South Coast, Cambodia, Part II (February, 2008)

After the incredibleness of Angkor Wat, of which more later, we did our re-run of South Cambodia - having decided to swing south into Thailand - but in somewhat of a hurry as our visas were running out, again! Cambodia seems to entice me to stay and linger....

Bus through dusty villages with smiley wavey people back to Phnom Pehn. Which is starting to feel like home, already. Since we got the patter down by now - where to stay, eat, get tickets and so forth - it's all so effortless. And the next day it's back on the entertaining bus to Kep. With no glitches at all, and even taking the time to help other tourists, we are suddenly back on Rabbit Island.

In retrospect, this was probably a bad move.

Not only did we go back to a really special place that had really special synchronicity and magic - especially the incredible coincidence of seeing Matt and Pascale, and of course the fact that the water is full of phosporesence - but we bloody arrived on a Saturday morning on the biggest holiday of the year, Chinese New Year.

We barely got a hovel, the beach was awash with garbage (the Cambodians are really not too into recycling or picking up litter) and it was just all round nasty. In a mere ten weeks since we had last been, there were many new huts, new workers and none of the usual island families around. The horror!

I was intrigued to see the local fishermen had to put numbers on their boats, and now had to supply life jackets to the tourists that they formerly just tucked into their empty skiff next to the boxes of food and beer they were taking over anyways. And I bet they are none too happy by the pier built by an off-islander who put it up to bring big yachts in. and on the mainland, construction of a big parking lot for tourist buses to load up at the pier is well under way. This is all to go to a tiny island with a beach about 500metres long. Wow, are they going to be overrun.

So, I had a big crisis. Our little hideaway desert island is 'found'. When I meet the b*****d from the Guardian who wrote a glowing article about Rabbit Island, which was then promptly reprinted in the Globe and Mail (Canada) and the New York Times, I think I will have to smack him. Every second person I met quoted that article (grrr).

But then, you know, I grew up without running water in my very early youth. And it was great when we got it. So if all this means that the islanders get electricity, and water, and sewage and enough money to maybe send their kids to school, well then good for them. Just because I have some romantic ideal of a castaway island (but not 'too' castaway, you understand, one needs beer to be cold, after all), does this mean places like Rabbit Island should stay undeveloped? Nah, probably not. Good for them.

But still...for me, I will try to remember the first trip...