In a land of food, and skinny people

After feeling "templed out" in Angkor I hopped on bus (2 actually) for Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The small port town on the center of the coast has grown in the past 30 years from something of a nothing town in the middle of Khmer Rouge territory to a popular tourist destination Khmer and backpackers alike (the 3-lane main road, the only one in Cambodia, is a testament to that). I'm staying at this great little guesthouse called "Rega." My room opens up to a garden courtyard and on the upstairs is a French-inspired cafe. I've enjoying morning crepes and coffee while looking out onto the ocean.

I've spent a couple days exploring the town and found some small book shops, several unique restaurants run by members of the town's large ex-pat population, and some relaxing beachside cafes. I also signed up for a SCUBA class at one of the local dive shops. I've spent the last two days out on a rickety little boat 1-2 hours of shore learning how to mainain nuetral buoyancy, clear my mask of water, and navigate using a diving compass. Breathing underwater wasn't as strange a feeling as I expecetd. Considering that divers, liking industrial shipping containers, are strapped up, weighted down, tubed in, and zippered close with meticulous detail, I couldn't not feel safe. Being the only one in the class (though their were other divers and snorkelers on the boat trips) I received one-on-one attention. Unfortunately, visibility at the reefs was poor at best due to the rain and winds. The water calms down and lightens up in October, I was told.

I'm leaving for Vietnam tomorrow, entering via Ha Tien (the southernmost border crossing and western entry to the Mekong Delta region. I've made myself a fairly detailed itinerary for Vietnam and plan to stick to it. This style of "who knows where next" traveling is not my exactly my style. Meeting up with other solo travelers, as I had hoped I would, has not been easy thus far. I've found from conversing with other backpackers that they've found the same. Because hotels are so cheap and numerous here people spread out. Opting to pay the extra $2 for the air conditioned single than stay in hot dorm rooms. Nevertheless, I've been able to do/see just as much alone as I would be able to with a group. With the constant stream of tuk tuk drivers throwing their services at me and street children trying to sell me trinkets I rarely feel alone!

A storm is rolling in and I'd better wrap things up here at the internet cafe (last night the entire town lost power during a storm). There's a another coffee stop down the road that looked tasty which I think I'll explore.