Day 8: South to Sihanoukville

Leaving Phnom Penh

We checked out of the Pavilion after breakfast, having arranged for two of our bags to be kept in the store room. Maraka had arrived with his friend, a much older man in his 50s or 60s, whom we shall also call "Uncle". Although we hadn't had the best of experiences with Maraka, I was in fact glad to see him. I had left my brand-new though by now much loved Keen sandals in his car, under the driver's seat, and he kindly brought them back. He wasn't about to be swayed though by my request to detour to the coastal towns of Kep and Kampot. The roads, he said, were bad. I decided to keep quiet for the moment. I had done my homework and checked with Matt, the manager of our Sihanoukville hotel, who assured me that the roads were in decent condition. We waved goodbye to Maraka and made our way out of town.

the dusty roads of outer Phnom Penh

I waited till we stopped at a gas station to top up the tank before broaching the subject with Uncle. He scratched his head but did not say "no". I paid for the gas and we got back into the car. Suddenly, he whipped out his handphone to make a call. Oh no, I thought. True enough, he had called Maraka. The two of them jabbered away in Khmer for a while, then Uncle passed me the phone and indicated that Maraka wanted to speak to me. Finally, the moment had arrived - they wanted more money for a detour. I asked how much more. Maraka said US$90 in total, US$40 more than the US$50 for the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville run. I protested - it was but a small detour, two hours more than expected. Maraka countered by saying that by the time we reached Sihanoukville and Uncle had rested, it would be late in the day and the drive back would be tiring. Should we bypass Kep and Kampot just to save US$40 when that was but a small sum for us? After all, we had come all this way to experience what Cambodia had to offer. Moreover, Uncle seemed like a much more reasonable man. I sensed that he himself was not too concerned about the money. Whatever his arrangement with Maraka was, he seemed to feel Maraka had to have a say. If Maraka was taking a cut, the less we paid, the less Uncle would get too, I reasoned. In the end, I succumbed.


From Phnom Penh to Kep

Compared to Maraka, Uncle drove at a much more measured pace. At least the scenery wasn't a complete blur this time.

a different type of traffic jam

the countryside

As we wound our way south, I kept track of our progress with my map. Uncle's standard of English didn't seem to go beyond "toilet" and the names of the towns we were passing through, but it was sufficient. Four hours into the drive, we finally reached the coast.

the sea!

Lunch in Kep

Kep was once Cambodia's Riviera, the resort town for the moneyed classes. Since the outbreak of war and hostilities, its seaside villas have been abandoned and fallen into disrepair. We cruised around for a bit, Uncle driving by the old buildings for us to have a look. The place was a ghost town. Kep's current draw was its seafood, in particular, crab, and that was what we were there for.

take your pick of seafood joints

We parked the car and headed for the first restaurant with an English Language signboard.

our choice

The place looked reasonably clean. To our delight, the place was full of local customers, a plus point in our eyes. This was, in my eyes, our very first local meal.

local patrons - alright!

Having placed our orders, we sat back to enjoy the view.

an agrarian utopia - the Cambodian Dream it seems

you can't get seafood fresher than this

our lunch being harvested?

we could have bought some crabs to go too

The highlight of our meal was the area's signature dish - Kep crab stirfried with Kampot's famous pepper. It was unbelievably fragrant, and well worth the aggravation of dealing with Maraka, the extra transport cost and the extra time spent driving, in my humble opinion.

fried crabs with green peppercorns

fried morning glory

fried noodles with prawns

fried rice with prawns

The bill for lunch came up to US$12.50, inclusive of three cans of Coke, one for each of us. While Uncle had a cigarette before hitting the road, we entertained ourselves by drooling over the grilled fish being sold just outside the restaurant.

fish onnastick - tempting...

On to Kampot and Sihanoukville

on the road again

The next part of the ride was uneventful. The roads were excellent. The only noteworthy moment was driving through Kampot which reminded me of Malaysia in the 1960s or 70s. Other than that, the drive was punctuated by short naps.

are we there yet?

Reef Resort in Sihanoukville

We finally arrived in Sihanoukville at 3.00 p.m. Uncle managed to find Reef Resort with no trouble at all. After helping us unload our bags, he left with US$80 in his pocket. The balance owing was US$72 (I had already paid US$18 for the gas) but I thought a tip of US$8 not unwarranted.

