Beach Day!!!

June 2

I've had Internet everywhere so far on the trip but I was behind on the Angkor Wat post so I was trying to catch up on that post and write the new posts. Oy. I think I need to find a better system.

Yesterday we met at 8am and were whisked away for our all day boat tour of some of the islands in Sihanoukville. The whisking happened a little later though because. We started out right across the street for breakfast. This tour was $15 and include breakfast and lunch, as well as the island tour and snorkeling... And I had paid $20 for a stupid massage and to get hair ripped out of my leg. Awesome.

I can already feel hair growing in. I know when you go get waxed and stuff you're supposed to do it a few times so that you can get all the different layers the hairs are growing in on. I think it will still make it easier to get a closer shave because my legs feel exfoliated and there aren't as many bumps and ingrown hairs now.

Which, speaking of that, I talked to Matt about it. He said that was probably the best pay check they had received in a long time. It sucks because you don't mind helping them out when you know they don't make much but when they're rude and pester you it makes you mad you tried. Especially when you get super ripped off. And then I found out that the people who actually have jobs and work hard make less than the kids selling bracelets on the beach or the women giving you massages. So that pissed me off too. Matt said that I should have just given them what I felt was okay and walked away. It's not Matt's fault but I wish I would have known that from the start.

Matt also said there are a lot of people who have come to Cambodia to do help shelters for people. Give them food, shelter, help in some way. One guy told them they could come for free but the only condition was that they needed to stop selling things or begging on the street. His program went from 50 people to 150 people but then he had to kick 100 people out and told them they could no longer use the services because they were caught making money on the street. So annoying.

He also said to be aware in Vietnam because women will walk around with the sticks with baskets on them and the traditional pointy hats (which I have seen farmers in Cambodia wearing as well) and they will rest it on your shoulder. If you take it and put the hat on and take a picture then you will have to pay in order to hand it back. He also said we need to be very aware of our surroundings and to not even leave our bags unlocked in the hotel. I think he said only valuables though. He's been to the police station many times. And they make you pay for reports and stuff. Soooo yea. I need to decide if I'm going to carry everything with me or if I'm going to lock it in my bag. And I need to buy locks which Matt said I could do at the border.

Anyway, for breakfast I had a banana pancake. Crepe style. It was good. I skipped on the syrup which isn't served with it but they have for westerners.

We then drove to the river front where we boarded the boat. It was a pretty small boat. Not as small as the long boat canoe in Nepal, but I guess smaller than what I was expecting. I was kind of expecting a boat we would be able to lay out on but it was pretty much just benches with a roof cover and open sides. There was a small part on the front that 2 people could lay out on.

The sky was really blue and the clouds were really white. It looked pretty drastic and made for some nice pictures I think. You could probably see all the different types of the clouds in the sky. It was beautiful. I was mesmerized. By clouds...

The water is really blue. It is nice to see blue water. Finally!!! It exists! We rode on the boat for a while and came to a stop near an island. It had a deer statue on the shore because appropriately enough, it is called deer island. They let the anchors down and told us to jump out and go snorkel. People were laughing because they thought we were going to a beach and would be able to swim out from a beach. I thought that was strange because I think I've snorkeled from a beach as many times as I have from a boat.

Anyway, crazy thing. I really hate jumping off things into water that I have no idea how deep it is or what is in it. I think that has always been a fear. So everyone was jumping off the side of the boat and I kids sat down on the side and did a little slide in. Ha. Whatever.

My snorkel mask didn't fit very well. It was too big. I had to hold it to my face and the mouthpiece for the snorkel was really large as well. It hurt my jaw. We were over a lot of reef though and saw a lot of sea urchins and tiger fish. There was fan and brain coral. My sea life identification is not as good as it used to be so that was disappointing. It also wasn't great visibility. I was going to take my camera in but it kept telling me to set the depth meter and I don't know how to so I left it on the boat. Courtney has the same camera and she took hers and got some good pictures.

I have been worried about my watch because it says water 10 bar resistant and I don't know about anyone else but I have no idea what a bar is. I looked it up and it says its water proof for everyday use and snorkeling but to not take it deep for diving or something because the pressure will ruin it. So it was nice to not have to worry about my watch. Now I can fully reap the benefits of the famous Jenn and Rach watch tan line. I feel like at this point my arms are already as dark as they are going to get. I just need to even out the rest of my body...

