea and I spent the day laying on the beach and reading. I had one last meal on the beach and I took off to head to Kuala Lumpur. I leave Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning and head back to frigid Korea. Oh well, I'll probably be the only person with a tan in Seosan.
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