Kingdom of Bedazzled*

They say less is more, except “they” has never visited Cambodia.  This phrase definitely wouldn’t translate into the Khmer vernacular. From weddings to bed sheets to ad campaigns and everything in between, the object seems to be to incorporate as much as possible into the design. Literally, as much as possible

My first few weeks here, one of my housemates and I went bed sheet shopping. Thinking it would be a simple and easy task, we went on our own–armed with zero Khmer language skills. Not only were we miffed to discover that no such thing as a “top sheet” exists, we struggled to choose a pattern that wouldn’t keep us up at night. Think Lisa Frank meets 90’s reject floral furniture coverings.

Even when you look hopefully towards a Cambodian man, praying that amongst the flowers and puppy dogs he’ll produce a nice set of solid sheets from his pile,  there was no such luck to be found. It required some back-up in the Khmer-speaking form of a work colleague and another trip to the market. At least then we were able to find some decent floral patterns (I even managed to find a nice, simple plaid) and request two bottom sheets.

Another challenge has been working on a label design for a new honey project our organization is launching (more on this in the next post and why I’m coming to feel like Queen Bee of Battambang).  I was tasked with assignment of producing a nice label to slap on our jars of delicious honey to sell to barangs–that’s me and most of you out there.  Now, there are things I know and things I don’t. The traveling, eco-friendly, all-natural, local product scene–I’ve got that down. I mean, throw in vegetarian and you’ve nailed my demographic. We like simple, clean designs using natural colors and hip fair trade lingo. Above all, we’re a sucker for a great story and a socially responsible product.

The Cambodian demographic is an entirely different can of worms, though. Things like realistic pictures of bees, flowers or honey comb and multi-color text are a sure way into their hearts (and pocket books). So attempting to rectify these  completely different visions of style for two distinct (though at times overlapping) demographic, has been…well, a challenge.  Luckily one that has given me a ton of insight and taught me a few important lessons (including finding a better poker face and learning to eat a slice of humble pie now and then).

I still cannot, even remotely, relate or understand the Khmer definition of beauty or aesthetically pleasing.  Like at weddings where some of the most beautiful women you could imagine, cake on 12 pounds of make-up and white face powder. Ugh. White face powder is a whole other blog entry too.

But my favorite example so far has been a restaurant on the outskirts of Battambang (on the road out to Wat Banan). The restaurant is owned by a retired doctor who decided to buy a several hectare plot of land to grow food for his restaurant (cool) and build his own private Wonderland (weird).   Scattered throughout are the open, hammock-filled bungalows where you dine and hundreds of statues of animals, people and other strange category-defying creatures. Rabbits, peacocks, Angkor soldiers, crocodiles, Santa Clause, giraffes, elephants, swans…Oh my! Do I need to go on?

Sometimes it’s infuriating and sometimes it’s mind-boggling. But mostly, it’s incredible that different cultures and people can look at the same design. One will see beauty and the other disaster. I guess it makes you think…

*I’ve seen very little actual bedazzling here in Cambodia, but since it’s my favorite hideous 90’s trend I had to give it a shout out.

An Ode to Breakfast

I love breakfast. I can eat it at any time of day or  for all three meals in one day. It’s probably the most American thing about me. Because when I say breakfast, I don’t mean eating any kind of food when you wake up in the morning (like they would here in Cambodia).  When I say breakfast think cereal, eggs, milk, juice, cheese, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, toast, hashbrowns, fried tomatoes, pancakes, honey, waffles, crepes, french toast and maybe a mimosa or two.

Even mentioning it makes me crave a lovely Sunday morning brunch in New York City.  Okay, time to stop the food porn.

Unfortunately, breakfast of this fashion is not well known outside of the West–and forget about brunch, my darling New Yorkers. No way.  But when I travel, it is one of the things I miss most about living in the US. Don’t get me wrong, wherever you find travelers roaming breakfast is not far away (aka at the tourist restaurant with the same menu all over the world–breakfast, spaghetti/pizza, and a few local dishes) . But if you venture off the beaten path, you’re likely to discover that most people around the world eat the foods for breakfast as they do for lunch and dinner, irrespective of income level or status.

In Asia, this means rice, rice and more rice. When I’m in the field (silly expression international development practitioners use to describe their work in rural areas as opposed to in the office), I literally eat rice three times a day. The food is nice and the staff  sweetly prepare a special vegetarian dish for each meal for me–but at 7 am the last thing I can face is a steaming hot plate of vegetables and a giant mound of white rice. Especially when the woman next to me is happily munching on cow cheek.

