What a Beautiful Day for the Beach...

Not.  Good thing we have good company!

Yesterday, we went to Sihnoukville.  A place with beautiful beaches, warm cozy water, and lots of sun...or at least we thought that's what we were going to get.  I said before that we got our first taste of monsoon season the other day, but I don't think we really got it until yesterday.  Down pour to the point of flooding.  Lovely day for the beach right?

We should have read the signs.  We were taking the 1:30 am bus to Shinoukville which I almost slept through (thank god for Rebecca, Ruchi, and Laura for knocking on our door).  We hussled over to the bus stop by Tuk-Tuk thinking we were going to make it close for our bus, but the opposite happened.  We waited, waited, waited, I feel asleep on Rebecca's luggage in my lap, and before we knew it, it was 3:30 am.  "The bus is broken, but it will be here soon".  We heard this a million times.  As we continues to stared at the numberous geckos on the ceiling (and get pooped on by them-Rebecca), we finally saw a bunch of Tuk-Tuk drivers run across the road to meet an arriving bus.  We hopped on and were finally on our way to our destination.

Top: View of Victory Beach
Second: Our first set of wild monkeys to see
Third: Victory Beach
Bottom: Flooding from the monsoon outside of our restaurant

Needless to say, we all passed out as soon as we sat down.  It was a about an hour later that we realized it felt like it was sub zero in our bus.  We all grabbed every extra item we had and used it as a cover in order to warm up.  I can't express enough how ridiculously cold it was to a girl in a bathing suit, shorts, and a T-shirt.  Cold but excited, I somehow managed to fall back asleep only to wake to a rainy day in wonderful Sihnoukville.

We got off the bus only to be greeted by about 10 taxi drivers offering rides to the city.  We stood there weary eyed and wet waiting for the people to start to thin out.  A little Cambodian man approached us who spoke English very well, so we decided he would be our driver for the day.  After stopping for some much needed grub, we realized the rain was not about to let up.  It was so loud in the restaurant from the rain we could barely even hear eachother speak!  We decided to call back Mr. Im and take him up on his offer for a tour of the city by car, and I think all of us can honestly say it was the best decision we have made yet.

Mr. Im began to describe his city and tell us about the beaches, what to see, etc.  We passed a huge house and commented on how it was the Prime Ministers house.  He also pointed out that he had expanded his house to build a garden, completely ruining the small farms to its right.  This began our conversation about the corruption in Cambodia.  Mr. Im had an associates degree in English but could not afford to go get his bachelors because he had to drive in order to take care of his family.  His parents were still weak in health due to the harsh conditions of the Khmer Rouge so it was his job to take care of the family.  As we drove around the city, he pointed out all the Chinese, Russian, Japanese, and USA investments in development of large 5 star resorts and huge apartment buildings.  One of these buildings was heartbreaking as it was a large apartment building that sat on the side of one of the cites slums.  He said "no money, no honey", meaning money can buy you anything in this country.  He said these people don't follow the any laws and pay for their government positions.  They would rather expand their mansions than pay for better drainage systems.  They would rather develop big hotels than educate their people.  It was truly an first hand experience that we all walked away from realizing the reality of our surroundings.  What we have learned all about was true, and these were the people directly effected by it. 

On a lighter note, we went to the central market since it was inside and walked around a bit until the lights went completely out.  We realized that it doesn't matter where you are in the world, when the lights go out, there is a universal reaction.  An "oooooooohhh" echoed through the entire market.  We left and went back to the beach, had some lunch, played some cards, and Rebecca and I could no longer resist, we had to get into the water.

The night market after the lights went out

Cooked squid by the beach

The waved were massive and the water was a perfect luke warm.  We ran in, jumped around in the rain and water, and came out forgetting that the weather itself was poor.  We were having a great time despite mothers natures plans.  We walked further down the beach in our ponchos and noticed that the beach was mostly occupied by Cambodian people.  The people here are quite modest and even swim in their clothes instead of bathing suits.  After a quick chat we walked back to meet up with everyone to chill and pass the time until our new friend, Mr. Im, came to pick us up to take us to the bus again.  Of course right when he came, the rain finally stopped.  Just our luck.

He took us back to the bus station and we said our goodbyes promising him we would see him again.  Once on the bus, we continued the 4 hour trek back to the city with our crazy bus driver weaving around buses, cars, trucks, and motos.  After another FREEZING trip, we finally made it home safe and sound, while the temperature outside suddenly had a dethawing effect.  I still don't think I have recovered from the cold.

Another view of Victory Beach

The coldness of the bus taking its toll

Although we were battling the elements, it was still a blast.  The water was great, we saw monkeys, and we had a great time together.  At least I know one thing, the girls I am here with are awesome, and no matter where you put us or what you throw at us, we are bound to have a good time.