Krong Koh Kong (shows its sunnier side) - Day 77

At first we were desperate to get out of Krong Koh Kong (southwestern Cambodian town a few km from the Thai border). For one the beaches are located outside of town. The paradise islands are only accessible via expensive super rickety glass fiber "boats" (what do you call a tiny plastic vessel obviously not designed to transport people or goods with?). Our room is roach-infested and the sink now blocked.
Essentially there's just not much to do here.
Our back-up plan was to take the Koh Kong-Sihanoukville ferry and get off at pristine and undeveloped Koh Totang, but the ferry service girl kept repeating "no have boat" this morning. Thus we'll probably hang out here for an additional day and then take the bus to Siem Reap.*

Nevertheless we discovered yesterday that this actually is our kind of place; It's small, very few people speak English. It's remotely situated which makes it less attractive for visitors, meaning sparse farang concentration. For most people it's just a stop-over coming from Thailand, I suppose. The beaches are deserted and the people friendly. There are even diving and snorkeling opportunities, mangrove forests and conservation areas that you can visit.
Seeing the horizon and the open sea was like a breath of fresh air after so many weeks of inland traveling. Koh Kong and its picturesque surroundings will probably feature in the future editions of Aurinkomatkat-catalogues and the likes...

Anyway, it's already the 23rd so the full-on beach life won't be experienced until Thailand or Malaysia, if we want to get to Bangkok for new years that is. We've been trying to pick up speed, but it's hard.

The feeling of having a long term (read: we know were we want to be within a weeks time) feels quite extraordinary!

*)Right now we're reporting from Siem Reap, where you can find the ancient temples of Angkor, the biggest tourist magnet this region of the world has to offer. So the city here is basically dictated by the whims and needs of its visitors; laundry services  bike rentals, "happy" pizzerias and obnoxious tuktuk drivers sprawl in every corner of this town. While all this may irritate us at times, it also means that souvenirs, postcards and other "essentials" can be bought here.

//R

PS. God jul & gott nytt ar!!