It is on these mornings that I dream of a large bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats and a big glass of apple juice.

Breakfast, O Breakfast, how I love thee.

Bicycling in Battambang

The basic rules of traffic here in Battambang are…well, there are no rules. Don’t be silly. Traffic zips and zooms about. No stop signs. No traffic lights. Only the vaguest concept of lanes. In other words, it’s 100% defensive driving.

Battambang is a pretty small city (even a town by some standards) divided in half by a river. I live and work on one side of the river, but most of the activities (bars, restaurants, etc) are on the other side. You can cross the river on one of 4 bridges (one is foot or bike traffic only though). The middle bridge, closest to my house, is the most convenient for getting around in the city center–it’s also the busiest and most chaotic.  You share the road with all manner of vehicles. By all manner, I mean all manner–cars, trucks, tuk tuks, motorcycles, other cyclers–some of whom have entire stores attached them, carts pulled by donkeys or water buffaloes, flat tractors with long beds filled with 20 people, small vendor carts with motos attached and really anything with at least two wheels.

We bought bikes our first week in the city because it’s an easy, fast and cheap way to get around. My first night out on the bike was a complete disaster. I managed to not fall off or hit any cars or land in a large pile of monks, but just barely.  After purchasing my new-to-me-bike, one of the other interns from Columbia and I decided to meet a few folks for  dinner on the other side of the river. Well, for starters it was rush hour and to top it all off, it was getting dark and I realized my bike light was merely for decoration. So there I am, trying to figure out how to turn left on to the busiest bridge in the city during the busiest traffic hour with no pause in traffic, no street lights, and no bike light (to alert other cars to my presence). Needless to say, I was panicking. By sheer dumb luck (with a partial walking of the bike), I managed to maneuver into the flow crossing the bridge. I soon realized that my cautious pace was not fast enough for the residents of Battambang–all manner of vehicles (see above) and people began honking at me and telling me to go faster.  At one point a moto pulled in so close to me on my left, I was sure he would hit me. I was considering dodging off my bike to the side but I noticed a large group of orange-clad monks passing on my right.  I’ve learned, since being in Southeast Asia, that monks aren’t allowed to touch women and it’s a sign of the greatest disrespect to touch or bump into them. Play dominos with a group of monks or fall off into the rushing moto? Well, neither sounded appealing. I managed to keep going–barely.  It was one of the most frightening trips of my life. Way too many close calls for comfort.  This was all a few weeks ago now…

I’ve never been much of a biker (understatement of the century) and I’ve always been petrified of city biking.  In fact, my lonely bike has sat in my NYC apartment all year waiting for the opportunity to get out on the town. In 10 months I took it out to the park once and it was not an altogether enjoyable experience.

Nevertheless, getting confident and feeling ready for biking in the big city was one of my goals for this summer and it seems to be working!

Last weekend I biked with a group of interns from work to Phnom Sampeau (site of a few Buddhist temples and the killing caves under the Khmer Rouge). It’s about 26 miles round trip from the caves to my house and it’s a pretty nice hike up a steep hill to the top. All together the trip took us around 4 hours–including the hike up to the top, touring the temples and the caves, a little fruit picnic and enjoying a fresh, cold coconut water. I felt exhausted afterward, but extremely pleased in my improved biking and endurance on the trip.

Now I’m getting more and more used to the flow of traffic. I know (or at least know better) when and how to cut through the intersections. I’ve actually really started to enjoy the freedom of biking around the city and the 360 degree view provided (though it’s very similar on a moto). Last night I even discovered the joys of tipsy bike riding back home after a few drinks at the bar. Don’t worry, there are no cars on the road in Battambang after 9 pm. The whole city goes to sleep by then–except the crazy barangs.

First stop Battambang. Next stop NYC? I think so!

PS-I promise to post some more pictures this week!

Quick Tip #7: Learn some of the local language

No matter how short your visit, learning some of the local language and practicing it with residents will go a long way (note: may not exactly apply to Parisians–exercise caution avec la france).

Make it a goal to learn 5-10 words and phrases including “hello”, “how are you”, “goodbye” and “thank you”. Something I always find useful is learning numbers.

