5.00pm: We are at the Independence
Hotel beach; with a stunning sunset unfolding in front of us we have a couple of beers
too. The hotel has a history of its own
as it was used as both hospital and as a prison during the war. It proudly
displays a photo of Jackie Kennedy,
who stayed in 1967. It is also isolated from the main beach and busy area of
Serendipity, which means we have to take tuk-tuks to go and get there, for $5 –
crazy prices for Cambodia. It is not a backpackers hotel but more a 4 *, which
at $75 a night for a twin room including breakfast, great facilities and a
private beach, is really not that expensive, and we are in for five nights.
 |
| Beers at Independence Beach |
8.00pm: We are at the Serendipity
beach having dinner at one of the many restaurants. They are all next to
each other and have plenty of very comfortable wooden low chairs on the sand,
just metres away from the water, with clear skies and a gentle temperature.
They must have a non-written pact of no competition when all offer great barbecue meals for $3. The fresh
seafood certainly looks amazing.
There are also many street sellers, mostly children under
the age of around 15. They are part of the landscape and all of them are always
very friendly, funny and polite.
They may insist once or twice after you say ‘no thanks’, or ‘maybe later’ but
they get it and move on. Some say “ok, later yes, you buy from me, yes?” They
always ask at least the same three things:
1. Where are you from?
2. What is your name?
3. How long are you here for?
They tend to struggle when I
answer question number 2... “A... fons?” “Afono?” “A... sorry, can you repeat?”
In that regard I am used to it as
it is the same situation anywhere in the world where a latin language is not
their first language!
10.00pm: After dinner we go for a walk along the beach. It does not
take us too long to learn that there are basically two main bars and one
bar-club, where mostly tourists hang out, drink and eventually take it to the
dance floor. We are no exception and after a couple of cocktails we are moving our hips on the dance floor
at JJs. There are also fire displays by local young men: they fire up these
metre long sticks at both ends and do all these tricks and moves, throwing them
up in the air, spinning like mad and catching them before landing. Great skill.
We try the other two places, both
are busy, loud and pretty ok – western style all three of them, as music is now
global. Somehow we lose each other and head back to the hotel at different
times.
Thursday 5 April – A great young man and beach pedicure and manicure,
for $4.
1.30pm: Pabs and I take a tuk-tuk into Serendipity beach – there is no point trying to negotiate the $5
fee with the driver as it is a set price. We can lose that battle and walk for
about 1hr, or pay it and be there in 10min. After sweating last night’s drinks
in the gym earlier, I feel great and look forward to a great day on the beach. David
is nursing his headache in the room, quietly.
2.00pm: I have some of the freshest grilled shrimps I have ever had. 4 x
$1 and I would have paid more. The cook woman has the most unassuming of
portable cooking kits and sits in the shade of a palm tree. Like all women she
is wearing long sleeve shirt and long trousers, with a typical hat on. They
protect themselves from the sun very much. The shrimps are out of this world
too. So fresh, juicy, with a touch of salt and lemon. Love them.
2.15pm: We meet a young seller boy as we walk down the beach, sells
bracelets he makes himself. He turns out to be a great young man and here is our exchange:
He starts following us and talking
friendly, not selling us stuff or anything, with the usual 3 questions. I then
ask him:
“So, what is your favourite
football team?”
“Liverpool” he responds.
“Oooh, great team. It’s my team
too... but this year so-so, eh?”
“Yes, this year not so good”
We keep walking and he chats with
Pableras too.
“What is your favourite colour?”
he asks me.
“Red” I respond.
“Ok, I will make you a red
bracelet for free, no money”
“Oh you don’t have to”
“Ok, ok, no problem” he responds
like it is no big deal.
In less than about 5 minutes he comes round
with a nice little red bracelet.
“Wow, that was quick! Brilliant!”
As we continue strolling down the
beach we settle at one of the food places on the sand, a couple of metres away
from the water. Yung, that’s the
boy’s name, is still with us and by now he is like our mini-guide too, he gets
the waiter to come round, he tells us his stories and where tourists come from.
He is now all of 11 years old and started
learning English only two years ago, and speaks fluently, but he modestly say
“Oh no I don’t speak very well yet”.
 |
| Yung, a great young man and a bright life ahead, I hope |
I agree to buy him a dedicated
bracelet with some letters in it.
