After two weeks of being surrounded by the honking horns, zooming motos, and pungent aromas of Phnom Penh, the team decided it was time for a break. And what better way to get away from the city than a refreshing weekend at the beach? On Friday after work, we hopped aboard a single car train bound for Sihanoukville and the copper-brown sands of Otres Beach. The 7 hour journey passed quickly in the company of a group of boisterously singing Khmer college students, and a few expats who were eager to hear about the work we are doing this summer. The Easy Panda hostel was nothing short of a tropical paradise. The coconut palms and thatched roof bungalows located mere feet from the ocean lent themselves more to a Caribbean resort than a low-income Asian country. The team spent the better part of Saturday snorkeling and island hopping in a traditional Cambodian riverboat. This was the first time snorkeling for many members of the group, and we were spoiled by the forests of pillar coral and blankets of table coral that we saw. After a long day in the sun, we returned to the hostel for a delicious dinner, and a night of trading stories with our phenomenal hosts, Tate and Oskar. Sunday morning was spent either swimming, reading, or sunbathing before the team caught a bus back to Phnom Penh. This was the first hosteling experience for many of us, and between the ideal location, belly-aching laughs, and lovely company, the bar has now been set quite high.
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