Though my Khmer will definitely not mature past the basics this summer, whenever I speak more than “thank you” , Cambodians light up. It’s usually followed by a round of laughter where everyone comes an stares at the barang speaking strange Khmer and then a rush of questions in Khmer.  Unfortunately, this onslaught of Khmer quickly fills everyone in on the actual level of my comprehension (somewhere between vague and non-existent).

Nevertheless, the prices seem to fall and the smiles stretch for miles. Like last weekend while visiting Siem Reap (home to Angkor Wat), I bargained a hammock down from $6 to $2.50 and the woman threw off the last .50 cents because she liked my Khmer numbers!

moi.bi.by.boon.praum.

It’s such a small gesture and it goes so far.

Turn off the heat!

Sorry it’s been so long. We got busy faster than I realized at work and the weeks kept zooming by.

I’m back in it though. I’ll be posting about the last few weeks in posts to follow, but first thing’s first. We gotta talk about this heat. Typically, May-October is the rainy season in Cambodia. You’re supposed to expect torrential downpours everyday around 2pm. Not only does the rain provide a nice break from the relentless heat, but it refills the water sources used for people, animals and crops! In other words, this country depends on a healthy rainy season to get through the dry months of winter. In fact, 75% of Cambodia’s annual rainfall is supposed to be falling from the skies…right about…now.

Still no luck.

All of the rivers are lower than expected and a lot of the farmers in this region have been unable to plant their rice for the season. Rice is one of the most water intensive crops and no Cambodian meal is complete without the starchy-goodness.  I’m not all excited to see what the low rainfalls and the lags in crop production will mean for your average Cambodian family. Less food means higher prices (laws of supply & demand) and without the income that most families usually earn from agriculture, higher prices will put an even greater burden on the poor.

If I wanted to make this blog more political, I would probably point out to any Americans reading this who still don’t believe in climate change that it’s a luxury not to believe it.  For billions around the world the drastic effects of over-consumption and disregard for the planet are seen on a daily basis; their livelihoods are literally being threatened out of existence. I would also probably say that if you don’t believe it because you can’t see it in your own life at this very moment, I have a few travel recommendations for you. Ah, who I am kidding? I’ve never been politically apathetic in my life. If you or someone you know says stupid things like “climate change isn’t real”, slap them up the side of their head and buy them a ticket to the nearest agrarian-based economy.

But back to the heat, in addition to no rain, temperatures are at record highs throughout the country! On my bike ride to work this morning, at a mere 8 am, sweat was literally dripping down my face–8 am and I’m dealing with face sweat? Bikram definitely did not prepare me for this.  And here in lovely Battambang the electricity will be out for the next 5 days.  (To be fair, the electricity is out while the regional government converts from the Thai power source they’ve been using for years to their own fully operational power plant–the sign of good things to come in Battambang) Luckily, the office has a back up generator and the electricity is supposed to come on at night (no guarantees, of course).

No rain? High temperatures? Little prospect of AC for the weekend? Well, there is no rest for the wicked, I suppose…

Thanks for tuning in..more soon!

Quick Tip #6: Forms of Transport

Getting around in Cambodia is fairly easy–in the sense that you have 25 options and you can arrange almost any form of transport to take you anywhere you want (especially if you’re willing to pay). Caution: patience required. On any type of shared transport (shared taxi, minibus, or bus) you will undoubtedly make unexpected and prolonged stops. In other words, in the land of rubber time, you should forget the “exact time” they told you and expect to arrive at “some point”. If you’ve traveled in Latin America, Africa or other parts of Asia, it’s the same or… same, same but different.

So armed with courage, a little faith in humanity and a lot of patience, you should be able to navigate your way through big cities, the countryside and across national borders without too many problems.

Inner city transit usually happens on foot, bike, moto, taxis, buses, or–where lucky–the metro/train. But, depending on where you are in the world, don’t be afraid to hop on a tuk tuk, a cycle-rickshaw, or really anything with wheels/hooves. Always be sure to negotiate a price first and make sure your driver really does know your final destination. Sometimes drivers will cut a deal with you on the price if you agree to go in and look at their friend’s shop. They get a commission for just bringing you by. It’s harmless and sometimes you can even find good stuff.  If you’re in a hurry though, make it clear that there are no extra stops.

