Tuesday 14th December 2004
I have decided that I want to go straight to Sihanoukville today after visiting Bokor. It is quite a long journey, but I am thinking it might be nicer to have an extra day at the beach before I head back to Thailand. I think I've seen all I need to see in Kampot.
I met my moto driver and he took me to the bank where I had to change up some travellers cheques. Then he drove me to a restaurant for breakfast. I explained my change of plans and we agreed a price for the whole lot. The trip to Bokor and the journey to Sihanoukville, which totalled $20, which I paid upfront. He had a brand new motorbike too which was a good sign. With my backpack on my shoulders we trundled off towards Bokor. Fortunately at the bottom of Bokor mountain there is a place where you can store luggage, so I left my backpack there and paid the entry fee of $5. The ride up the mountain was a hoot! It's hard work for an off-road trail bike, let alone our little moto. It was hair-raising as the bike darted about in all directions as it bounced off the jagged rocks up the steep spiralling road. We nearly fell off several times and I was starting to realize that regardless of whether this guy is used to driving up here or not, this was a very dangerous activity we were partaking in, seeing as it looked more than possible that we could easy slide off the edge of the road and down a sheer drop of hundreds of feet. Again the words "Adventure" and "Michael Palin" come in to my head!
At the top, 1080 metres up, we were rewarded with some great views out over the coast in the distance and looked around the ruins of what used to be a casino and a luxury hotel. There were a load of soldiers there doing a training course of some kind and the instructors looked to be American soldiers. The ride down the mountain was even more scary and dangerous than the way up and, to be honest, I was amazed at how the little motorbike stayed in one piece after all that punishment. My driver's shiny new bike looked like a well-worn, stone-chipped, used bike by the end of the day!
We collected my backpack and headed off for the gruelling trip to Sihanoukville. I was really starting to feel the strength of the sun as we flew along the highway and I angled my hat so it was covering my face and held it there with one hand. Such a long way, with 35 pounds of backpack on my shoulders, on the back of a bike was tough! I was starting to feel very fatigued and as we were about two thirds of the way to our destination my driver stopped at a gas station. He explained that he would have to turn back and go home as it was just too far, but asked me to wait there and he would find a taxi and get them to take me the rest of the way. He also promised that I would not have to pay the taxi.
He was gone ages and I was just resigning myself to the possibility that he had simply gone home and left me when he returned with a taxi in tow. True to his word he found me some transport and paid the taxi driver my fare in front of me. I felt really sorry for him after that. He had really gone the extra mile to give me the service I requested and really what I had asked of him in the first place was too much. I gave him another $5 and thanked him for all his help. I told him to drive safely and go get some rest at home. He needed it after today!
On arrival in Sihanoukville, or "snooky" as many backpackers refer to it, I hopped onto another moto and went looking for a guesthouse. It took a long time to find one that had a room available close to the beach, but I didn't want to stay in town as I wanted to walk from my room to the beach easily. Eventually I found a place close enough to the beach and it wasn't too bad. I had to ask the girl who ran the place to spray the room with some mosquito spray first as there seemed to be a family of them in there. I set up my mosquito net for the night, seeing as that was now at the forefront of my mind and set out to find somewhere to eat. It was dark now and I ventured into town on a moto (how else?) and I ate in a Sri Lankan restaurant. It was buffet night. It was the tastiest dinner I had had in a while. After dinner I needed my bed and I slept like a baby.
