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Mar
2004-09-14 16:27:39

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kilometers cycling we say goodbye to our bicycles and leave them in Phnom Penh for a week. Here we go, in the bus, off to the beach! But what is there to do in Sihanoukville? It’s all about beach, beach and beach. Delicious pizzas for a change and the owner can make lasagna if you ask him a day in advance. There’s not so much snorkeling and so we donate our snorkel to the guesthouse owner, who will pass it on to a local school where a teacher spends his free hours before and after his working day to teach children who cannot afford to go to school. The guesthouse also has a donation pot for this school and the teacher passes by sometimes to collect the donations and to buy pens and paper. Our donation is the closure of our stay in Sihanoukville, back to dusty Cambodia.

Same, Same, but different – Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

It’s a restaurant in Sihanoukville, it’s as well a clothing brand, but above all, it’s probably the first English the Cambodian learn: “same same!”. Complete copies of Lonely Planet guidebooks, same same but for a different prize. Clothes from Adidas or Nike (imported from Vietnam), all same same but different colour and a brand of your choice. But also the original products are same same, all sorts of Fanta you can ever imagine are same same but different: Lemon, Orange, Pineapple, Lychee, Red apple, Fruit punch, Green apple and Blue. The only thing that is also same same but makes a real difference are Raymond’s new Ortlieb panniers. The new panniers are brought by René who will join us for the next four weeks. Together we will complete our circle around the Tao Sap Lake, this time exploring the northern route.

The northern route Nr. 6 is dusty and red again, although sometimes tarred if you can find the tar between the potholes. A motorbike is a more common way to move around, including three people at a time, or more when children are included ...