Transit between cities exists in just a many forms: private and shared taxis (very common in Cambodia), minibuses, large buses, trains, hiking/treking, and boats–to name a few. Most of them will depend on your time and travel preferences.  ALWAYS bring snacks and toilet paper–10 hours will quickly turn into 15 or 20 for thousands of inexplicable reasons.

Overnight bus tip: In some buses you will get the option to try sleeper carriages (pass if you’re claustrophobic, think overhead bins on the plane but with sliding doors) and bed or semi-bed recliners (cama and semi-cama in my beloved South America).  Of the three, I usually choose the semi-bed (for long bus rides it’s a million times better than just the regular seats), because the price difference to full bed isn’t worth it for me.

Just remember, emergency care is not always easy to access and in many places it doesn’t exist. So, have fun, try new adventures but use good sense. Sometimes it’s worth an extra $1 to bump up your transit plans.

Wherever you go and however you chose to get there, remember to tread lightly. The path you’re taking is only around because those who came before you took care (or, at least, didn’t destroy it). The planet is hovering over a great, dark abyss right now, so let’s try not to kick it over the edge. There are ways to enjoy travel and leave plenty behind for future generations to enjoy too.

I’ll post soon on green travel tips, but in the mean time..check out these sites:

Responsible Travel

Travel Green

Rustic Pathways (my roommate’s former employer)

What are you doing in Cambodia?

As much as I like the vision of a roaming jet-setter without purpose or time constraints on the road, it would definitely get old.  Well, only the without purpose bit.

This summer, I’ll be completing the field work requirement for my master’s degree. I’m currently a student of the Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) program at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York.    The core of our degree curriculum is that an integrated approach to development challenges is required to make any substantial changes for the lives of the poor around the world. In other words, we can’t solve poverty by looking only at income or that AIDS is simply a problem in health.  Both poverty and AIDS (as well as hundreds of other issues confronting the developing world) will required multisector policies and action to change lives at the individual and community level. Thus, our program promotes an integrated analysis of agriculture, health, education, management and sustainable development for policymaking and field work.

It does, however, seem to  focus mostly on agriculture and health. Gender issues (and all social issues for that matter), urban challenges and cultural studies are all conspicuous by their absence–as is my beloved Latin America.  I’m afraid that’s a subject for another day, though. In spite of a few qualms here and there, I firmly believe that an integrated approach will yield the greatest impact on the lives of the poor and struggling worldwide, and I’m very honored to be part of such an amazing group of students working all over the world this summer.

Students in my program (all 27 of us) are spread out across much of Africa and three sites in Asia: Senegal, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, TANZANIA, Bangladesh, East Timor and Cambodia. All of the sites in Africa and the one in East Timor are Millennium Village sites. The other two Asian sites are managed under different organizations, but still promote the principles of the Millenium Village (MV) concept: given a certain dollar input per person  (between $60-120 a year) a poor, rural village can achieve the Millennium Development Goals in 10 years based on a series of integrated policies.

This summer, I’ll be working for an MV-type project in the Battambang Province in Cambodia. The project is small, locally run (mostly) and only in this area (for now). It does have some pretty stringent confidentiality requirements for its staff and interns, so I won’t be able to publicly describe a lot of detail on my projects or work here (it’s kind of silly, I know–but I think much of the confidentiality restrictions comes with good reason and I like working here, so that is that). The headquarters are based in an urban setting, but a lot of the work happens in a rural area very nearby (which I will be visiting later today and staying overnight until tomorrow).

My job this summer will be to help the women’s empowerment coordinator and assist in developing the capacity of women in the rural area, as well as, help the organization realize its mandate in improving the lives of women.  I’m very excited about this opportunity. I’ve worked some with women’s groups before (in the Arkansas Delta while in undergrad and later in Rwanda while I was a Watson Fellow) and I’ve always enjoyed the experience. In a post to soon follow, I will describe the conditions facing women in Cambodia and give context to the need for greater empowerment, autonomy and agency among women in this country. I will also discuss why Battambang has so many NGOs working in the region and how being the final stronghold of the Khmer Rouge has affected the people who live and work here.

But for now, it’s time to get back to work! If there are any questions you have about MDP, the integrated approach, Cambodia, women’s empowerment, or anything else I will do my best to answer them!