“How much for three letters” I
ask.
“Three letters?... That is
normally 6 dolla, but for you 5 dolla”
I respond, shocked: “5 dollaaaa???
Are you serious?! Yung I thought we were
friends!!”
“Yes we are! 5 dolla is a good
price” and smiles.
“Ok, a good price.... I give you 2
dolla. How about that?” I counteroffer.
“Oooohh 2 dolla... No, no, no....
2 dolla is not good” he responds in this serious, deep voice almost offended.
“Hhhmmm... ok, then... 2 dolla 50
cent” I offer, smiling.
“No, no, no.... Normally 5 dolla
but we play a game, if you win it is 4 dolla. If I win it is 5 dolla”. I agree,
no doubt he is giving me a good chance and I am sure I can beat him – big
mistake.
We play paper, scissors, rock... and he not only beats me, he wins every
single round and laughs loud.
I accept defeat, agree to the 5
dolla and we shake hands. He gets on with great skill to make this two colour
bracelet and Pabs and I have some food.
I engage in conversation with one
of the many manicure and pedicure women walking the beach. She is friends with
Yung too – who couldn’t be friends with him- and I negotiate for pedicure and
manicure while she sits down next to my sunbed. She is covered from head to
toes with their usual light and colourful clothing and the typical hat.
“Manicure pedicure... 8 dolla” she
says.
“Are you crazy????, 8 dolla?!?! You broke my heart!” I respond copying
the pity face the beach seller in Hoi An had put on me.
“Ok, ok, you give me a numbe” she
responds, expectantly.
“Easy, 2 dolla. 1 for hands, 1 for
feet”
“Oh noooo, no, no, nooo! 2 dolla no good… You got ten finger and ten
toe, see? 1, 2, 3... So 7 dolla good price. You got 1, 2 hands and 1, 2 feet (she
says as she points at them)”
“OK, easy then! 4 dolla! 1 dolla
for this hand, 1 dolla for this other hand, and 1 dolla for each foot. Good
deal for you!” I say smiling, trying to convince her.
She stops for a moment and thinks,
hesitantly. Then mumbles something in Cambodian to Yung who is laughing while
doing the bracelet.
“Ok, ok, 4 dolla... but we play a
game and if I win is 5 dolla” she counters.
“A game?? Aaahh I know what
game... I think I’ll pass!”
“Oh no, no... you play, you win, 4
dolla, easy” and she smiles.
“OK, let’s play!”
Four rounds later I have lost again. I manage to draw one
round, but otherwise it was never going to be my day.
“OK, OK, I say... 5 dolla it is
then!” And she laughs.
While all this exchange is
happening, it is a glorious afternoon and we can feel the sun as well as lovely
breeze. More sellers pop buy offering good deals.
Pablo, while I was losing at the
game, agrees to have manicure and pedicure, done by TWO women at the same time
for just 4 DOLLA. And he didn’t even have to play the game! I couldn’t believe
this so I turn around to Sang [I think that was her name] who is already doing
my toes:
“Two at the same time... 4
dolla?!?!”
“Yes, you were 4 dolla too. But
you lost game”, and smiles. I smile too. She had given me a chance.
I give up negotiating a discount
and by now Yung is finalizing his bracelet. It looks really good and I ask him
about school.
“Yes I go to school in the afternoon. I have to leave at 4. In the day I
do this and then go to school, and then home with family”. He is a good boy.
Once he finishes the bracelet he
offers to make me a second one at special price:
“OK, I give you 5 dolla” I offer.
“No, no... 5 dolla too bad. See? Normally 3 letters 6 dolla. I already did 4
dolla but you lost game. So two is 8 dolla”.
“Yung...” I say looking at him
really serious, “come on man, give me a break. I make you good offer: 6 dolla”
“Hhhmmm.... 6 dolla. We play
again. If you win 6 dolla, if not, then 7 dolla”
I am scared to death to play him
again but cannot say no. I lose again, easily. 7 dolla it is and I am delighted
to pay that.
By now Sang is really making a mess of my toes. I have almost lost one
toe nail and she is chopping nails here and there like there is no end. I say
to myself it is only my toes.
“Sang... this is not good Sang,
this is not good... I am not impressed” I say, half serious, half joking.
