Shady Sihanoukville

Trip Start Oct 01, 2006
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Trip End May 17, 2007


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Where I stayed
Number 9 Guesthouse
(Sihanoukville hotels)

Flag of Cambodia  ,
Monday, March 26, 2007

It took me 2 hours to get to Sihanoukville on my bike, and as I entered the town I was stopped by the police.  I had heard they were doing this so I was sort of expecting it to be honest.  They showed me a piece of paper that basically said motorbikes aren't allowed in the town, and that I had a bit of a problem.  The officer said he may have to take my bike for 3 or 4 weeks.  As I said, I'd heard about this happening so I asked him how much it would cost for the problem to go away.  In the end I paid him $5 (way too much)  to let me be.  I cheekily asked him for a receipt, but he didn't find it amusing and said I had given him a gift so there was no reason for a receipt.  The reason they are stopping people is for two reasons:

1)  New Year is coming up, so they want a bit more money for the family.
2)  Elections are coming soon too, so they are basically stopping motorbikes to make people use moto-taxis, and thus buy votes Evening views from the guesthouse
Evening views from the guesthouse
 .

Once that was all sorted I checked into a guesthouse on Victory Hill.  I had a wander down to the beach - pretty crap as far as I'm concerned compared to the beaches I've seen in the last 6 months.  The beach is full of old men, ho seem to have many locals people, including children, around them. I didn't like the vibe on the beach so I left pretty quickly.  I grabbed a sunseet beer at the guesthouse and then had dinner at Corner Bar, where I was chatting to the English owner. 

I then went to find a quiet bar, but as I walked up the street I was grabbed by 5 local girls who dragged me into a 'hostess' bar. Nightmare!  All the girls seemed to want my attention, and wanted to play pool.  They obviously expect to win so you can buy them a drink, but they were in for a shock.  I ended up beating 3 of the girls, and each one had to buy me a drink.   I did pretty well out of it really!  They said i wasn't fair, and that I should buy them one but I know they wouldn't have bought me one if I had lost!   I managed to escape in the end, and got to sleep about 1am. 

I didn't set my alarm, but I was up early again today, which was good as it meant I could leave!  I didn't really like the place so I checked out and started driving on Highway 4, not actually knowing where my next destinaton was - Kirirom National Park or Phnom Penh.  I never saw a sign for the NP so I just kept going until I got back to the capital city and into Number 9 guesthouse again.  That's where I am now!  I'll do tourist stuff the next few days, before flying on to Kuala Lumpur to meet Baulchy in his luxury hotel suite.  Looking forward to seeing him for a few beverages!
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