Beach Paradise

From 11/8

We woke up early at like 5 or 6am to a crazy storm coming in. There was tons of lightening, loud wind, and tons of pouring rain. It only woke me up for a minute or so and then fell right back to sleep for another couple hours. 

The second awakening happened at what felt like 10, but was actually 8am. The big windows of our room face the east so we get that early morning light. It's actually amazing to wake up naturally with the sun. 

(So much blue) 

We got up and ate breakfast at our place - they make their own bread for toast and it has this slight sweetness to it, but not too much to make it a sweet roll. I also got a mango shake which they mix with their homemade yogurt and it's so good. Real food is so good. 

The rest of the morning consisted of just hanging out on the beach and swimming. It's just the best place in the world to just hang, and the heat is great because the water is right there. Much nicer than just sweating all day with no water to jump in (Saigon, etc.). 

(A view of the other side of the beach)

For lunch we had the wood fire pizza and salad at our place. Apparently it's one of two places on the island with the best pizza. It's also the first pizza we've had since we got here. This is a feat for me, because I typically have a frozen pizza for dinner once every week or two (it's just too easy to make). 

The food was good, but what was really life changing was the coconut shake. I don't know how to explain it but it could be the cause of the worlds debt. These things are dangerous. The coconut milk with their yogurt and ice is unreal. I will probably have one or two each day until we leave. Coconut milk is healthy so it's fine?

After lunch we headed into town to book our ferry to the mainland, our bus to Phnom Penh, and take out more money. They don't have any ATMs in the island so they do a cash advance with a 10% charge. Such an interesting model. Don't tell people that there are no ATMs on the island until they get there, then charge more than any ATM does to take out cash. They also hold onto your passport until you get back to the mainland and pay up. I mean if you can do it, do it, but it would have been nice to know about the ATMs ahead of time (and that no one takes card). 

We got everything figured out, and after talking to the people there decided to do our own snorkeling adventure instead of paying to go with a huge group. The island they boat to isn't far from our place and we figure we can kayak there. 

When we got back to the resort it was raining so we jumped in the water for a little rain swimming. It didn't stop, so we eventually got out and had another shake mixed with rum. When it's raining what else do you have to do but drink and play cards? So that's what we did until it stopped raining and we headed into town for Sigi's.

Before we headed out there were some spectacular shots of lightening on the horizon. It was so constant you could watch for a minute and see 10 flashes of light. If I wasn't hungry I would have just sat outside for hours. 

(The lightening in the clouds)

I took a slow motion video of it that I'll put up on my Instagram you should check it out if you like lightening and storms (rnuech30). 

It wasn't storming near us so we walked into town, had a pre dinner cocktail and headed to Sigi's. When we got there it was closed. Being a one man shop, he ran out of supplies for his food so he closed for the night by 8pm. Determined to have this not happen again, we would go for lunch tomorrow. 

We stopped at a place out on the main drag, but still a local restaurant (not a western one). The noodles I got and rice Alex got were average, but we paid $5.50 for two large dishes and two beers. You can't get a PBR in Queen Anne for less than $5. 

We wandered around and stopped at our beach front bar on our way home. We were going to check out the bioluminescence at our beach tonight, but by the time we got back it was too late (for us, not the algae). The rainy drinks and dinner drinks took their toll and we called it a night. 

Tomorrow is a day that will be full of actually activities, instead of just longing. We're planning on kayaking, snorkeling, and swimming with the bioluminescence at night. Another day went by without me totally scorching myself, so I'm doing well. I always put the screen on, but I'm also trying to stay in the shade at least half the day. 

One of the craziest things about this island is that is has no roads. Zero roads. You get around by walking or boat taxi. The only section that has restaurants and places to stay is right where the main dock is. This is obviously by design because you can't get supplies unless you're close enough to the dock. It's interesting to think that they need to ship everything in, and ship everything out. They obviously don't have their own garbage service, so they ship everything back. It's a huge island too, about 15km tall by 16km wide. Granted most of it is forest, but still I know there are a couple villages on the island apart from just the one near the dock. It's a very unique place that I may never see anywhere else I go. 

"Roam abroad in the world, and take thy fill of its enjoyments before the day shall come when thou must quit it for good."

- Saadi