All's well...

... that ends well.

First of all... no photos this time around. Why? Cause I've lend my camera to an American family on the way to small island (their battery ran out and I knew I'll be underwater the whole day) and when I got the camera back at the dive store, the memory card was blank.... bloody brilliant! But, I got their email address and they copied also my photos and they'll send them to my home. So, this is where the title is from...

But I was really looking forward to seeing them as I think some of them rank very high on the favourite photos I've taken list. Why? Let's go with stories which should be under them :)

1) I went from Siem Reap to Battambang with a boat and the boat meanders through floating villages and them on a small river through proper country side. Amazing scenery and a very interesting experience. But since it is a dry season in Cambodia at the moment the waters are low and we had to go out of the boat a couple of times and push the boat as it got stuck on the river bed. When I first went in I was a bit sceptic about the cleanness of the water... it would not be me if I wouldn't go out from the boat where the river was the highest, so that only my head was out. And then... in for a penny, in for a pound... took a swim to a great delight of locals :) I'm glad to report that I have no rashes and all is well :)

2) In Battambang I met Yali who works as security at the market and he is a great guy. He took me to his house for all meals during the 2 days there and around the villages and into a proper Khmer disco (I always had an amazing view of the place since I was a head taller than anyone else). It was really good to see the place with someone like him and all the children from the extended family were amazing!!

3) Now I'm a the coast at Sihanoukville and the first thing that I come across when I come here is.... a Slovenian guy who runs a bar named.... you got it... Slovenija. :) Not only that, the same evening another Slovenian guy came there and he is from the same part of Slovenia as I am. During the summer he lives is Slovenia, making cheese on the high alpine pastures and during winter he escapes to SE Asia... a character, what can I say...

4) I got my PADI licence!!! Wiiiii... I went to Koh Rong for a couple of days and went diving. Koh Rong is a small island with couple of very small villages and amazingly stunning. Divine beaches and pristine jungle with cobras, boas... And on the day we arrived the village celebrated a wedding.... OMG - music was ear deafening and also the music that was playing... let's just say that the western music they were playing is the worst kind of electro/techno music imaginable. At least now I have the answer to the question: Who the hell listens to this! :)
Anyway, didn't get much sleep but had fun observing the locals with the instructor and an English girl who was also doing the course. They were really good fun and when I was with these two guys I felt like in Belgium. Why? Cause he was from Belgium and was speaking and behaving exactly like Wouter (guy from the student organisation I was involved in) and she looks and behaves exactly like Lies (again... student organisation).

5) On the way back from the island we got the pier and the local were excited that we need to leave soon... why we thought? There was a guy sitting in an ice box in water with loads of ice in it. He was actually a guy who works for the dive shop and was good fun... but whilst we were at the sea he was fixing the incinerator (zazigalnica odpadkov) on the island and one of the locals turned it on by accident. How can it happen - let's say that safety is not a primary concern when building things like this here. The guy was badly burned and we all felt sooooo much for him on the way to main land. 2 hours by slow boat and quite big waves. Thank god a guy from the divers had morphine and could ease his pain... I was then speaking with them and they said that sure, there is a fast boat or even a helicopter, but there is no medical insurance that would cover this! But, it ended well as it turns out that yes, the burns are over a large part of body, but all except the hand are first degree. And even the hand will be OK.

6) Sea food is delicious and BBQ fish are just divine here. Today I had 10 small lobsters for lunch... 2 dollars. MMmmmmmmm.... dinner is baracuda.