We steam overnight and into the Gulf of Thailand early in the morning. By breakfast we are in Cambodian waters. The Diamond Princess (DP) is far too large to dock at the wharf, so we sit at anchor in the bay of Sihanoukville. So the final part of our journey will be by tender, a bit of an adventure in itself.
On arrival at the wharf we bypass the numerous drivers touting their services and just walk up town. It’s hot and steamy by the time we get to the shops. It’s all very basic and we give up on coffee and have a cool drink in an internet cafe while we clear some emails. It’s time for some transport and we negotiate with the safest one we find.
Once Pam has completed a 10 point safety check on the Tuk Tuk and drug tested the driver we are off.
Our driver gives us the grand tour, first we scoot passed a couple of very large and modern hotels set well away from the town on a private beach. Next it was to the markets, where we took half an hour and had a walk through the open sheds taking in the sights and smells. Then on to the beach for a walk passed the numerous small bars and restaurants spread out along its shores. It was all basic and very friendly, no one hassled us.
Next we headed out of town and up the hill to a cemetery and memorial to the victims of the Pol Pot regime and the killing fields. There is a large shrine on the crest with many small memorial and statues in the surrounding grounds. Unfortunately there is no signage in English to enable us understand the local significance. There were some very annoying children following us around at this point and we felt like we could get our wallet or bag stolen so we bailed.
Time was passing on and we asked our driver to return us to wharf. Our tender was waiting and half an hour later we were back on the DP enjoying a drink looking back on a great day in Sihanoukville.