Well Kids, as I mentioned before, it was the King’s 56^th Birthday last week so naturally I went on vacation again.  This time I traveled to a paradise island off the coast of Sinouk ville  (South of Cambodia).  Ready???

Get jealous…

This is where I stayed: http://www.lazybeachcambodia.com/Home.html

Basically, you drive a couple of hours down south to Sinouk ville (great tourist city and bakery of choice is The Singing Tree i.e. delicious brownies) and then take an hour or so, long ferry to Koh Rong Samloen.  In order to reach the island you hop off the ferry and wade in shoulder deep waters onto a welcoming stretch of white sand.  Pearly white crabs rapidly scatter sideways about the beach as you make your way to the deck, where two Brits greet you with fresh lime juice.  These guys hopped over from the drizzly island of Great Britain to this SE Asian paradise to set up “Lazy Beach”, which consists of a few wooden bungalows on a virgin beach and a wonderful family staff of Cambodians that can make you EXCELLENT banana-nutella crepes and cook seafood like no one else can.  Let’s just say that they stumbled upon one incredible piece of leased real estate and they are every bit as much concerned with taking care of the island (although according to Tim, Bamboo would have been better for the bungalows) as they are with caring for the needs of their guests. 

When we first arrived on the beach I looked around, dug my toes into the warm sand, jumped

 into the delicately salted ocean and dove down into wave after wave.  I was in heaven.  A couple of sun-filled hours later, I was bored. LOL. Guess island living isn’t for me.  Soon enough the tranquil crashing of the waves upon the shore soothed my need to be constantly active and I settled into some quality reflection time.  I won’t bore you with that.  Suffice is to say that I do like short-term island living because it forces you to re-evaluate what the hell you are doing in life, like say, job-searching in SE Asia. Everything must run its course.  

The next few days were surprisingly full of activity: morning swims in the ocean-- I do love how you travel further/faster with a little helpful push from the waves, underwater hands stands and flips, required reading time (for intellectual stimulation), ipod listening (Side note: my nano sort of stopped turning on- any thoughts on how to fix this unfortunate situation?), and snorkeling (Jess saw an eel, thank god I only saw urchins, coral, and lots of tiny fish or I would have screamed and drowned).  We also hiked to the other side of the island (even whiter sand and longer stretch of sand occupied by I think a naval base). 

One evening we joined the other guests on a short boat ride to the other side of the island and did a little hiking to a lighthouse for a spectacular view of the ocean and dark-green chain of island groupings.  Umm at this point I confess to you that I pretended I was in an episode of LOST, machete in hand (as opposed to goggles and water bottle) chopping through the brush, clearing the way to reach the radio tower, or lighthouse.  Now, the Cambodian military

 occupies this part of the island and we did have to pay off the military a standard $2/person + vodka ($5 gift from the Brits), and just next to the lighthouse there is in fact, a storage cell with ammo.  No joke.  Didn’t run into “Jack”, but did get a good peak at what “The Others” guard. Kind of creepy.  The boat ride back was by far my favorite.  Looking at the sky, it was as if someone had dipped and swirled their finger around in a paint can of oranges, dark blues, and reds.  Instantly I was reminded of the picturesque Toledo skies in Spain. 

That night, after a fest of seafood, veggies, and rice, I went to sleep only to be awoken by a

 tropical thunderstorm.  The waves crashed louder, and the rain pelted down on the bungalows.  Having just read Life of Pi, I couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like to be out on the ocean during such a storm.  I curled up underneath my mosquito net and soon fell asleep again. 

I’m sad to say we left heaven the next day.  I felt refreshed, my skin slightly healed thanks to the salty waves, and my head in the right place.  I could return to Phnom Penh again, with a mind perhaps as clear as those waters.

*Pictures courtesy of Tim Rann.  I mistakenly dipped my camera in water.  Guess my head wasn’t quite as clear at that point.