Sihanoukville

Our last day on Phu Quoc was spent scootering down the coast about 40 km to a wickedly nice beach called Sao Bai. We spent most of the day there, eating noodles and vegetables and swimming in the pristine water. There was a Vietnamese film crew filming a commercial and we kept getting told to swim further up the beach because we were in their shot. After our skin was nice and wrinkled from the ocean we got back on our scooters and headed all the way to the southern tip. Colourful boats crowded the dock and locals crowded the dirt streets of this little fishing town. A few photos and we turned around to head back to our hotel. On our way back we stopped to take some pictures and we were swarmed by a group of local women and one man. They were interested in our skin colour. As Emily pulled out the sunscreen to try and explain it, one woman thought it was whitening lotion and tried to put it on her skin. After some words were exchanged, tan lines shown and our skin touched, we think they understood and everyone laughed.  By this point the sun was getting low and the lighting on the lush jungle was gorgeous as we drove home. The day wouldn't be complete without a flat tire (I had two the day before, this time it was daves turn). Luckily this must happen a lot because there are numerous repair shops on every road. 3 dollars later, daves tire was fixed and we puttered in the dark to our beach bungalow.

The next morning we caught a motorbike taxi (they put your bag between their legs and you sit on the back of the bike) and then a boat (the inside of which looked like a spaceship) and then a bus that took us into Cambodia. Unfortunately I came down with a nasty stomach illness and discharged my stomach contents before, during and after crossing the Vietnam-Cambodia border. A nice Belgian girl gave me some pills and a nice Cambodian guy gave me a pillow and I slept at the back row of seats on our bus on the way to sihanoukville. The three of us, 4 belgians, the driver and his helper were the only ones on the bus. The bumpy road caused our bus to get a flat tire (which I welcomed as it meant I could get some uninterrupted sleep; the bumpy road caused my whole body to get a foot of air on more than one occasion). I awoke out of my haze and felt quite a bit better. A few more hours through Cambodian countryside and we arrived at our destination. Sihanoukville is really trendy and there are lots of tourists/backpackers here. I can't say much else about it since I have been feeling a bit sick still and only managed to eat a bit of rice. Apparently there is a nice beach here though! Tomorrow we might take a boat trip to one of the islands that have even nicer beaches and good snorkelling.