The Beach

Coming back from Kaoh Rong, I went straight to Otres beach, the last one in a series of beaches in Sihanookville and by far-in my not so humble opinion-the best. Most of the people stay there for a long time and I was no exception, planning to stay for a few days in the beginning and getting stuck for more than a month. The water is not as crystal clear as Kaoh Rong, there's hardly any coconut trees and the sand is brown instead of white, but in the other hand it's a place as vibrant as you want it to be,everyday there is a party going on somewhere but the beach is long enough for it not to be noticed if you're not in the mood. 

I bumped into one the first night I got there, and after having drunk enough mai tais to kill an elephant I ended up
arm-wrestling with five Khmers in a row,of course losing every single time. 

Trying to save face I challenged the only woman behind the bar,but once again I got humiliated. Apparently the only surviving photo of my downfall is as blurry as the night itself.

I stayed at LimHour guesthouse, an almost peaceful place, I say almost because apart from the fact that mr. Lim Hour, the owner, is the biggest party animal of all times throwing parties 3 times a week, there was also the tendency of putting bad quality dance music every day after 3-4 pm, which of course didnt matter much because a) I was hardly ever in my room and b) I had the one in the far end, where the music was hardly audible. What was audible though, was the generator right next to it that would kick in whenever there was a power cut!

Continuing my losing streak I started playing chess with Kem, the owner of Sunshine cafe, a hang-out both day and night. This guy is pretty hard to beat, though, to my defense, I hadn't played for 10 years or so, and after a few weeks I would beat him in every 5^th game or so. I don't know of many other people that laugh as much as he does, nor that do it in such a contagious way. He's also got some killer moves, especially when he's wearing his pimp-like outfit, I love the guy.

  If you want to learn how to properly do business, Otres is the place and Srei Niang is the go-to-girl. Every day after school she will walk down the beaches of Sihanookville and sell her merchandise. You will find a bracelet you like, she will start high, you'll haggle a bit and finally settle on a price, say 2 dollars. After you wear it, as you are about to pay, she will put her very serious face and ask for 3. You'll say, but didn't we settle on 2? Yeah, but 3 is not much, it's cheap,

same-same for you. Ahh, what do you do, do you take it off, 

pay and forget about it, or what? She will accept 2 in the end, and her joyful smile will return. So will you. 

I bought at least 3(that I lost shortly after) and had her 

make 2 for my bicycle.

Looking behind the curtain, not all is peachy. Pieces of land across the beach have been sold to corporations and there's at least 2 luxury resorts planned. The original owners were simply kicked out and relocated a couple of years ago to a nearby dirt road that connects the beach to Sihanookville, and will be relocated again when the resorts are finished and the road paved. Most of the men are alcoholics and though I had my fair share of rice wine with some of them-and an excellent time at it-it's a sad consequence of poverty hitting people that at least had some land to cultivate before and now they have nothing. It's a common fact that ownership titles mean nothing here, Otres is considered prime estate and your land can be snatched at any time.

Three times a week I would spend my afternoons training the kids in the football field across the settlement together with a couple of ex-pats. I might not be that good at football, but I do know how to kick a ball, teach discipline(!), but most importantly make the kids laugh with my buffoonery and occasional clumsiness. It's quite impressive watching

them dribble barefoot in an uneven field full of rocks, amidst cows, chasing a ball sometimes half their size. 

Most of all everyone was happy, the kids, their parents, us 

and looked forward for the next meet up.

Weed is way cheaper here, but not nearly as funny as this sign!

At some point it was decided we would have a friendly match with the Sihanookville team. We managed to gather enough players, got to the field, and the minute we saw them practicing in their uniforms and everything, we smelled trouble. These guys were relentless, a proper team, or better said a well oiled machine, working in unison, running non stop for 70 minutes, against, well, us. A bunch of chain-smoking, chain-drinking misfits trying to survive with the least amount of injuries, fighting for breath and hoping for the best. We lost to a very respectable 0-2. Two weeks later we were a bit better, managed to score one even though they got four...

Don't get too excited, I screwed up shortly after...

 The more one stays in a place the more difficult it is to go. Friendships start forming, the land, the air and the sea become too familiar, or same-same but different as they say here, days and weeks drift leaving a constant smile in the face. As heart breaking as it was to leave, I knew that it was now or never. And the mountains were calling me. But more on that later.