Today's adventure was supposed to entail a day trip until 4pm on Rabbit Island, returning to my guesthouse in Kep for the evening. However, as soon as we pulled up to the island, I was greeted with tranquility, simplicity, and rustic beauty. Regret immediately set in by the idea of not staying the night there.
A basic bungalow with no electricity, nor running water for $5? Hell yeah!
And so I immediately found someone who spoke enough English to let me use their phone and call my guesthouse to inform them I won't be returning to my room in Kep that night.
And voilà, my plans changed & my home for the evening was my basic bungalow with a day pack containing a sarong, mosquito repellant, camera, e-reader, iPod, journal, tissues & enough $$ for the next 24hrs. What more did I need?
My highlights on the island:
- Engaging in random conversations with other travellers, like the English crew who intertwined the word 'nob' in every sentence, the French organic melon farmer and designer, who hiked in the Cambodian forests with local hunters, eating red ants and spiders and Bill, the 60-something years old from Minnesota who comes to Rabbit island every winter and recently discovered his health condition was due to gluten insensitivity & how his life has changed since becoming gluten-free!
- Playing with kids who followed me as I circumvented the 8km island and they had a 30 minute photo shoot with my camera until they got bored. One kids creative inspiration came out as he took pictures while putting a flower in front of the lens. Here are photos of some of the kids & the boy taking a photo of me.
- Devouring fresh crab for each meal.
- Watching the sun plop down from the clouds into the sea from my hammock.
- Peeing under the starry sky with silhouettes of palm trees and calm, glassy water reflecting the moon light.
- and finally, waking up early to watch the sunrise on the other side of the island where the locals live, which clearly upset the dogs to see a Westerner at 5:45am. They encircled me & barked until finally I backed up to stand in the water & yelled "help me" until a local came out and called off the dogs. Of course, they instantly transformed from Cujo into fuzzy fur balls. At least I have the ability to laugh at myself!
Needless to say, it was the best extra $5 I've spent to stay on Rabbit Island.
NEXT STOP: Visit Doris Dillon school to donate school supplies and meet the kids!
A basic bungalow with no electricity, nor running water for $5? Hell yeah!
And so I immediately found someone who spoke enough English to let me use their phone and call my guesthouse to inform them I won't be returning to my room in Kep that night.
And voilà, my plans changed & my home for the evening was my basic bungalow with a day pack containing a sarong, mosquito repellant, camera, e-reader, iPod, journal, tissues & enough $$ for the next 24hrs. What more did I need?
My highlights on the island:
- Engaging in random conversations with other travellers, like the English crew who intertwined the word 'nob' in every sentence, the French organic melon farmer and designer, who hiked in the Cambodian forests with local hunters, eating red ants and spiders and Bill, the 60-something years old from Minnesota who comes to Rabbit island every winter and recently discovered his health condition was due to gluten insensitivity & how his life has changed since becoming gluten-free!
- Playing with kids who followed me as I circumvented the 8km island and they had a 30 minute photo shoot with my camera until they got bored. One kids creative inspiration came out as he took pictures while putting a flower in front of the lens. Here are photos of some of the kids & the boy taking a photo of me.
- Devouring fresh crab for each meal.
- Watching the sun plop down from the clouds into the sea from my hammock.
- Peeing under the starry sky with silhouettes of palm trees and calm, glassy water reflecting the moon light.
- and finally, waking up early to watch the sunrise on the other side of the island where the locals live, which clearly upset the dogs to see a Westerner at 5:45am. They encircled me & barked until finally I backed up to stand in the water & yelled "help me" until a local came out and called off the dogs. Of course, they instantly transformed from Cujo into fuzzy fur balls. At least I have the ability to laugh at myself!
Needless to say, it was the best extra $5 I've spent to stay on Rabbit Island.
NEXT STOP: Visit Doris Dillon school to donate school supplies and meet the kids!
That bunglow reminded me of the cottage I grew up until I was 15 years old in a deep village .. looks similar .. little bigger .. no electricity or running water. And, yes, peeing under the starry sky. I miss that life. You are having so much fun. I am jealous.
ReplyDeleteHa! Well you can always pee under the stars in NYC but you might get arrested. ..but yes, the place was very rustic. You would love it. Kind of bummed I left it!
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