Road trip to Sihanoukville!

So, all set to hear about the awesomeness that is Sihanoukville? After the little teaser I left, I would imagine you are at least a little curious.

It is quite wonderful. Visit already!

It was decided that after 3 months of living here, it was high time we got out and saw more of Cambodia. Thus vacation #1 in what I hope will be a lifetime of family trips. After all, one of my primary reasons for coming here was family.

The road trip from Phnom Penh isn't that far. By rights, you should be able to get there in a couple of hours, provided you can maintain a steady clip of 65 or 70 mph... 125 kph or so for those of you joining in from around the world.

Scenic fields of rice await you on your journey to paradise. I'm a poet and didn't... hey! No throwing things!

Alas, it is not actually possible to go that fast here... at least not for very long without hitting something or someone... or both. You are assaulted with a menagerie of slow moving vehicles, people on the wrong side of the road, and cows. What's more, you will occasionally be stopped by a semi truck that decided to park in the middle of the street... sideways, or even by the occasional horde of factory workers.

That thick line of people went back and to the left... way left.

This last phenomena, known universally as 'lunch time', makes traveling difficult.

As evidenced in these photos, unending lines of human assembly line workers flood from a nearby shoe factory, zeroing in on the vendor stalls across the street from work. Of course, the vendors care mostly 'bout the money, so they setup anywhere they can, including on the road itself.




What's interesting to note about this particular factory, New Star Shoes Ltd., is twofold. One, all workers are equipped with nearly identical umbrellas.

They really are nice looking umbrellas.

While this is harmless, and actually a little sweet if the company bought them, the next oddity is something a few of you may find disturbing.

While watching the crowds, it was interesting to note the vast amount of workers stretching from behind us all the way into the compound and beyond bore similarities. The uniforms and umbrellas, sure, but also their ages. The average worker age was probably 19 or 20.

This means a bell curve, to those of you in statistics, ranging from 37 to, you guessed it, 12. There were also a few girls even younger looking than that in the mix too.





Child labor isn't a good thing folks. 10 year olds and 12 year olds should be in school, not working 8 to 10 hours in a hot garment or shoe factory. It's wrong, and probably illegal by some international convention or another. If any of you are activists, feel free to jot down the name of the company before reading further. I'm sure you can find some interesting connections between it and some more familiar shoe companies you know. :)

Welcome to the mini-mall of sacrificial altars!

Other interesting obstacles included a nasty, worn out section of road (trucks are overloaded remember? Smashes the road into something resembling lumpy oatmeal fired in a kiln), and a bend in the path overlooking a scenic... mass of people praying for luck. Yes, there's a spot where people decided it was a prime place to pray for luck on the road and for a safe trip. Why? I don't know, but there's a bunch of mini-temples or spirit houses stretched along the curb, with tourists flocking to take photos, and locals flocking to pray they don't hit the tourists, and vice-versa.

Courtesy Eric Hanson Photography. I really need to get you guys a link. He sometimes sells these photos professionally, you know.

We eventually arrived to the beachside resort town known as Sihanoukville. Due to the expansive and photograph-filled nature of the visit, I'll be posting again about the adventures that occurred inside the city limits.

Until then, keep making those plans to visit, and I'll keep giving you more and more reason to come.