“Oooohhh no problem sir, no
problem. It is ok, it is OOOOOOKAAYYYY”.
I give up and she finishes shortly
afterwards with my toes, almost literally.
We are reaching 4 pm and Yung has
to go home to school. He has been truly a great young man and I tip him a
couple of extra dolla. I hope he left thinking he had had a good
day and I really wish him all the best in life. I have a feeling he will do
very well.
Back to my manicure, Sang is
slightly cautious after my toes mess... I keep checking on her but when I think
she’s doing ok I feel a sudden pain in one of my fingers. She just has cut too
much nail. It almost cut my skin but it didn’t however I am staring at about half a nail in my right index finger.
“Sang!!! What happened?!?!”
“Ooohh... so sorry!!! So
soooorryyy!!!” she says clearly disappointed.
“I mean... Did you want to chop my
finger too?!”
“Oooohh... so sorry!!! It won’t
happen again, sorry!”
I wasn’t really THAT upset by it
all, after all I was paying 5 dolla (and Pablo 4, hum) and I moved on and told
her to carry on “no problem, it is ok, it will grow back, one day!” and I
smiled.
Cutting a long story short, she
managed to almost cut another two fingers and I was just thankful she didn’t. Pablo
on the other (two) hand(s), was looking sharp and all happy. Probably one of
the most expensive “dollas” I ever spent, but it was kind of fun – kind of.
6.00pm: Sunset and Japanese
couple. Back at the hotel beach watching the spectacular sunset. In the
horizon you can see some of the small islands off the coast, there are some
nice clouds in the sky which start turning orange, red, blue and even green.
You see also the daily parade of fishing
boats that go out at this time, every day, to catch shrimp at night, or was it squid, huh?.
It is like a fleet of boats and I
count over fifty. They all have similar shape and go from my right across the
sun and on to the left, somewhere a few km away from the coast. It is the fishermen
life, and they love it.
 |
| Beautiful sunset and fleet of fishermen boats |
A Japanese couple is also watching the sunset and taking pictures. As
I walk back to the hotel I ask them if they want me to take a photo of them and
they say yes. It is a good camera, like a Canon or a Nikon. I am no photographer
but I like to try taking pictures that
tell a story, not only capture the moment. As I look through the camera I
see a beautiful story: they are sitting facing the sea and the sun, with their
heads turned to the camera, she is nearer to the camera and he is to her left.
I see a couple in love, with this stunning background, with a deep, real
happiness.
The picture looks amazing, the
light is perfect and I want to take more photos. I ask them if I can take a
couple more. They smile and, with very little English, say yes.
I play with the zoom in and out,
move myself to the side so they are not in the middle of the frame but on one
corner. Click. I ask them to look forward, to the sun; the light on their faces
is really nice, they only smile a little. Click. She says something to him,
smiling, like I am a professional or something, as I direct them to look here
or there. I smile. I open the zoom, he puts his arm around her [at this point I
am thinking he may be thinking I am just taking pictures of her] while she is
relaxed and he is proud. Click.
I could stay there for a while but
I don’t want to interrupt their moment any more. It was fun taking those
pictures. I make a mental note about investing in a proper camera – there are
so many stories to tell out there, every day, any time, anywhere.
9.00pm: we are having dinner at a
Cambodian-Swiss restaurant in Victory Hill. It is very quiet around here
however the food is very good. There are some old men in some of the places
nearby sitting with young local women, there are no young couples and very few
female customers. It does not take much to know what they are discussing. I am
no judge to decide whether that is right, wrong or something else, however it
is what it is. It is also the birthday of the restaurant’s owner girlfriend and
we get free cake and sing happy birthday. The place has been running for over
40 years and it is something of a must visit.
11.00pm: the lightweights duo of
Pabs and Dave do not feel like going for a drink so I am left on my own as I
leave them in the hotel. As I am on the tuk tuk to the Golden Lions area, there
is a magnificient storm in the distance. The lightning is outstanding and I can
catch a few of them clearly. It is as fascinating and scary as powerful and
raw. This is mother nature, I remind myself, and we have very little say. I
have a couple of drinks by the beach, talk to some tourists and head back to
sleep just after midnight. WHAT A GREAT DAY THAT WAS.
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