Woke up to see stars. They were actually tiny pin pricks of light coming into the room through holes in the black curtains. Realized we had overslept only when we opened the curtains. We had ambitious plans of being on the beach at sunrise. Having reassured each other of our noble intentions, we had slept the previous night without setting an alarm. Fat chance we would have gotten up without one !
Even during holidays, I am fairly agenda driven. I sub-consciously plan out my entire day though I know its vacation time. Today was different. We had the entire day in front of us and nothing at all to do. Leisurely, we made our way to the beach. Found a cozy breakfast place on the beach and spent about an hour there. During this time, I saw many ferries leaving for nearby islands. I had half a mind to get into a ferry and do a trip of the nearby islands since that would fill my day with some activity. Abi argued that we really had 'planned' to do nothing today and we couldnt possible change plans. Since I couldnt refute such a strong argument, we settled ourselves on beach chairs and started reading.
Soon enough I was half-asleep. Suddenly I was woken up by a woman offering manicure-pedicure services right here on the beach. I dont know whether I was more angry at being rudely woken up or shocked at the idea of getting a pedicure done in public. I quickly shooed her away and got back to reading. Abi went for a quick dip in the water. Almost immediately, 2 children selling mangoes settled themselves on his chair and continued to stare at me. I decided that if I ignored them long enough, they would soon tire of staring at me and go away. It was becoming a huge effort to ignore them. Then suddenly 2 women appeared and were keen to take a photo with these kids probably to show their friends back home what a poor country Cambodia is. The smart kids refused to get a picture clicked unless these women bought mangoes. As soon as they bought it, a dozen other vendors (some children) appeared out of nowhere selling random stuff or offering massage services. At this point, I was internally gloating for having ignored them and saving myself of the pain these women had gotten themself into.
I paused reading (actually I had paused reading long time ago) and looked out at Abi in the water. He seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly and his quick dip had already lasted more than 30 mins. When he did come out of the water, we decided to take a walk along the beach. We realized that we were on a quieter part of the beach. Further ahead, the beach was really crowded. This is because there are a lot of budget/mid-range hotels near this part of the beach. I noticed that Cambodians would go into the water fully dressed and try to hitch up their pants or skirts to avoid getting wet. It immdiately reminded me of beaches in India. We walked a bit more. Soon the sun got stronger and the sand got hotter. So we decided to go back to the hotel and rest for the afternoon.
On reaching the hotel, we realized it was lunch time. Since we were too lazy to go out in the heat and find a restaurant, I decided to make maggi using the kettle in our hotel room. We were carrying enough stock of maggi and ready-to-eat food to last us for a week since we werent sure if we would find veggie food. I believe that if you are on a vacation the one thing you deserve is good food. We started watching a Bond movie on one of the TV channels. I must have fallen asleep because I suddenly saw credits rolling on the screen.
We went back to the beach by early evening and were there till sunset. Sunset was ruined by a cloud covering the sun till it set. Disappointed, we decided to take a walk in the town till dinnertime. When we were hungry finally, we found a moto (which is a nothing but a motorcycle & a driver). Abi & I squeezed into a space that could actually fit only one person. I could feel part of me suspended in the air as we drove through the one main road in the town. I couldnt have held on to Abi & the moto any longer when thankfully we found an Italian restaurant ahead. The food was so awesome that I realized I had mosquito bites all over my legs only after I finished my food. Small price to pay for wonderful food !
Next day morning at 7:00am we were to leave for Phnom Penh and from there to Siem Reap. It would be a long day with almost 10 hours and 550 km of road travel !!
Even during holidays, I am fairly agenda driven. I sub-consciously plan out my entire day though I know its vacation time. Today was different. We had the entire day in front of us and nothing at all to do. Leisurely, we made our way to the beach. Found a cozy breakfast place on the beach and spent about an hour there. During this time, I saw many ferries leaving for nearby islands. I had half a mind to get into a ferry and do a trip of the nearby islands since that would fill my day with some activity. Abi argued that we really had 'planned' to do nothing today and we couldnt possible change plans. Since I couldnt refute such a strong argument, we settled ourselves on beach chairs and started reading.
Soon enough I was half-asleep. Suddenly I was woken up by a woman offering manicure-pedicure services right here on the beach. I dont know whether I was more angry at being rudely woken up or shocked at the idea of getting a pedicure done in public. I quickly shooed her away and got back to reading. Abi went for a quick dip in the water. Almost immediately, 2 children selling mangoes settled themselves on his chair and continued to stare at me. I decided that if I ignored them long enough, they would soon tire of staring at me and go away. It was becoming a huge effort to ignore them. Then suddenly 2 women appeared and were keen to take a photo with these kids probably to show their friends back home what a poor country Cambodia is. The smart kids refused to get a picture clicked unless these women bought mangoes. As soon as they bought it, a dozen other vendors (some children) appeared out of nowhere selling random stuff or offering massage services. At this point, I was internally gloating for having ignored them and saving myself of the pain these women had gotten themself into.
I paused reading (actually I had paused reading long time ago) and looked out at Abi in the water. He seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly and his quick dip had already lasted more than 30 mins. When he did come out of the water, we decided to take a walk along the beach. We realized that we were on a quieter part of the beach. Further ahead, the beach was really crowded. This is because there are a lot of budget/mid-range hotels near this part of the beach. I noticed that Cambodians would go into the water fully dressed and try to hitch up their pants or skirts to avoid getting wet. It immdiately reminded me of beaches in India. We walked a bit more. Soon the sun got stronger and the sand got hotter. So we decided to go back to the hotel and rest for the afternoon.
On reaching the hotel, we realized it was lunch time. Since we were too lazy to go out in the heat and find a restaurant, I decided to make maggi using the kettle in our hotel room. We were carrying enough stock of maggi and ready-to-eat food to last us for a week since we werent sure if we would find veggie food. I believe that if you are on a vacation the one thing you deserve is good food. We started watching a Bond movie on one of the TV channels. I must have fallen asleep because I suddenly saw credits rolling on the screen.
We went back to the beach by early evening and were there till sunset. Sunset was ruined by a cloud covering the sun till it set. Disappointed, we decided to take a walk in the town till dinnertime. When we were hungry finally, we found a moto (which is a nothing but a motorcycle & a driver). Abi & I squeezed into a space that could actually fit only one person. I could feel part of me suspended in the air as we drove through the one main road in the town. I couldnt have held on to Abi & the moto any longer when thankfully we found an Italian restaurant ahead. The food was so awesome that I realized I had mosquito bites all over my legs only after I finished my food. Small price to pay for wonderful food !
Next day morning at 7:00am we were to leave for Phnom Penh and from there to Siem Reap. It would be a long day with almost 10 hours and 550 km of road travel !!
5 comments:
awesome mak....!
though i dont think i culd've braved the elements like u :)...
waiting for day 5 now...
haha, great going! whats next?
Hey Megha, Swetha
Updated blog with Day 5!
Planning to write about Abi's Bihar trip next :)
Mak
haha, nice laid back day-4... that's how a vacation should be! Btw, where you writing this blog in parallel on the trip? 'coz this is frankly a lot of detail... it's not memory for sure :-)
hey T...dont underestimate my memory :p
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