Until next time…

Never Again (except when inconvenient or hard)

“Out of our memory of the Holocaust we must forge an unshakable oath with all civilized people that never again will the world fail to act in time to prevent this terrible crime of genocide. We must harness the outrage of our own memories to stamp out oppression wherever it exists. We must understand that human rights and human dignity are indivisible.” – Jimmy Carter

Today I went to S21,  former security prison camp under Pol Pot turned memorial museum. The one time high school was converted into a prison camp soon after the new regime took power and forcibly moved city dwellers in Phnom Penh to rural areas to work the fields.  The stories of genocide, mass murder, torture that unfolded from 1975 to 1979 in Cambodia are horrific.  This tragic period of Cambodian history will continually resurface throughout my summer here. For those remiss on the details, I promise to post another entry soon with background and some initial impressions. But, for now, back to the day touring the prison camp.

The five buildings of S21 have changed very little since S21 was closed down (as the regime fell in 79). It  housed between 1500-2000 prisoners at any one time and an estimated 17,000+ people lost their lives in its walls. It was both detention center and torture headquarters for the Khmer Rouge. Many original pieces are on display in the various rooms including beds and instruments of torture. It is, to say the least, a chilling experience–wandering through the halls and rooms of the large complex, imagining the people who lived and died in its walls.

That being said, I was fairly disappointed with the museum as a whole. In fact, other than physically existing, a few original items and a couple of displays with explanations, it’s not much of a museum. Visitors are left to hazard guesses as to what rooms, buildings and floors were used for and to imagine the scenarios of the various instruments and the few blurry (and bloody) photographs.

I spent nearly 13 months roaming around the world learning and investigating reconciliation, justice and post-conflict healing (Thank you, Thomas J. Watson). During a year that took me to 15 countries and over 50 cities, I lived a thousand lifetimes: marching for peace with Buddhist monks in Ladkah, interviewing genocide victims in Bugesera, hearing the stories of torture victims in Santiago, witnessing historic elections in Capetown, and dialoguing on reconciliation in Ballycastle.  And, what started out as a year of academic investigation on nonviolence and reconciliation, became an attempt to understand the depth and limits of forgiveness. I discovered that the people and places who seemed to be most healed from the trauma of their country’s past, were those who had both had the opportunity (perhaps on many occasions) to share their story and those who felt that justice had been served (those responsible have been thoroughly punished and a new, better life for the victims).

Having only been in Cambodia a short time, I’m not prepared to say how the average Cambodian feels about opportunities to share their stories or feel that justice has been served (I have my suspicions though). If this museum is any indication, however, the opportunities for story-telling have either not happened or the institutions aren’t in place for sharing the victims’ stories with a wider audience (maybe even young Cambodians). Museums and commemorative parks, in my opinion, are a critical medium for displaying, remembering and learning about the history and struggles of a people.

The most successful example I’ve seen is the Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali, Rwanda. The museum provides a well-documented account of pre and post genocide Rwanda in three different languages (English, French and Kinyarwanda).  Their website also has many of the exhibits and has individual stories from survivors who have elected to participate.  It was moving, heartbreaking and incredibly informative all at the same time. Other successful examples I’ve seen include the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, the Holocaust Museum in DC and Villa Grimaldi outside of Santiago.

At the end of the Genocide Memorial Museum in Kigali, they offer a comparison of similar events from around the world. At the beginning of this exhibit Jimmy Carter’s famous Never Again quote is painted in large letters on the wall. It serves as an eerie background to the pictures from around the world that occurred before and after his famous words. Never Again seems to be a false promise. It has happened again and again. It is happening now.

Unfortunately, the events that led to the horrific scenes in Cambodia, Rwanda, South Africa, Chile (…Argentina, China, USSR, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Sudan, etc…) are not that different from one another.  In the case of genocide3, torture and mass murder having a physical space to act as a repository  of stories is a way to give people a voice and allow the world to hear it.  More opportunities to learn about these tragic events means the better our chances for a true Never Again. The more we, as a people who share this planet, learn about one another, the more we will see our similarities instead of our differences. When the stories stop becoming their stories and instead become our stories, we can look forward to a future of Never Again. At least…that is my sincerest hope.

Kampot

Kampot is a small riverside town nearish to the Vietnamese border. It has a number of French colonial buildings still intact and boasts a nearby eco reserve (Bokor national park), caves (some with Buddhist temples predating Angkor Wat inside), salt fields, pepper mills, and a generally sluggish, relaxing pace. In fact, the pace is so sluggish many people intending to stay only a day end up here for weeks and even months (notably a large number of old hippies–even one who had spent quite a bit of time keeping it weird in Austin). I couldn’t spend much more than 3 days here (leaving tomorrow for PP again), but it’s been an adventure so far.