Check in at Reef Resort was quick and easy. Matt, the manager who had been so helpful online, was not around; he was away in Phnom Penh, of all places.

the pool as viewed from our porch

We were pleased to find Reef Resort extremely clean and comfortable, if not luxurious. It reminded us of Tegal Sari, our favourite little hotel in Ubud, Bali, in that great pains had been taken to ensure that everything was just so.

someone had taken the trouble to make the place look nice

lots of storage space and a safe

hey toothbrushes and toothpaste!

Somewhat worn out by the long drive and the glare, we were glad to be able to get into the shower and spend the rest of the afternoon in the cool of the room.


Ochheuteal Beach

As dusk fell, we hopped out for a quick trot around. Reef Resort's main drawback, for some, might be its location. It was five minutes from the beach, rather than on the beach itself, and getting to the beach required walking down a rocky path.

our first look at Ochheuteal Beach

In the fading light, the beach itself was not spectacular, spoilt as we have been by the beaches of Thailand and Australia, but we could see why it would be popular with the backpackers and expatriates keen to party hardy on a shoestring budget. The place was crowded with bars, barbecue joints and guesthouses, and could boast of a mean sunset.

the highlight of Occheauteal Beach

Dinner at Mick's and Craig's

On the other side of Reef Resort was the Golden Lion roundabout, a landmark in Sihanoukville. The most noteworthy building on that side was a casino. We were increasingly unimpressed by Sihanoukville.

Reef Resort's neighbour

We chanced upon Mick and Craig's Guesthouse, a couple of doors down from Reef Resort. The signboard outside proudly advertised its Sunday roasts. Ever suckers for Brit nosh, for its novelty value if nothing else, we wandered in and ordered exactly that.

Sunday Roast Part I

Sunday Roast Part II

For US$12.50 in total, we had a choice of roast chicken or roast pork, to go with our cauliflower cheese, peas, onion hash, mashed potatoes, beetroot, carrots, potato wedges, deepfried sweet potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and brown sauce, plus soft drinks. As we tucked in, we must have looked like we were enjoying our food. The people at the next table decided to order the same thing. Unfortunately, they were French so it was unlikely that they derived as much pleasure from the meal as we did.

And with that, our first day in Sihanoukville came to an end.

Day 9: Sun, Sand and Sea

Breakfast at Reef Resort

Reef Resort in the morning light

We started off with breakfast at Reef Resort's restaurant. Breakfast was included in the room tariff which was US$45 a night for a poolside room, and the breakfast menu was a nice change from the Pavilion's standard breakfast.

HM's 3-egg omelette, with tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese

my homemade pork and beef sausage, with egg and baco, on a soft bun

The breakfast was excellent. Macca's - eat your heart out. The sausage sandwich is what McMuffins aspire to be (and if they don't, they should!)


Ochheuteal Beach

While Sihanoukville wasn't exactly a one-horse town, it was clear that there wasn't much else to do except hang out at the beach, unless one preferred the delights of the massage parlours and casinos. We walked along the long narrow stretch of beach, looking for a good spot to settle down, but try as we did, we could not seem to find one. The beach was pretty by day, the sand reasonably fine and white, and the water certainly clear, but somehow we weren't excited. Perhaps the problem lay with us. If we were truly honest with ourselves, our beach bum days were over. Either that or we had turned into beach snobs.

need help relaxing? check out the signboard

Our day at the beach turned into a long walk, punctuated by the occasional happening.

the one we didn't manage to save

We found these sea creatures drying out on the beach, left there by the receding tide. At one point, HM made me pick up one with a leaf and put it back in the water.

Ochheuteal Beach is just one of several in the Sihanoukville area, but it's the most established, most developed and most popular one, not just for expatriates from Phnom Penh on weekend jaunts but for locals as well.

local kids having fun

rambutans for sale

pencil boats are apparently popular just about everywhere

harvesting shellfish

We met an old lady, possibly a vagrant, looking for shellfish. What fascinated us was how she held the plastic bag in which she stored her finds - hanging from the one tooth she had remaining.

