Sihanoukville

10.02.2008 to 19.02.2008 The lunar new year brought us luck in Kampot but we can’t say the same for Sihanoukville. We got back to Kampot on the last day of the celebrations (which spanned over five days) and we found it difficult to find transport to Sihanoukville. Yakof managed to get hold of a private mini-van and we got there with a 14-seater Mercedes van just for the three of us…..we never traveled in such comfort...!

We arrived at Serendipity beach, only to discover that all the guesthouses were full. We tried our luck at Victory Hill and, after a while, managed to find two rooms in two different guesthouses. Our rooms at Victory Hill had cable television and we have to confess that, we spent long hours watching movies. The time we spent at Victory Hill was very pleasant. The beach on this stretch of Sihanoukville is quieter than the rest. The Hill in itself is full of relaxed bars, many of them French-run, and mostly frequented by middle aged men who use the ‘services’ of the bar girls.

After some nights at Victory Hill, we decided to move to Serendipity beach so Yakof could take his Open Water Diver Course there.

The eve of the day we moved to Serendipity was the day we had to say goodbye to Sijs. He had to set off to Siem Reap as his travelling holiday was coming to an end. We spent some time on the beach having a chat and a drink together and we left each other as good friends, with a collective hug and a promise to see each other again…some day soon.

Our stay in Serendipity beach was great. We managed to get a good accommodation at a guesthouse called Monkey Republic.

The first night we spent there was Valentine Day and we celebrated it at a local restaurant, Cabbage Garden, which was recommended to us by the diving school owner. The seafood was delicious and we spent the night with another couple, Mike and Candy. Mike was a dive master in training who got his final certification during our boat trip and served as the official dive master on the trip.

Yakof did his Open Water Course with Scuba Nation, so now we can go diving together. The first couple of days of Yakof’s course were theory; practicing in a shallow pool, and internet hours for Janet for her to update the blog on Laos. On the third day we set off for two-days on a boat trip around beautiful and remote islands, two hours away from the main beach. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience! Yakof finished his course, whilst diving in the sea, and Janet did some fun dives herself, including her very first night dive. The marine life in these waters was nice though the visibility was not that great due to strange currents coming in from China.

Janet managed to see the sunrise from the boat, though it actually was the spitting of the sailors that waked her up. After the stay on the boat we were exhausted and were glad to be back at the guesthouse. We spent the evening having dinner at Happy Herb Pizza with Yakof’s instructor, Claus, and after that at Monkey Republic for a drink. Claus is from Denmark but has been living in Thailand for the past five years. He is a Master Instructor….a great guy which we hope to meet again some time in the future.

Our time in Sihanoukville was getting to an end and we were preparing to head off for Siem Reap, which was going to be our last stop before heading back to Bangkok. Before we left we received an email from Sijs….we were to meet him on his last night in Siem Reap!!!