Stray - Battambang to Sihanoukville

We slept under mosquito netting in the single upstairs room of the stilted wooden homestay, where the night's silence was broken at 4:00am by cockerels competing with the megaphone of a nearby temple. In the style of dinner we received a generous breakfast from our warm host family to see us on our way. We slid our way back through the muddy tracks to the roadside, where we showered off the congealing mud from our feet and legs by hand pump, before getting into the bus for the 12 hour ride to Sihanoukville.

After passing the floating village at Kompong Chhnang, our only major stop was at Mount Oudong, where cross-legged on a raised bamboo platform of straw mats we ate 'Cambodian-style', sharing platters of whole fish, chicken and rice like a Cambodian family would. Around us flies, cats, and dogs hovered for food whilst children edged closer to beg for money, giving us the experience of eating with an audience.

Travelling exposes you to a world of contrasts, particularly in developing countries. You will see people at the bank withdraw tens of thousands of U.S. dollars in cash whilst children who, by right should be in school, are begging tourists for money. Interestingly, whilst we had prepared to experience begging upon arrival in Bangkok, it has only been in Cambodia that this has occurred. When eating lunch in Siem Reap we were approached by four different adults begging for money. Despite preparation it is never a comfortable experience, especially when involving children. It takes resilience to not fall to emotional instinct and perpetuate a cycle.

Continuing with contrasts, we found Sihanoukville far removed from the homestay and Mount Oudong, with its plethora of 'Barang' (white person/French in Cambodian), hostels, bars and nightclubs. Like Khao San Road in Bangkok and Vang Vieng in Laos, this was Magaluf in South East Asia. The availability of water sports, cheap alcohol and a simmering sex trade ensuring a conveyor belt of tourists to the beachside resort. We ate freshly barbecued seafood at a restaurant with tables on the sand, surrounded by a circus of neon nights, fire dancers and hawkers selling fireworks by the table side. On the way back to our hostel we were offered tuk tuk rides in the same breath as cannabis and opium.Read more