Eventually, we wandered into a beachfront bar run by the Eden guesthouse. This was situated at the quieter end of the beach, the perfect place to just sit back and relax.

the way to Paradise?

freshness in a glass... or two

a paradise for man and animal

picture perfect

not taking "no" for an answer

The only splotch on our picture of calm was a persistent young lady who insisted that HM buy the bracelets she was selling ("I made them myself. You see all the different designs...") She stopped several times to "talk" to HM; the latter eventually caved in and bought two bracelets for US$1.


An Afternoon at Reef Resort

Even in the shade of the trees sheltering the Eden bar, the heat became an issue. We decided to return to Reef Resort.

at Reef Resort's bar

We sat at Reef Resort's bar for a while, quaffing down Coke Light while watching the young staff entertain a young guest. We had to give it to Reef Resort - they had the nicest, friendliest staff.

Thirst quenched, we retreated to our room, for some holiday reading and football on the tele. When hunger set in, HM could not bear to venture out into the heat and so we ordered lunch in.

our lunch - before

our lunch - after

We ate our lunch on the cool tiled floor, like a picnic. There was fresh barracuda and chips, homemade chicken and vegetable soup with croutons, and way too much salad; we had ordered a side salad not realising that the other items came with greens too. (We have to confess we stuck the leftover salad into the fridge and forgot all about it... Sorry, Matt and Co.)

When the sun started to dip in the sky, we moved out to the pool. It was a saltwater pool no less. It was peaceful enough till a couple, an American GI type with his Asian girlfriend, appeared. She spent the next hour literally clinging on to him, legs wrapped around him in the pool, lying on him in the deck chair, and chattering, incessantly. The sight we could block out but the sound, the sound, we had to put up with till they picked up their towels, strolled out to his motorbike parked in front of Reef Resort and zoomed away. How sad.


Dinner at Chez Mari-yan

On our last night in Sihanoukville, I decided to go to a hilltop restaurant for the view. I had read somewhere that Chez Mari-yan, a guesthouse cum restaurant perched high on the hill, had the best view of the sunset and the Sihanoukville port, so we were headed there. But first we had to cut a deal with one of the friendly neighbourhood tuk tuk drivers. I found the tuk tuks in Sihanoukville expensive, compared to the ones in Phnom Penh, but I suppose it was a sellers' market. Unless we wanted to rent a motobike, and god forbid ride it unlicensed and untrained, we were at their mercy.

The somewhat scenic ride took us across town to Victory Hill. Halfway up the hill, the tuk tuk driver stopped the vehicle at the mouth of a narrow unpaved lane. He explained that his tuk tuk could not access the last 100 m and that we would have to complete the journey on foot. He would wait for us at that very spot, for the journey home. To my dismay, the lane was unlit and the path underfoot was rocky. Going up wouldn't be a problem, but coming down in the dark was another story altogether.

The trot up the lane brought us to a set of wooden bungalows laid out in a large garden. Out on a patch of grass, a group of French men and women were playing boules of all things. They acknowledged our presence with nods and smiles. We made our way to the main building, a large rather ramshackle structure, where a flight of stairs led up to a barely lit verandah. This did not seem promising. We stood there tentatively till Madam (we assumed she was Mari Yan) came and ushered us to a low coffee table with accompanying sofa.

The verandah turned dining area overlooked the rather lush if unkempt garden but it was evident that this was no lookout point. We mentioned it to Madam who promptly asked a passing staff member to bring us up to the seaview rooms. We traipsed across the planks masquerading as wooden walkways and up wooden stairs till we reached the highest set of bungalows. There, on the verandah outside the seaview rooms, we could see all the way to the port.

Port of Sihanoukville

how romantic the town looks

It was a little odd being perched outside other people's rooms, so we didn't linger. We made our way back down to our sofa in the dining room. The space may have been romantic in some sense, a certain rustic charm, but all we could think about was the mozzies lurking under the table.

Our dinner was a simple one, steamed rice with two dishes, and iced coffee for two.

khmer fish soup

stirfried squid with ginger

The food was pleasantly homecooked in feel, and the bill only came up with US$9.10. We thanked Madam and made our way down the hill, fortunately, without incident.

Our tuk tuk driver was waiting for us. We asked him to stop at a supermarket on the way, hoping to buy some snacks for our ride back to Phnom Penh the next day. He took us to Samudera Supermarket but we couldn't find anything that we would have liked. Too bad Sihanoukville's premier bakery, Starfish Bakery, had closed for the day.

