Cambodia - Day Four and Five

As a small child, I was terrified of thunderstorms. I hated the intrusive flashing lightening and booming thunder. Being an always-anxious human, I pictured tree limbs crashing through my bedroom window and winds sweeping me away. My mom once told me that instead of getting scared, I should pretend I'm in Little House on the Prairie. They saw storms as opportunities to cozy up and rest quietly. To them, storms were not a source of fear, but of peace and comfort. I successfully adopted this coping mechanism and have learned to appreciate the impressive nature of storms rather than seize up with fright. And thank goodness because both mornings at the beach, we were woken up by some rather formidable thunder storms!

During these torrential downpours, we sat on our balcony, which was nicely covered by a straw overhang and appreciated the nature surrounding us. The soothing sound of rain hitting the roof and waves lapping against the shore echoed all around, creating a very relaxing atmosphere. By late morning on our first full day, the rain had subsided and we meandered to the beach for more reading and time in the water. 

In the early afternoon, I indulged in a Thai massage given in a pavilion right on the beach. Or more accurately, I paid to get manhandled and slightly beat up by a strong Cambodian woman in a pavilion right on the beach. All my previous experiences with massages have been the epitome of pampering - lots of gentle pressure and aromatic oils. This time around, I was stretched, pushed, and prodded into positions my body did not naturally want to assume. At one point, she swung my torso around so much I cracked in places I didn't know were capable of cracking. 

Following my brief time as an unsuspecting member of Fight Club, we retired to the balcony and spent most of the afternoon there, reading and listening to music. Later in the evening, we watched a gorgeous sunset gracefully descend behind the jungle tree line. 

We were greeted by another early morning downpour on our last day on the island. Unlike the previous day, the rain did not let up and because of that, there was a limited ferry schedule back to the mainland. Our original plan was to leave our little paradise on the last ferry, departing around 3:30pm. But unfortunately we were forced to pack up three hours earlier and said our sad goodbyes a little after noon. Neither of us were ready to go, and we begrudgingly trudged onto my own personal nightmare... aka the ferry. 

I have two words to describe the ferry ride back to Sihanoukville: living hell. The weather was so bad in fact we had to dock at another port and take a small bus to the original docking location. Oddly enough, we were the only sopping wet people taking advantage of the free bus ride so we were dropped right at our hostel. Silver lining! 

We finally arrived at our hostel for the evening and quickly scarfed down burgers (one meat, one veggie). It had been ages since breakfast and my hanger certainly didn't help my disposition on the ferry. With a surge in blood sugar, we were energized enough to explore a bit of the city. We stopped in a casino for a little gambling fun and perused a few local shops before calling it a day and heading back to the hostel. Unfortunately our room had some lingering ode de vomit, but we were so tired it wasn't long after our heads hit the pillow that we were fast asleep. Perhaps sleep deprivation and travel make a good pair after all!