I arrived in Sihanoukville to a beach called Occheuteal and actually laughed out loud when I walked onto the beach. It was truly paradise. The cove was a very long, vast stretch of white shoreline with warm, aqua water. Restaurants and bars dotted the beach with large lounge chairs adorned with fluffy, red pillows lined up out front. Not surprisingly, this beach got hardly a mention in the Lonely Planet.

After assessing my options, I ended up at a place a bit out of my price range, but right on the beach. I decided that I didn’t want to be out by the road, since that would mean me walking alone through a dark field back to my room at night. And after taking an initial look at some of the other places on the beach where I could stay, I decided I’d be saner as well as safer if I spent the extra cash…

The last place I looked at that really tipped the scales was a restaurant/hostel place where the rooms were $2 (!!), but if you ate one meal at the restaurant, it was free. Hmmm. That’s suspicious. Ok, I said, show me a room.

I followed the owner through a dank and dirty kitchen where women sat on the floor washing dishes in buckets and up a rickety ladder/staircase thing to the second floor. Though it was broad daylight outside, my eyes had trouble adjusting to the darkness even after several seconds of trying to get my bearings. 

I was looking down a very dark hallway with thin doors on each side. The owner was trying to find me an empty ”room” to look at by peering through the large spaces between the slats of wood that consituted the “walls”. The “rooms” had mattresses maybe 3 inches thick thrown on the ground over more unevenly laid slats of wood, with about a foot clearance on either side. The roof slanted down, forcing the inhabitant to duck to get into the “room”. I have stayed in many a hostel, and have seen many a horrible condition. This, by far, was the worst (yes, Meredith, worse than Antigua, and yes, Margaret, worse than Dirty Nelly’s). So, $15 a night it was.

The place where I stayed was beyond luxury, with a nice hot-water shower, air conditioning, cable TV, and an ocean view. Not to mention, a bar, patio, and nice restaurant outside. Each morning, I got up and ate my peanut butter and bread (oh, yes, splurging on room = peanut butter for breakfast and lunch) on one of their lounge chairs next to a wooden table overlooking the ocean. It reminded me so much of a Corona commercial.

During the day, women would walk around offering you massages, manicures, and pedicures with a ferocious insistence. Women also toured the beach carrying large platters on their heads of small, cooked lobsters, pineapples, and squid on a stick that they’d cook for you on the spot with coal powered grills they’d carry. One of my favorite parts of the day was watching the spectacular sunsets, best enjoyed with a 30 cent beer and warm, freshly roasted peanuts.

At night, I would pick out a place to eat (found a curry soup that was to die for) and later sit by one of the bonfires that lit up the beach or go hang out at one of the bars near my hotel. One night I met up with our ever-present Icelandic friends for dinner and drinks, another night I hung out with a few Swedish folks, and another night I danced at one of the bars with a few Australians while watching “fire dancing” on the beach.

I had one nasty incedent with one of the omnipresent children selling trinkets. He had stopped to talk to me several times before, and seemed like a pretty smart kid. This particular evening after sunset, he got fairly pushy, and I got up to leave. He started hanging on me, lightly punching me, and then grabbed my neck and said he’d kill me if I didn’t buy something. At this point I grabbed him and said, “if you don’t leave me alone, I’m taking you to the police… you understand THAT?” He said he didn’t, then called me a few profanities and ran away. I talked to a other travelers who said they’d had similar experiences… The kids are only 10 or 11, so can’t do any harm really, but it was still rather disturbing.

After exploring down the cove, I moved to a place that was half the price and also right on the beach. The trick was to head past the area you had to slightly wade through during the day to get to the cheaper places (for anyone headed here, just go all the way to the right, if you are facing the ocean, there are several nice budget guest houses down there). I stayed at a place called “Eden” with a loud bar downstairs that was open until late.

My last night there, a nice French man offered me some champagne with my dinner. I toasted to Sihanoukville, and after my 5 day stay, headed back to Phnom Penh to see a doctor about my knee…