January, 2014

We jumped on the boat and I said “let’s sit on the side, by the window!” We found four seats, that were not next to the window, much to my dismay, and the boat was off. Now, quick side note: when we booked these tickets the other day, Dermott asked the guy, “is it really rocky? Do you feel all the waves?” The man assured us not, and told us how new the boat was and that, “it really just flies.” Ok. That’s the side note. We were out in the ocean, and the waves were huge! I would even call them tumultuous. (I did, in fact, say to my friends, “these waves are tumultuous!”) Some of the windows were broken too, and the waves splashed into the boat. ALL over a few people sitting by the windows. It was pretty funny to watch, especially because I wasn’t sitting by the window like I originally pouted about.

We arrived to Koh Rong and fell in love immediately. Emma and I looked at each other and without speaking, both took our sandals off. Those wouldn’t be back on my feet until I stepped back on this boat. We rocked up to a hotel and asked if hey had rooms. They had two private rooms left! As luck would have it! $15 a night for one room, it was perfect. Some folks that Dermott and Meghan knew from a hostel earlier in their travels were hanging around the beach! Claire, Amy, and Ben. They invited us to go fishing! After some sun lotion, and some sun baking, we walked to the pier with them and boarded a boat. The skipper, Tillman, loaded the cooler with beer, and off we went.

There I was, boating around a tropical jungle, and untouched paradise. When we went close enough to shore, we could see monkeys sitting on the rocks! We jumped off the boat and had a snorkel. We saw some incredible things. Giant sea urchins with huge pointy black spines, big lip things that are like clams (and might actually be clams) that look like they have huge lips, and when they eat, it looks like someone blowing their lips like a horse. We also saw this weird body rolling organism. It was like a magic carpet fish and body rolled through the water. Again, incredible. And we invented a dance move that mimics the movements of it. I love it.

After snorkelling, we boated a bit more around the island, and let the anchor go. It was here that we would fish. We fished with spools. It was SO cool. I caught 8 fish! They were only small guys, but we didn’t throw anything back. Emma caught the biggest fish. We boated to Long Beach (the longest beach on the island) and the Cambodian guys from the boat began gutting and cooking the fish. We were each given a plate with a whole fish on it. No utensils. I was in barbaric heaven. There is nothing better that picking at a freshly caught, freshly cooked fish with your fingers. Oh em gee.

The sunset made the day. I love the fact that though there is a sunset every day, it is still so very magical. I looked at Emma and felt a rush of joy. Look where we are, paradise. One of the most beautiful beaches, with the sun setting over beautiful water, eating a beautiful meal, with my beautiful best friend. How could I possibly be happier? The boat trip home was quick. As I gazed at the moon, and thought about my happiness. I seem to do that a lot, think about how happy I am. I am so happy.