First impressions of Cambodia? - dust, dirt, debris, and grinding poverty.
As soon as we stepped out of the airport and jumped into an old Toyota for the four hour journey to Sihanoukville, we knew we had arrived in a desperately poor and backward part of the world.
Our driver whisked us through Phnom Penh's suburbs, the streets lined with ramshackle shanty homes, ragged or naked children playing in the filthy open drains, and dogs scrabbling through mounds of rotting rubbish.
As we left the outskirts of the city behind however, the scenery became less depressing, and we began to see the modest wooden homes of poor people who could eke a living from farming, side by side with the grand, brick-built villas of wealthier neighbours who had found their way out of poverty.
Although small and unassuming, Sihanoukville is Cambodia's leading seaside resort, and we were intent on spending as much time as possible doing as little as possible, in the sun, on the beach, or in the pool. Oh yes, and in the bar.
Luckily for us we'd picked the perfect guest house, and we had five days of perfect hot but not punishing sunshine, a clean tempting pool right beside our room, and a pleasing little bar that served delicious food.
Wracked by guilt at our sloth one day, we hired a tuk tuk to drive us round Sihanoukville's sights, which as expected were few, and we were soon back by the pool. In the interests of objective reporting, we had a look at most of the beaches that surround the town, and saw palm-fringed golden expanses of sand with the clear blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand lapping invitingly on the shore.
From Sihanoukville we took the express bust to Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, of which more very soon, hopefully with photos.
