Oh sweet Cambodia,

So here I am, back again for my third visit (third consecutive xmas and new years as well). I finished up teaching in Korea at the end of November and headed right for the beach in Cambodia. This place has changed a lot over the past 2 years, but it still has an enourmously special place in my heart. I love the Cambodian family that I live with on the beach. My friend Chaimoy that was the face and namesake of her beach bar (with free accomadation) has married and moved to Sweden. I was gutted when I first arrived but quickly settled in with her cousin Day who now sort of runs the joint. He is an awesome guy, always smiling, making jokes and working hard.

I sort of hang out behind the bar and grab people water or beer if they need, but mostly I hang out. I'm learning the art of making cocktails as well, I've mastered the White Russian! I juggle lots, my goal is fire by Christmas. I'm running in the mornings and volunteering at an orphanage a few hours a week. It's the perfect lifestyle for me right now.

As for the adventure aspect....Well I went on a motorbike trip with a 250 cc dirtbike to an abandoned french village with a casino and church among other buildings on top of a mountain. The road was the worst you could imagine. I had a passenger on the back, a great person, an Aussie chick named Jo. It was the most difficult drive I've ever dealt with. Six months and 8500 km driving in Korea could not fully prepare me for it.

The ascent up the mountain took about 3 hours, mostly due to my fatigue and outright exhaustion. It was extremely dificult to keep the bike steady and direct it where I wanted to. I could barely feel my hands and my arms were trembling. We had to drive the last 45 min in pitch black darkness, making the drive substantially more dangerous and difficult. There were so many stretches of large, loose rocks where the bike was sliding in every direction. There was sand which required slow and steady driving. The jungle was extraordinary, but obstructing as well, since ferns and other trees close-lined me rifely.

Finally at 7:30 pm we arrived at the summit of the 1000 m mountain. It was a 6 hour drive from Sihanoukville, with 3 of them being the most intense mental and physical excercise. We were rewarded with the silence of nature. Only the ranger and his family were atop the mountain. The entire abandoned village was ours to explore.

We gazed at the starts which were bright and numerous. The milky way was oh so milky. It was so dark though that we couldn't even see the buildings that were 100 meters in front of us. At first we headed straight and walked right into a reservoir. I retreatred to get the map from the guesthouse, clearly we would need it. So with our map and Jo's excellent navigation skills we explored a smaller hotel and then the once-grand and vibrant casino and hotel. It was constructed in the 1910's but abandoned around 1940 when the Vietnamese took it over. The French colonials used it as their exclusive source of entertainment and (most likely) debauchery. The area was again occupied by King Sihanouk until 1972 when the ominous Khmer Rouge overtook it.

It was amazing to solely explore where the rooms were. Some were large and would have been extravagant no doubt. It was an eery feeling, very blair witch-esque to be in such a place, so far away from any civilzation.

The following morning we awoke at dawn to see the sunrise from the rooftop of the casino. It was nice to see what the surrounding area actually looked like once the sun rose. The casino is on the edge of a cliff which drops down to the jungle below. Just beyond the jungle was a large bay leading to the Gulf of Thailand. It was one of those peaceful moments when you feel like the nature around you is there for only you to view. This was something so rewarding after, for so long, being pushed through crowds of tens of thousands in the hustle-bustle of Seoul.

Around 9 am we headed down the mountain for an easier ride down. Relatively easy that is, still no peice of cake even for experienced drivers. And not that I am one of those by any means. However, I do feel like I've tackled a new stage in motorbiking. Perhaps I will work on my token asian family 4 on a bike skill. I've so far mastered the passenger side of that, just not the driving side...