29 November 1pm I traded the city (Phomn Penh) for the beach (Sihanoukville).
The first day I hired a motorcycle with a french guy and checked out the beaches.Very nice beaches. Some deserted, nice sand, clearish warm water. The nearby waterfall Kbal Chaay is really nice, and worth going to in the weekend when the locals and others from Phonm Penh come down. A sunset from Mt. Sihanoukville with the monks is a must. Ream national park has a boat tour to a secluded beach, followed by a 30min walk through the jungle to a small fishing village. Good too.
Caught the train from Sihanoukville to Kampot, a distance of 100km. The train took 5:45hrs thus averaging 17km/hr. But it was heaps of fun. The passenger carriage looked like it had been bombed in the wars it was so decrepit. People hacked holes into the sideboard to sling their hammocks. A very productive old lady was stationed in the corner and churned out all manner of foodstuffs on her coal stove for the duration of the trip. The very pleasant journey through the countryside was interrupted numerous times when the train would stop in villages to load up on people and goods. The locals would jump on the train even before it had stopped, all hanging out the side, or climbing on the carriage roof. I too rode on the roof for a while! 
At other times you could hear people running up and down along the roof of the carriage – what madness! Stationed along the tracks were guys with motorbikes attached to wooden platforms with wheels that would fit on the train track. After the train went by they would quickly load the ingenious contraption onto the track, start the motorbike and catch up with the train. Once they had caught up they would attach their machine to the back of the train and hitch a free ride. Sometimes they would have goods to load onto the train. One guy had a whole heap of wood, which they loaded onto the roof of the carriage whilst the train was moving. Crazy! During the journey I was invited onto one of the contraptions. I cautiously climbed off the back of the carriage and onto the moving platform. After sitting down I was prompty offered a leg of duck, whisky and a cigarette. The duck was gross, the whisky OK, and I declined the cigarette. Soon the guy told me they were off and I jumped back into the carriage before he detached his bike and we left him in the dust.
Kampot in stationed in the foothills of some mountains, the first real mountains I’ve encountered in the mostly flat Cambodia. A day trip into the mountains to see some abandoned buildings named Bokor was one hell of a bumpy ride in the back of a pickup truck. And it rained too. Went for a nice 2hr bushwalk tho. The terrain in parts similar to Tongariro national park in New Zealand. The ruins were a hotel and casino built by the french and used in the 1920s. A pity it was so cloudy because the view would have been spectacular. After the trip our tour guide invited us to his Uncle’s place, who being Friday night, wanted to “make party”. So that night our tour contingent of 2 Australians, 2 English, and a Swede went out to the Uncle’s place in the countryside. We ate, drank beer, and generally made party to the sound of a desiel generator. Hey, at least they had electricity even if it was noisy.
Not far from Kampot is Kep beach. It is much much quieter and smaller than Sihanoukville. Their are some mountainous islands of the coast which are very scenic. I had dinner during the twilight on the beachside and it was very picturesque. Kep is small and has pigs and bulls wandering in the street. It is a more pleasant place to stay than Kampot because of the scenery.
About 30km form Kampot via a very bad road is a small town called Kompong Trach. Near Kompong Trach is a rock hillock with caves. Nested in the middle of the hillock is a temple. The caves were nice and I spent some time relaxing in an old lady’s cave/hut built into the hillside. I wonder if she will be there if I go back in 5 years. Her name is Le Pol, don’t forget to say hi if you go there.
On 8 December it was back to Phonm Penh via shared taxi. Approaching Phonm Penh the driver tuned into Love FM which played songs by Blue and Sophie Ellis Baxtor with shout outs to lovers in the city. Why is the only english radio station in Cambodia a love song dedication station? Its a crime.
