Koh Kong, Cambodia

I had so much to say about this place, the people, the land, the buildings and shacks and pharmacies and tuk tuks... but I have unfortunately been captured by the ocean and the sun which has turned my brain into a bit of a scrambled egg today.

So here's just a preview:

Koh Kong is a little border town between Thailand and Cambodia. I got there via minivan, was hustled into quarantine, then to get my visa, then to get my visa stamped. The hotel I wanted to stay in was full, so my taxi driver took me to another one which ended up being better than the first, even though I was told "there are no more fan rooms left" when clearly there were not that many people staying there, and so had to pay for a queen sized air con room. Cambodia is also known as Scambodia and you see why the second you enter the country. Every where you turn you are literally surrounded my smiling dark skinned Asians who want you to take their tuk tuk, motorbike, fruit or bus ticket. It can be obnoxious, but they just smile that notorious Khmer smile and in the end you both get what you want.

I really liked Koh Kong. Something about small border towns that charm the hell out of me. I got there just as school was letting out and so was walking along the unpaved road to the ATM with hoards of middle and elementary school students on bikes. Every one of them was laughing and smiling, it was quite the sight. Then the market, which puts Sangkla's little outdoor market to shame, was an experience all of it's own accord. Cambodian women have this new fashion of wearing pajamas, like cutsie matching pant and top PJs, the kind kids in the States wear to bed in winter. And here is 35 year old momma dishing out my fruit in these ridiculously adorable clothes. It was crazy inside the market, packed every inch with stuff, anything you could ever want really, including a pig's head and a laptop. It was smelly, and hot, and not for the faint of heart, but it managed to capture mine.

Anyway, the "Pissy Bar" next door had their drum and bass going until 4am so I was left to my own watching HBO movies all night. Not half bad. Got up at 6am to catch the 5 hour bus to Sihanoukville.

I think I will go back to Koh Kong some day. No one else ever said anything about the place other than it is a stopover from Thailand to the rest of Cambodia, but I beg to differ. It has a lot to offer.