Sihanoukville and Islands

On the evening of 4th of February we left Battambang for Sihanoukville, a touristy beach town in southern Cambodia named after the renowned politician Sihanouk, who ruled the country before the Khmer Rouge. After a month volunteering in stifling Battambang, we were ready for some sea and sun!

Otress beach in Sihanoukville

The very slow, overnight journey from Battambang to Phnom Pehn took about seven hours. We travelled in one of the famous hotel-buses -as you can imagine, I didn't get much sleep... you do feel every single bump on the road in your spine. At Phnom Pehn’s bus station, we changed buses and continued to Sihanoukville. Unfortunately, a journey of two-three hours took us almost five as we got stuck in a hell of a traffic jam when leaving the capital.

The so-called hotel-bus... No comments

Actually, from Battambang we should have gone straight to the border as our tourist visas had already expired. But we headed for Sihanoukville because Juanjo had enrolled in the yearly half marathon.
It's actually OK to go around the country on an expired visa: you "only" pay five dollars per exceeded day when renewing your visa at the border.

Juanjo ranked seventh in the half-marathon. Not too bad! :)

In Sihanoukville we spent two days lazing about on the quiet Otress beach, a real paradise on Earth dotted with wooden bungalows and boutique-style hotels. Local women walk along the beach selling a variety of king-prawn and squid skewers, and itinerant beauticians give oil massages and remove your unwanted hair right on your chaise longe... with sewing thread! Same principle as our modern electric epilators, they fold the thread in a double line and move it up and down, crisscrossing the threads at great speed. A real art!

Sunset in Otress beach