121108 - Sihanoukville

121108 - Sihanoukville

It took a couple of alarms to get me up this morning, last night had been large and sleep had not been enough. We were meant to be meeting for breakfast for the boat trip, Kevin appeared carrying a monstrous hangover to check that I would be on my way shortly. Having conducted my morning routine, Vickie was in a bad mood and grumbling when I got to the restaurant, I was a few minutes late but not the last to arrive. I responded by being overly cheerful, gaining some sadistic pleasure at watching a couple of hang-overs start to curdle.

Breakfast was a delicate affair, coffee that desperately needed milk, more sugar and less burn along with some banana pancakes that were passable though only rumoured to contain banana. The number of ripe hangovers in the group left a handful of pancakes unfinished. That didnt stop them from buying a case of beer from the restaurant, Adam and myself restrained. This would be a very long day for some.

As soon as we finished eating, we met the three others who would be joining us. They were on the Intrepid trip in the opposite direction in a group of 16. While walking to the boat we made introductions. I met Marek who was from Norway, I later found out he was a Doctor. Alex was a pretty and chatty girl from the UK, she was on holidays from the rut back home and worked in a childrens nursery. She was investigating going back to study child psychology. Through Alex, I chatted to Julia who was a medical graduate from ANU. Having studied in Jos class, we compared stories of our mutual friends and I caught up on everything they had been doing since I spoke to them last in January. All of my ANU friends seem to have made great strides and I made a mental note to email them over the next few days.

By this point we had walked over the hill and along the beach to the boat. The beach was just as white as yesterday and the various establishments were catering for their few guests that were suitably sentient at this time of the day. The boat was fairly basic, a long hull with a handful of benches for seating. A frame and lines held a tarpoline about a foot above sittting head hieght, to offer some shelter for the day. Two 11HP small stationary engines were mounted on hinged platforms, their drive-shafts connected to long poles with a propellor at the end.

The boat ride out took about half an hour, we rode the gentle surf along and across the bay. Dropping anchor on the mainland side of a small island, the crew dropped fishing lines and we adorned masks and snorkels. Alex hung back on the boat, not confident in ocean swimming. Sat braved the unknown and climbed in for a bit of a paddle. Adam surfaced and announced it was about 10m depth, no one held onto their mask for long as the visibility was dreadful.

Having swam for about half an hour, we slowly accumulated on the deck. The crew had caught some little fish which were proudly displayed. The anchor was hauled in and one of the engines moved us on.

We arrived at the island about another 30 minutes later. Crew helping us off the boat and asking us to take our bags with us. I chatted with Marek and Sat just under an hour while the others swam or played ball games. Having graduated 2-3 years ago, Marek and I compared features of our respective medical and education systems. The conversation flowed on as we all met at a bungalo for lunch. The chicken kebabs with rice and salad was most welcome and left many of us feeling a little drowsy. While most of the group walked through to the other side of the island, I occupied a hammock and daydreamed.

About an hour or so after lunch, the others reappeared. We packed up at a leasurely pace and accumulated back on the boat. The trip home took about 45 minutes, gently surging through the sea as some of the brits roasted themselves on the fore-deck. While it was a poor-cousin to the tales of the boating day in Nha Trang, it had been a lovely excursion.

Back at the bay, the two Intrepid groups bid farewell. Julia and I agreed to do the facebook thing, Id have more than a couple of emails to get out. Our group wandered down the beach until depositing ourselves at a bar. I still didnt feel like making the afternoon a heavy one, heading back to use the internet instead.

Following Paul and one of the girls, we tried an internet cafe that was also a bookshop before moving onto one that appeared to have a bit better speed. The next few hours were filled with calls to home, Jenny, banking and trying to sort out a hire-car for my time in Bega. Id desperately needed to hear Mum and Jennys voices and was missing home by the time I finished up. Id finally gotten the new flight dates for my option, Dec 11 and 24.

We met for dinner back at the same cafe as our first lunch. I got there a little early and was shortly joined by Charlotte and Vickie, they seemed to be getting along again. Kevin wasnt far behind and we soon had the whole team. This time almost everyone ordered Amoke dishes, the particularly tasty one that Id had for the first lunch. Sat and I split an Amoke and a Green Curry. We had Sophie join us for splitting some spring rolls and deep-fried shrimp.

The dinner was pleasant enough, everyone was still feeling a little hung-over or ill. I dont think there was the energy to be snarky. The volume of dishes they had to produce meant that the Amoke was a little less remarkable than yesterday, lacking a little bit of OOMPH. It was still pleasant enough and performed its duties admirably.

As the group paid and dispersed, I went back to the hotel to chill for a little bit. Charlotte came back with Andy, she needed to relieve me of a little buscopan for her tummy. I think everyone has been ill at least once on this trip and some have suffered more than others. After vegging out for about an hour, I wandered back up and over the hill to join the others.

Wandering along the beach, I finally found the rest of the group at the Sessions bar. By this point, most of them were through their first bucket of mixed spirits (think equivalent of a small jug). There were firespinners practicing their trade with staffs, most of us had a shot at it as well. I gave up pretty quickly, Id trained with the Bo staff a few years ago but couldnt do most of showy stuff Id learned without getting my hands into the fire-regions. Adam seemed to enjoy being the showy one of the group.

There were a liberal selection of drinks making their way around the table, I sampled the RedBull and Vodka bucket that came my way as well as the Gin & Tonic that was forced into my hands. I didnt really want to spend any money tonight and certainly didnt want to have a big one.

The only real motivation for making attendance tonight was for the Full Moon party. A Budhist monthly celebration, we were told that this was the most significant one for the year. Hoping to see something showy, I stuck around till midnight for the supposed event.

As the night drew on, the fire-spinners were more daring in their displays, the drinks were more liberal and the group plus guide got more drunk. I kept to myself, making conversation and just chilling out. As midnight dres on, the fire-spinners soaked the sign SESSIONS in kerosene before standing it up on posts a few metres out into the sea. As the clock hit the hour, they put on their display of fire-staffs and dancing on the other side of the metal letters, breathing fire to light up the sign. By this point, Kevin had disappeared to a nearby shrine to pray.

Watching the fire-dancers, we missed the actual Full Moon ceremony. Quietly taking place with our backs turned. Supposedly, it is comprised of the locals holding up incense and fruits as offerings to the moon. Prayers and intentions are made for the next month. Simple and brief.

With midnight been and gone, I hung around for a little more before making my way back. Id been tired well and truly before this point and it was only the promise of the Full Moon Party that got me down here.

I walked Vickie back to the hotel, I get the impression that she was in a similar mindset regarding the events of the evening.