We arrived back at Reef Resort to finally meet Matt in person. He explained that he had been away in Phnom Penh to pick up supplies on, get this, his motorbike. We took the opportunity to tell him how helpful and friendly his staff were. We also decided to settle our bill which came up to US$117 for two nights' accommodation, one lunch, assorted drinks, and two bus tickets to Phnom Penh that Reef Resort had helped us to book. When Matt realised that we were due to leave early the next morning, he offered to come in early and ensure that the restaurant was ready for breakfast, a fact we were most grateful for, having failed to secure supplies for the trip. Three cheers for Reef Resort!

Day 10: Back to Phnom Penh, Yay!

Our Last Breakfast at Reef Resort

We woke that morning, happy in the thought of returning to Phnom Penh that day. Sadly, Sihanoukville was pleasant enough but there wasn't that much going for us, or perhaps we needed to stay longer to discover its hitherto hidden appeal. Before that though, we had another excellent breakfast to partake of, courtesy of Reef Resort.

HM's oats with maple syrup

my breakfast - another bite of that sandwich

Before we left, we asked Matt if he had any recommendation for us vis a vis good food in Phnom Penh. His reply was unexpected - a stall selling pork noodle soup!


From Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh

A friendly neighbourhood tuk tuk driver took us to the bus station downtown, where our Mekong Express bus waited for us. While not as plush as the Thai long-distance buses, this was still pretty comfortable, particularly considering the fact that our tickets only cost US$6 each. Plenty of bang for our buck, I'd say.

check out those seat pads

complimentary water

a hostess with the mostest

complimentary refreshments

The ride was pretty smooth, and they even threw in a mid-morning snack - bread stuffed with something that tasted and felt like fish floss (yummy!) and a faux cream-filled pandan cake (bleah!). Every now and then, the hostess would provide running commentary along the lines of "We are now passing a very famous temple. You cannot see it from here but...". In any case, the journey on Highway 4 wasn't a long one and there was something occasionally to look at.

definitely the average Cambodians' favourite snack, judging from the number of carts on the streets

The highlight of our journey though was the soap opera played out in front of our very eyes. Picture this: seated a couple of rows in front of us: - on the left of the aisle, a Cambodian girl with a Caucasian man seated on her left, next to the window; on the right of the aisle, a Cambodian girl with a Caucasian man seated on her right, next to the other window, a mirror image. The men were obviously much older, in their 50s; the women were at most 20 or 21. The pair on the left spoke once in a while, quietly. The pair on the right barely interacted, but the man looked angry and the girl was distraught. In fact, the girl on the right sobbed for most of the journey, while the other girl comforted her. Were these marriages of convenience, we speculated. Was the crying girl upset at leaving home? Perhaps she had just realised she was getting the thin end of the stick. Was her man furious at her histrionics? We never got to the bottom of the "mystery".

Four hours later, we were back in Phnom Penh and back at the Pavilion. The bus had dropped us off at one of the company's stations. This one, near Psar Thmei, was overrun with tuk tuk drivers hustling for business. Fortunately, the company had a kind of corral to keep us, the passengers, away from the grasping hands of the crowd. I looked around, trying to decide who to give our business to, and in the end went with a driver who carried a sign advertising himself as an English speaking driver. Oh well, that was as good a sign as any (pun intended).


The Pavilion

We checked into the Pavilion, collected our bags from the store room and were pleasantly surprised to be given the very best room in the house, Room No. 7.

our bit of the balcony

the main pool, as viewed from our balcony

writing desk

lookit at the size of that room

so pretty

one half of the bathroom

the other half of the bathroom

so retro, how cool

The room, like the other two rooms upstairs, opened up to the balcony overlooking the pool. The room itself, most likely the master bedroom in earlier times, was incredibly spacious and beautifully furnished. Tres magnifique!


