Day 20 - All about the chill.

13:00
I wake to a sombre, grey sky. There’s light rain in the air, and a ton of humidity. I made it near the end of the 90 minutes of football last night. Fortunately, Vicki sent me a nudge telling me to turn it back on, so I managed to catch the winning goal in extra time. Still a turgid, torrid game. I promise myself I won’t stay up for the Switzerland game on Saturday, but equally I know I’ll probably cave on the day.

I manage to sleep until a little past 09:00, which is acceptable. Despite not eating much yesterday, I’m not particularly hungry. I head down to the pool bar anyway - in two minds about what to do with myself. I spot Felix, who’s also slept well. He stayed out until the end of the game yesterday. Apparently as many as 30 people watching the game. The stream wasn’t working particularly well though, so they watched the end of the game with Vietnamese commentary, which sounds like it needs to be seen/heard to be believed.

We play some cards. The rain grows heavier for a period, then lightens, before growing heavier again. I think it’s going to be one of those days. Felix is reintroducing me to Shithead - a game I’ve not played in close to 30 years. It’s not exactly a game of skill - but a fun enough way to pass a couple of rainy hours. We have an early lunch, and Felix heads off for his afternoon boat trip. I head off for a nap.

21:00
I spend most of the afternoon lazing in the shade by the pool - reading, people watching, even dozing a tiny bit. I’m struggling to remember the last time I felt this blissed out. I have not a jot of inclination to do anything other than what I’m doing (or not) right now.

I’m sweaty as balls by 17:00, so I head back to my room to freshen up. By the time Felix returns from his boat trip at 19:30, I’m a couple of beers and a Café Patron deep at the bar. Roger has found me, and is snoozing on my lap. He’s incredibly cute. I don’t think anyone’s ever given him this kind of affection before. Felix regales me with tales of his trip - the slightly sketchy tour ‘owner’ offering weed and mushrooms, the coral on which he removed a significant section of skin on his foot, the tiny fishing village to the North of the island where they hung out for a while… It all sounds pretty enticing. Koh Rong is unlike any other South East Asian island I’ve visited - and I *think* that’s because the balance between tourists and local communities is still tipped in favour of the locals. I mean that both in terms of absolute numbers, but also in terms of emphasis. This doesn’t (yet) feel like a tourist island. It feels like an island where local people live and work, and that happens to have a fairly small number of travellers visiting it. I think that’s gonna change soon though. The evidence of construction and development is all around us. I think in 10 years, it’ll probably be unrecognisable. If you’re gonna come (and I really suggest you do), then do it soon.

Felix and I have a fab dinner of local Khmer dishes. I have the best Lok Lak I’ve had thus far. It uses a prime cut (sirloin maybe, or fillet) instead of a stir-frying cut, and the juiciness of the steak adds massively to my enjoyment of it.

Felix is up early tomorrow for a day’s diving, so heads off for a shower and some downtime. I take my glass of wine back to my room, wondering which movie to watch.Leggi altro