The art of doing nothing

In Transit has been sitting on the back burner for the last few days because frankly, there really hasn’t been that much transiting going on. We arrived at the southern coast of Cambodia, in a town called Sihanoukville, to go scuba diving (or so we thought). But after arriving here, we opted for the more secluded part of a more secluded beach, so there wasn’t much to do around here other than relax. Kevin’s spent his days trying to nurse a cold, and I’ve been terribly busy lying on the beach and reading.

It’s been a very nice change from the crazy chaotic city of Phnom Penh, where we spent a couple of days before coming down here. At no matter what time of day, there was hustle and bustle all around you.  Despite the craziness, we opted to rent a motorbike to get to some of the further sites. I didn’t think the kind of traffic jams that we wedged our way through was actually in existence. It almost felt like a logic puzzle where we had to find a way to the end of the street without bumping into other vehicles or going over huge potholes, before the light turned red again.

So, you could imagine the great appeal Otres Beach in Sihanoukville had when we arrived and it was pitch dark except for the twinkling stars above, as the electricity was also out. The second night, we decided (OK, fine… “I decided” because I know Kevin will be reading this) that it’d be a good idea to sleep in a bungalow directly on the beach. How romantic is it to be lulled to sleep by the gentle waves of the ocean right by your feet? Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Our night on the beach wasn’t as dreamy as I thought. The waves were so loud that it was hard to fall asleep, and after what felt like a really long sleepless night, we woke up to find out that it was only 1AM. At that point, I wished that the sound of the waves was actually an ocean CD that I had accidently left on repeat. Needless to say, we moved back to our bungalows the next night. They were still very close to the beach, but not on it, and had some very peaceful nights afterwards.

So, as for the art of doing nothing, I think we perfected it quite well. But now, we are eager to give our digestive muscles a work out. We’re heading to the seaside town of Kep, known to the locals for its super cheap and fresh seafood, just in time for lunch.    

     View from our bungalow where we spent that sleepless night