Alissa and I have been in Sihanoukville for six days now. We're starting to adjust to the local culture and can navigate through most of the town. The first two nights we stayed at a popular hostel called "Monkey Republic" for a total of $8/night . The second day we went apartment hunting and set up appointments with two separate real estate agents to take us around town and check out what was available. We were told by the dive shop I'm going to be getting my dive master certification through that you could find apartments for as low as $80/month! But we wanted to make sure we were in a safe, clean, and close by area. That's when we were taken to the Lotus Apartments right near Sokha Beach and about a five minute drive from the dive shop. As soon as we entered we fell in love with it. Compared to other apartments we were taken to beforehand, which were in run down neighborhoods and not nearly as clean, the place looked great. The complex was gated and guarded, the rooms were spacious with high ceilings, the kitchen had everything we needed, and the bedroom and living room was furnished. Initially it was offered at $350/month but we talked the manager down to $300/month.
By the morning of the third day, we were completely moved in from the hostel to our apartment. We cleaned and organized all day, as well as ran to the local market to stock up on supplies and other things. By the time the sun went down things became interesting for us. After they have been sleeping all day, the small geckos tend to migrate indoors at night to hunt for insects. Our front door actually had a half-inch gap between the foot of the door and the ground so nearly 6 or 7 geckos came running in unexpectedly. For the next hour and a half, we (actually it was only I) chased them around our apartment to catch them and put them outside. After that we decided we needed to bug proof our room. The next day we set out and bought five rolls of duct tape to create some sort of door contraption that covered up the gaps and kept the bugs out.
Hi there, it's me, Alissa. I will admit, I didn't help out with the gecko hunting...at all. As we write this post there are two geckos chilling on our wall by the door. I'm just hoping they eat any spiders that try to penetrate our "door contraption". We're renting a motorbike for $65 a month, which is a pretty reasonable fair to pay for transportation with great gas mileage. We filled our tank up a few days ago for about $4 and it still has 3/4 of the tank remaining. The thing about renting a motorbike in Cambodia is that the police set up check points occasionally to specifically pull over anyone who isn't Cambodian. Forrest and I were stopped for the first time two days ago, so about our 5th day here. I read that usually they fine you $2-3 for not having a Cambodian license, but Forrest didn't have any small change. Oh, by 'fine' I mean they accept bribes and then let you leave. We gave the man a $10 and he said we wouldn't be bothered again (doubtful, but maybe not for a while at least!)
The market here is very large and we were able to find almost anything. Forrest had to have a rice cooker so we purchased one there for $12, which seemed shockingly cheap. We also bought our vegetables, rice, eggs, and many other cooking supplies there. We've found a local stall that specializes in Vietnamese pho. After visiting Vietnam we've started to crave it more often. We're still watching Lost and the show becomes ever more mystifying and intriguing every episode. The only relevant thing I have left to mention would be the iced coffee--excellent.
By the morning of the third day, we were completely moved in from the hostel to our apartment. We cleaned and organized all day, as well as ran to the local market to stock up on supplies and other things. By the time the sun went down things became interesting for us. After they have been sleeping all day, the small geckos tend to migrate indoors at night to hunt for insects. Our front door actually had a half-inch gap between the foot of the door and the ground so nearly 6 or 7 geckos came running in unexpectedly. For the next hour and a half, we (actually it was only I) chased them around our apartment to catch them and put them outside. After that we decided we needed to bug proof our room. The next day we set out and bought five rolls of duct tape to create some sort of door contraption that covered up the gaps and kept the bugs out.
Hi there, it's me, Alissa. I will admit, I didn't help out with the gecko hunting...at all. As we write this post there are two geckos chilling on our wall by the door. I'm just hoping they eat any spiders that try to penetrate our "door contraption". We're renting a motorbike for $65 a month, which is a pretty reasonable fair to pay for transportation with great gas mileage. We filled our tank up a few days ago for about $4 and it still has 3/4 of the tank remaining. The thing about renting a motorbike in Cambodia is that the police set up check points occasionally to specifically pull over anyone who isn't Cambodian. Forrest and I were stopped for the first time two days ago, so about our 5th day here. I read that usually they fine you $2-3 for not having a Cambodian license, but Forrest didn't have any small change. Oh, by 'fine' I mean they accept bribes and then let you leave. We gave the man a $10 and he said we wouldn't be bothered again (doubtful, but maybe not for a while at least!)
The market here is very large and we were able to find almost anything. Forrest had to have a rice cooker so we purchased one there for $12, which seemed shockingly cheap. We also bought our vegetables, rice, eggs, and many other cooking supplies there. We've found a local stall that specializes in Vietnamese pho. After visiting Vietnam we've started to crave it more often. We're still watching Lost and the show becomes ever more mystifying and intriguing every episode. The only relevant thing I have left to mention would be the iced coffee--excellent.