Maybe it's a good thing I can't go diving in Australia. I have a really difficult time snorkeling at first. Like it freaks me out that I can breath under water. That's not natural! I also need to make sure that my mask fits because that makes it hell.

To get back on the boat they got us a ladder. I'm glad I had my tetanus shots because there was literally orange running off onto my skin from just touching it.

We boarded the boat again and went to another island. This time it was a beach. We had to get off the boat and walk into the beach so that the boat wouldn't get stuck.

Literally within minutes the weather changed from beautiful to dark and rainy. It didn't last too long but it was longer than it normally is. Maybe half an hour. It got windy.

They provided us with a volleyball and a frisbee. We played around with those in the water for a little bit. I helped Courtney collect sea shells for her sister. Our guide, Ron, cooked us lunch. BBQ chicken, warm baguettes, fresh cut fruit, fried rice, and a salad. I didn't eat the salad... Surprise!

A lot of the people decided to spread out on the beach and lay out in the sun for a snooze. I stayed in the water because it was still pretty windy and therefore cold. I went up to the beach and decided hell no am I standing here. It was so much warmer in the water. This is literally the warmest water I have ever swam in that is a large body of water. It was awesome.

After relaxing on the beach and waiting for the water to calm down, we waded through the water back to the boat. The water was still pretty rocky. Sarah and Kara sat at the front and got sprayed by water... A lot of water.

We stopped a ways out from another island to snorkel. This time I got a mask that fit an brought my camera in the water. The visibility wasn't as good though and we weren't over as much coral as we had been at the first spot. I could still see sea urchins (they were pretty large) and there were many more schools of fish than in the last place. We didn't stay for too long. I kept getting mouthfuls of salt water. Not tasty at all. The water didn't sting as much as it did yesterday. I'm not sure why.

Afterward, we zipped back to the shore. To get off the boat we had to step a really long ways up onto a tire and then onto the dock. When we started heading down the dock I looked up and the lady was there. She had tracked me down! She wanted her $4! She kept saying "remember me, from yesterday." I just kept walking and didn't look at her. Like really! You already screwed me and you came back to screw me again! Ridiculous. Although I still feel bad saying that kind of but not really, especially after everything Matt told us. Oy vey!

We went to pick up the laundry we had dropped off before. Matt had told us not to do laundry on the street but then took us to this street place so we assumed it was fine. My clothes smell so clean! And I got all my clothes back. I should have done more laundry since everything else I hand washed in Bangkok but I didn't want to lose everything. I did 2 sports bras, a tank top, 3 shirts, and a pair of pants and it only cost $1. It was 75 cents per kilo. Seriously, clean laundry is so nice. A lot of my clothes have anti smelling fabric but it still gets smelly after a while.

We had a few hours to do nothing. I took some time to myself in the room. I really like everyone in the group but some days are his really overwhelming to be social all the time. It's nice to have some alone time. Matt said on the next part of the trip there is an odd number of girls traveling alone so we will end up going on a room rotation. I'm not sure if I like this or if I like having a roommate. We will see.

We went to the same place on the beach for dinner again. I got BBQ chicken with chips (fries) and salad. Again, didn't eat the salad. The ketchup here tastes strange. It's literally just tomatoes. Nothing like good old Heinz. I rarely eat ketchup so I don't see this being an issue.

We also ordered sandwiches to go for the tomorrow. I got 2 sandwiches for $3. Breakfast was a cheese sandwich. Lunch was chicken and cheese. It was on white bread because they ran out of baguettes.

We headed back and it was again, time to crash. I repacked my bag though. I wasn't sure if I would need my sleeping bag for the home stay tomorrow night so I put it on top just in case. It took me probably an hour to reorganize my bag.

April started talking in her sleep. It was mostly nonsense aside from her yelling out "Sarah!" at one point.

P.S. in Cambodia they drive on the right side of the road! Same as the US!
And, everyone seems to wear helmets when they're driving their tuk tuks (because it has the front part that is the motor bike). At least in Phnom Penh.