This past weekend was the Water Festival in Cambodia. It starts on the day of the full moon in late October or early November and normally up to a million people from across the country flock to the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers in Phnom Penh to watch traditional boats racing. The water festival this year was very scaled down but Cambodians still came to the city to celebrate. The government decided to put the resources towards the flood victims, and the boat races were cancelled because of concerns for the safety of the boaters. In addition, 340 people died last year when a stampede broke out over a bridge.
Last week I had Wednesday to Friday off for the Water Festival. We stayed in town on Wednesday night to celebrate along the Riverfront but headed to the beach on Thursday to take advantage of the day's off. Even though we had already been there, we could not resist the beautiful white sand and glorious hot sun of Sihanoukville. It is the perfect little untouched paradise and not poisoned by tourists. It won't be this way for long.
On Thursday, Friday and Sunday, the weather was immaculate. It was exactly what we needed and wanted! On Saturday however, there was a storm anyone could appreciate. Part's of the shore are lined with restaurants so the owner's moved all the comfy chairs under the covered restaurants so we could watch the lightening over the ocean and feel some-what protected from the rain and loud thunder!
One night as a treat we ate at this amazing restaurant at a hotel called New Sea View Villa. Cathy and I both got starters, steak dinners, and a glass of wine for $9. It was absolutely delicious and such a nice delight to eat a meal that tasted like it had been prepared in Canada!
Last time we visited Sihanoukville, we had met a bunch of volunteers from the Cambodian Children's Painting Project. We had the opportunity this weekend to visit the CCPP store. CCPP works with children who are living in extreme poverty who are sent out by their parents to collect cans and bottles, sell bracelets and beg for food or money from tourists.They provide children with the opportunity to expand their imagination and skills through creating art! There is a strict policy that any child who participates in this program is not allowed to beg or sell things along the beaches. If the volunteers or staff are seen buying bracelets, giving food or money to the children, they are fired on the spot because it keeps children on the street. I think this is an amazing organization that's doing great things for Cambodian children.
Here is their website: http://www.letuscreatecambodia.org/
We also learnt this time around (from our Lonely Planet book... I won't lie) that during the Vietnam War, Sihanoukville was an intensive military port first being occupied by the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and then the United States. When the Khmer Rouge took power in April 1975, the port was the last place to be evacuated by the US army. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Sihanoukville's port played a huge roll in the development of Cambodia and in 1999 became one of the main spots of economical growth.
Also in December of 1999, Formosa Plastics bribed Cambodian officials and dumped 3000 tons of mercury laden waste into Sihanoukville's beaches, killing 3 people. Formosa Plastics also tried to dump the waste in the Nevada, US. Disgusting behaviour and inhumane decision making if you ask me!
With it's history, significance and exquisiteness, Sihanoukville has become a place I have grown to love and will definitely be back!!!
Enjoying my last moments on the beach*
There is really no concept of personal space in Cambodia... particularly on buses. We gave the hostel we stayed at a few days notice to book us bus ticket's home on Sunday at 5:30pm. On Sunday when we asked about our tickets, the guy we had spoken to had "no idea", a.k.a forgot to book us seats and gave us the run around with getting another bus. Because it was the end of a holiday weekend, buses were all sold out with people heading back to the city. He eventually found us two seats on a night bus headed to Siem Reap that agreed to drop us in Phnom Penh en route. First the hostel guy said the bus left at 7pm. Then he said a taxi would pick us up at 7pm to bring us to the bus. At 7:30pm when the taxi still hadn't shown up for us, I asked a hostel employee to call him and ask what was going on. He then told her that we had to get ourselves to the bus station and that we hadn't paid for our tickets yet, which we did! Anyways, we eventually made it to our bus where we were greeted by angry bus employees who had to wait for us. Thank goodness they waited though!!! So going back to my personal space comment... at the back of every sleeper/night bus is four "beds" across the very back row. Me and Cathy had two of these spots with an older Cambodian couple that felt it was okay to spread out onto our seats. That is never okay, ever!
After a some-what quick 5 hour bus ride, we arrived in Phnom Penh and back to reality.
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