We tried to rent a scooter to get around the city and see the caves, but it was a major failure and we ended up with a tuk tuk driver instead!   The cave closest, Phnom Ch’nork, to the city wasn’t as exciting as I’d imagined (it’s very small cave with one old carving in the middle of it), but a lot of local children volunteered to be tourguides for us. They took us through the cave and helped us navigate underneath to come out on the other side. We also played an exciting game of hide and seek with them and while we were waiting on the rain to stop, I taught them how to play hangman. It’s incredible how well some of them speak English! I’ve met a lot of very bright children (who know the tourist business well, a theme to discuss in a later post). Then we took a brief peak at the salt fields which have been converted into rice fields during the rainy season and dipped our toes in the “Secret Lake” which is actually a reservoir built under the Pol Pot regime in the area (and is not so secret).

Today we went to a nice area slightly north of Kampot’s city center on the river. It’s a guesthouse/restaurant/chill out spot called Olly’s.   I highly recommend it, if you’re in the area and looking for a place to relax for a few days (the downside is that it’s a about 3km outside of town and the tuk tuk ride to town costs $2–which is roughly the price of a cocktail).  We just spent the afternoon there, lazing about and drinking yummy fresh fruit smoothies. Then in the afternoon we took a two hour sunset boat cruise on the river ($5 for Captain Chim’s boat cruise) and topped the evening off with a round of drinks at a Art Bar Craze– a cooky, but fun French art/music bar, where a few old hippies sang bluegrass.

All in all, it’s been a nice stay here in quiet Kampot. The crowd is a bit older (40’s and 50’s on average), but it’s a great place to spend a few days. Tourism seems to blend more seamlessly into the community here with expats and locals working side by side. There also seems to be a genuine interest by all who live and travel in Kampot to “get to know” and “learn” rather than just zip by.

The fame of the pepper remains a mystery, but I’ll try to bring back a little to share.

Pepper wisely.

Sihanoukville & Koh Rung Island

Travel in Cambodia is much less developed than the mammoth circuits of Vietnam and Thailand.  That being said, there are few tried and true spots that keep travelers coming through the borders (even outside of Angkor Wat).

The southern coast of Cambodia has many beautiful beaches, towns and chances to visit a few islands. Following the advice of many others, we decided to head down to Sihanoukville to check things out.

SIHANOUKVILLE is the 4th largest city in Cambodia. I’d heard mixed reviews about the town before arriving and I understand why. It’s one of those “I’ve been here before” kind of places. A town (“city”) where people were already living but exploded in growth once tourism arrived. It’s a little bit BoHo, a little bit grunge and not at all what you’re looking for if you want a quiet beach holiday. The beaches are somewhat clean and the water is warm, but locals swarm the beaches from day until night trying to sell anything and everything you can imagine–often pestering you nonstop until you by something or get a little aggressive. They haven’t really figured out tourism yet in Snooky (as its affectionately called amongst grungy hippie backpackers). On the whole, I say it’s a great place for anyone looking to party or do the backpacker thing. Other than that, you might skip it and head straight to the islands. There are many to choose from! We only stayed one night there before we left for Koh Rung Island.

KOH RUNG ISLAND is the largest of the islands near Sihanoukville. It takes about 3 hours to get there by boat (don’t be fooled by the “two hour” story). There are about 4 areas with guest houses/bungalows on the island and all of them are very basic. Just a couple of beds with mosquito nets over them, a toilet, if you’re lucky a shower head, and electricity runs from 6pm-10pm.  So think a little bit Robinson Crusoe only there are about 10-15 other people with you, a small village on the island and a little restaurant and bar.  It is honestly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. White sandy beaches, warm crystal clear waters and fairly untouched by the world. It will probably only stay like this for another year or two, so best get to getting if you want to see it as is(big resort companies are getting itchy to move in)!

We stayed 3 nights on the island and other than the monstrous sunburn, I loved every minute of it. If you bore easily of the beach or need tv/internet/electricity all the time, this probably isn’t the place for you–but give it a try even if you’re in doubt. You might actually love it!

Then we left for Kampot…land of the legendary pepper.

Happy Beach Bumming!