with knapsacks on our backs: Rice Paddies, Crabs, And A Rabbit

From Sen Monorom we made our way two hours south of Phnom Penh. Near a town called Angk Tasaom we stayed three nights at the Meas Family Homestay. A British couple we met in a cave in Vietnam suggested the homestay as a worthwhile stop. The large property is situated in a rural setting surrounded by rice fields dotted with patches of sugar palms. Very picturesque and we thoroughly enjoyed riding bicycles along the paths worn into the the small dykes separating each rice patch. The riding partnered with lounging in the hammocks made for a very relaxing stay.

Siphen and Mach

Our hosts, Siphen and Mach along with their extended family, supplied us with three meals a day and kindly spent time with us to tell us more about Cambodia. Both lived through the Pol Pot years and had some pretty heartbreaking stories to tell. We had been exposed to these type of stories while visiting museums in Phnom Penh but hearing Siphen tell us about her brother being dragged away by the Khmer Rouge never to be seen again made it much more personal. Mach had a similar story about his uncle and further described how he was separated from his family and forced to work from dawn to dusk with little food to eat and only dirty water to drink. They also told us their stories of reunification and about the challenging years following the fall of the Khmer Rouge.

The Meas' School House

What made our stay here particularly special was the time we were able to spend with local high schoolers. Siphen and Mach are teachers and have a built an after-school program for students to practice English. Each afternoon about 30-40 kids show up at a school room they have built on their property to spend time with the homestay guests or Siphen to practice their English. Needless to say we both have a much greater appreciation for the work that teachers do to manage large classrooms of teenagers.

The Boat To Koh Tonsay

Unfortunately, Dawn fell ill at the end of our stay with what was most likely food poisoning. With a comfortable, air conditioned room called for we headed back up to Phonm Penh to give Dawn time to rest. After several days there we headed back down south to a town along the Gulf of Thailand coast near the Vietnam border called Kep. The town, most famous for its crab, is a pretty sleepy place with a handful of resorts. We checked into our $23/night spot with a nice pool and a great view of the ocean. There isn't too much to do in town so after our first day we had pretty much done it all. So on our second day we took a 30 minute boat ride out to Koh Tonsay (AKA Rabbit Island) to spend the day on the beach. The island is meant to have the nicest beach in southeastern Cambodia. Although we enjoyed lounging in hammocks and swimming in the rather warm ocean, the beach really wasn't that noteworthy.

On our list of things to do in Cambodia was to spend some quality relaxation time on one of the islands off the southwest coast of the country. A necessary evil to finding your way to these islands is often a stay in Sihanoukville. The town is a magnet for twenty-somethings interested in little more than getting drunk and making foreigners look like ignorant twits. Since we needed to stay the night we travelled out of town to the 'quiet beach'. The beach was lovely but the thumping electronica music until 2AM kind of ruined the place for us. What's more it seemed that all the good accommodations on the quieter island we were heading to had shut down for the season. So with not much going our way we decided to cut our losses and make our way to Siem Reap. From here we will spend the next several days exploring Angkor Wat and the surrounding region.