It was $6 for the ticket to Sihanoukville and to watch how a small boy throws up several times on the seat next to me, probably motion sickness. Anyway those bus journeys are slowly annoying me as they always take ages. This one took me another 6 hours and I have to go the entire way back to PP. On the other hand it was a two-level bus and I got a seat at the window. Travelling overland I realize that Cambodia is not as lush as for example Malaysia or Bali with lots of palm and banana trees and but rather bushy.
Accommodation-wise it was “back to basic” without air-conditioning or hot water but my guest house is clean and big enough for me. Also, it is conveniently located next to the dive shop.
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| lots of activities at the beach |
The beach seems nice with a lot of activities on offer like hobie-sailing, jet ski, banana ride, inflatable “hills” on the water to climb and a relaxed atmosphere.
The touts are a bit annoying but that’s the way it is. Bar after Bar on the beach but guests are mostly Cambodians enjoying the weather at the beginning of the dry season. Every restaurant offers seafood BBQ and there are small hawker stalls selling grilled shrimp and squid.
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| restaurants at the beach |
I met with Jonas again for dinner and we went to a place called Snakehouse. Several different snakes are on display behind glas and there is a chained crocodile in a small pond just 4 feet away from a table where brave guests can have dinner. We sat at the fish tank which is a decent size for a restaurant. Although I usually eat local food, the word “Mousaka” smiled at me and not having had any minced meat for ages, it was a real nice treat.
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| fish tank at the Snake House |
Next day I went to the Island of Koh Rung for some diving. The trip took us two hours but as I always enjoy being on a boat, I didn’t feel as annoyed by the long journey as other customers did. The equipment was good and staff was friendly and attentive. All bags and tanks were carried for us and so we set out for our dive site at the Island Koh Koun.
Visibility was just 5 meters and I have seen much more bio-diversity on Pulau Weh. But having not dived for 6 weeks I felt comfortable and enjoyed my time under water. Buoyancy was almost perfect and air consumption was even better. There are some nice corals of all different colours, shapes and sizes, some as big as 3m long and 2 meters high. As always, you have every dive master’s favourite the nudi branchs in different colours. Also we saw white-eyed moray eel, blue-ringed angelfish, blue-spotted stingray, some groupers, Nemo’s cousin, and lots of clams. I voted for muck diving to see some sea horses but the majority wanted to go reef diving.
I remember well my early dives when I ran out of air after 35 minutes on 18 meters at the Whitsundays and so my dive buddy had to come up much earlier than expected. On the second dive the same thing happened to me. One over-weighted girl in my group (she wasn’t chubby but carried to much led), who always swam 2 meters above the guide had to surface after 53 minutes on 12 meters and so the entire group had to come up. I still had half a tank left (strike!!) and felt a bit disappointed. But having been in the exact same position before, I can very well relate as air consumption improves with experience.
If buddy teams had different air consumptions on the Perhentian Islands or on Pulau Weh, the guide would ascend to 5m for the safety stop with you and would give you a surface marker (called sausage). The dive master would then return to the other team and continue the dive. It would then be up to you to complete the safety stop, ascend slowly and then make your way back to the boat that should have approached by the time you would surface. In my opinion this is the best solution for this issue but not all operators handle it that well.
All in all I paid €47 for two dives with a PADI 5***** dive center, a four hour boat trip, unlimited water refills and two basic meals (breakfast and lunch). I guess you cant get it any cheaper for a great day in Cambodia.
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| Sunset over the Gulf of Thailand |
In the evening I treated myself to a Sunday Roast with Jonas. It was pork with gravy, sweet potato, pumpkin, peas and mash. Havent had that in ages.
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