Lunch at a Local Coffee Shop

Now that we were back in Phnom Penh, we couldn't wait to be out on the streets again. Off we went in search of Matt's pork noodle soup.

hey, a kopi tiam

We found the eatery right outside Psar Thmei, as per Matt's instructions, and lo and behold, it was a very familiar setting indeed. While it wasn't exactly crowded, it got a steady stream of customers, locals in search of a bowl of noodles and tourists looking for a place to rest their feet after all that shopping.

kopi oh peng

teh oh peng of a dubious colour

pork noodle (bee hoon) soup

The noodle soup was also very familiar, a bit like the kind of bee hoon soup we find in school canteens here in S'pore, but we could see why Matt thought the pork was excellent by Cambodian standards. It was good quality lean meat, not the cheaper fattier cuts sold by other establishments.


Psar Thmei and its Surrounds

After lunch, we decided to take a walk round the area. Outside, the sun was blazing which was good for some things!

yup, that's what cars are for...

...and motorbikes

Inside Psar Thmei, business was at a lull, possibly because of the heat.

may as well take a nap

We eventually ended up at Phnom Penh's newest shopping centre, Soryar.

Soryar Shopping Centre

Third world shopping centres can be so depressing. Often dimly lit and stuffed full of third rate goods, pirated or otherwise, with items priced out of reach of all but the most affluent locals, they are ironically looked on, by the rest of the populace, with awe. While tourists prefer the rustic charm and traditional feel of local markets, the locals themselves welcome the arrival of fast food chains (or local lookalikes), the proliferation of mobile phone shops and the luxury of shopping in airconditioned comfort, all of which spell modernity.

the view from the top

On the top floor of the building, outside a (to us) dingy roller skating rink, we discovered a balcony overlooking the city. We were amazed - how did Phnom Penh manage to look so picturesque despite the dirt and grime? As they say, nice from far, perhaps far from nice...

Downstairs there was a big supermarket. Here was an example of modernity put to good use - local produce all nicely packaged in clingfilm and styrofoam boxes. We finally bought some Kampot black pepper to bring home with us, and some fruit for tea.

let's up our fruit intake

Before Dinner

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying our room, sitting out on our balcony occasionally. Before dinner, we took a walk out to the riverfront, in search of bus tickets for our return journey to Siem Reap. There were several agents for Mekong Express so we chose one and made our enquiries. Tickets were US$9 each and, the agent said, the bus would even pick us up from the hotel. Where were we staying, she asked. At the Pavilion, we replied. She looked at us blankly. We tried in vain to describe the location of the hotel, until I remembered that print out I had shown to our driver, Makara, when we first arrived in Phnom Penh. I whipped it out and showed it to her. She took one look at it and went, "Oh, now I know where it is". Instant deja vu - this was my opportunity to find out what was in that print out. "Oh, the elephants outside..." According to the agent, that's what the write up in khmer said, that the hotel was the compound with the elephant sculptures outside which was of course exactly as it was. For some reason, the English write-up made no mention of the pachyderms and I had assumed that the two write-ups would be the same, albeit in a different language. Now that the mystery had been solved, the bad news was we would NOT be getting picked up by the bus. Too obscure a hotel, I gathered from the agent. In any case, the bus station was at the other end of Sisowath Quay, not too far away, so I wasn't too perturbed.


Dinner at Romdeng

It was a nice balmy evening for a walk. From Sisowath Quay, we strolled all the way to Street 278 on the other side of the Independence Monument. Like Street 240, Street 278 was peppered with restaurants and boutiques, although perhaps not quite as upmarket as those on 240. Our target was another of Mith Samlanh's restaurant ventures, Romdeng.

Romdeng from the outside

While most people opted for a table outside on the verandah, we were happy to be seated inside where we could admire the interiors of this painstakingly refurbished old house.

inside Romdeng

inside Romdeng

inside Romdeng

The decor was traditional Khmer, albeit fused with Western sensibilities, as befitting a restaurant serving "a taste of Cambodia's provinces". There was in fact spiders on the menu but we weren't feeling that adventurous!

watermelon and lime juice

iced tea with lemon and mint

two-coloured pomelo salad with shrimp

Battambang baby pork rib soup with preserved vegetables

fish amoc

homemade honey rice wine

rice flour turmeric crepes with palm sugar and coconut gelato

Overall, we were really happy with Romdeng's food, a rich yet subtle blend of flavours. I dare say it was the best Khmer food we had the whole trip, and for an affordable US$22.50 too. It was a fitting end to our first day back in Phnom Penh.