TGFB*

I don’t think I’d ever utter these words…but thank goodness for the Backstreet Boys. If I thought Korean karaoke music videos were bad, I really didn’t know what I was in for with Khmer (Cambodian) music and karaoke videos. The Backstreet Boys were a welcome respite from the high pitched, emo, and very loud Khmer music blasting on the bus as I rode through the south of Cambodia on my way to Sihanoukville this past weekend.

Along the way, I was greeted by emaciated cows, such that the cows’ ribs were visibly protruding, and kids in school uniforms walking home from school on a Saturday afternoon. Traditional Cambodian houses built on wooden stilts in an attempt, I think, to keep out the water during the rainy season bordered the one-lane highway. During the dry season, the bottoms of the houses seemed to be used for a variety of purposes – to dry laundry, to sit on a hammock, to store cars or motos, and most importantly, to shoot the shit with other people. I also saw a minivan crammed, no bursting actually, with people. There were at least four people in the front seat, not including the driver, and six people in every row in the main part of the vehicle. Plus there were people sitting on top of the van itself. There must have been at least five people plus packages on top of the van. I think they were as equally interested in staring at those of us on the bus as we were with them.

The changing scenery along the way was also quite impressive. Cambodia is a beautiful country with lush green mountains, trees, and rice fields. And the beach isn’t too shabby either if you can ignore the copious litter and vendors. The beach we went to, Serendipity Beach, is not like any beach I’ve been to before, but from what I’ve been told, typical of the beaches in Asia. What made the beach different for me were the shacks set up behind the beach and the plethora of vendors on the beach who offered a variety of services and wares from threading (taking a thread to get rid of unwanted hair), pedicures, and $5 massages to bracelets and Pringles. (Yes, I took advantage of the hour-long $5 massage right on my beach chair.) One of the best things about these vendors, who balanced the foods they offered on their head, was the variety of food and the fact that they cooked it right in front of you. We tried grilled squid and “lobster,” but were also offered fruit and spring rolls. Probably one of the worst things about the vendors was their persistence. They really wouldn’t go away, but I don’t blame them either. Realistically, they need to make a living. Unfortunately a great number of the vendors were little kids who, after some time harassing us to buy their products, really just wanted to talk to us. There were also a few amputees and blind people trying to make a living by begging.

grilled squid on the beach

woman balancing platter of lobsters on her head. no hands! i was impressed.

Serendipity Beach is filled with Khmer tourists on the weekend who come down for the sea and sand as well. Unlike the rest of us in our bikinis and speedos (there’s always a guy in a Speedo), the Khmers swim fully clothed. Serendipity also has a number of resorts and guesthouses. The one we stayed in, Same Same But Different, was quite shabby but right on the beach. The lock on the outside of the door was a padlock; the inside a rusted lock that didn’t quite lock completely. At one point in the night I woke up to discover the door wide open. And the guesthouse staff liked to hang out outside our room because our curtains didn’t completely close either. Quality five-star lodging for sure.

*In my debt of gratitude to the Backstreet Boys, this post is entitled “Thank goodness for the Backstreet Boys.”