Cambodia: Day 8

Settling into the beach vibe

Another sunrise another yawn another day. I’m munching on hummus and baguette, sipping a coconut, looking out at white sand. Earlier we kayaked to a nearby island, it took about 45 minutes and the way back, though we were going in the direction of the wind and with the rythm of the waves, was far harder as the undercurrent was silently dragging us backwards. I had a moment earlier after a joint, when i put in my earphones and St. Germain came on. The jazzy rythm hooked my whole body as my mind let go i truly heard the music. I wasn’t just listening and enjoying the tune. I was fully engulfed, i understood the love for music, true love. I watched the waves washing in and hummed along. The hum eventually got a bit too loud as I was jamming along to the rythm of the music. I quietened down on realization and picked up my book – attempting to read the first page was a struggle beyond anything, trying to remain focused on such intricate language... The second and third pages were surprisingly interesting and I got into the detail and movement of the book straight away. At one point a comedian was telling jokes about the racism shown towards Islam – the jokes all had a dark underlying spiritual meaning and they all related to passages from the Koran. My mind went wild understanding the meaning of each sentence i was reading. But slowly my it drifted and the music carried me away again. Must go, toast is calling – munch!

Mum and I chilling in our hammock 

The pina colada’s as our sun downers slipped down quickly, the rum burning our throats but the fresh pineapple cut the heat. Our Asian glow quickly appeared and mum and I burst into fits of giggles as our faces glowed in the evening light. Sunglasses were put on and the bill was paid. One thing about travelling that my mum and I both share, is our love for feeling fresh and clean despite staying at really basic places. Having a good shower wherever you are, with adequate materials (shampoo, conditioner and soap) and a nice dry towel afterwards just does it for me. Getting into clean dry clothes that are mine, that i know, that feel safe and comfortable and warm is just the perfect way to settle into a place and feel that much more comfortable.

Beautiful beachy days

We breathed a sigh and I lit a joint by expertly holding up the hammock with my big toe, creating a wind-proof tent allowing the size of the flame to rise and the paper at the end of the joint to crackle and burn. The moment i let the hammock go the wind rushed and the joint began burning fast – something that always makes me feel slightly on edge knowing i can’t let the wind have it all. Mum and I engaged in light conversation and made our way down the beach for soda water and a cup of tea. Taking traditions with you to a new place just allows you to enjoy your holiday by truly feeling a new place but adding your own little touches to make the experience ‘top notch’ as my uncle Al would say. The drinks we ordered sounded far more reliable than our drinks earlier – a ‘papaya juice’ arrived as a thick blended mixture of what tasted like a mix between carnation milk, coconut cream, ice cream, papaya and sugar – a sweet, thick milky shake – straying quite far from the original request but I couldn’t complain, you can only laugh really. I accidentally knocked half of mums glass off the edge of the sunlounger, proving quite a relief as she only had to sip half the drink and not absorb too much sugar, fat and cholesterol – eugh. Another lost in translation moment occurred at breakfast when I attempted, in clearest broken English, to have 2 eggs – one fried for my mother (i explained this playing charades, using the hand-motion of a frying pan) and the other boiled for me (i created a small egg with my hands and placed it in an egg-cup) when breakfast arrived the order was perfect, apart from the 2 fried eggs we’d received, one sunny side up (exactly what mum wanted) and the other was fried on both sides and covered in oil, not exactly what i’d pictured when thinking of a light clean breakfast rid of oil and grease – oh well, i ate it anyway.

Delish breakfast

The Cambodian way of life we'd adapted to seemed to have the same effect on my mother and I, our ravenous nature causing us to go crazy at the sight of such great menu choices. I remember watching a ted talks on choices and how fewer is actually more satisfying than more as your brain doesn’t stress and go wild at all the choices you can’t have. We both chose the munchiest foods on the menu, big bowls of Texan chilli with potato wedges and salad. For pudding we shared ice cream and fresh local fruit with a chocolate chip cookie. Mm we slept well that night, the red wine with our chilli knocked us out to perfection.


Recipe of the day: The perfect chocolate chip cookie
http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/chocolate-chip-cookies