We have now been on our tour with Stray through a few stops in Cambodia; as well as showing us more of the country, Stray is also giving us a different experience of travelling than we've had before. When Jon spent 3 months touring North America a few years ago, he couch surfed his way across, staying with locals and getting a true sense of their lifestyles - but as a traveller he was alone. On our tour through India, our tour guide was a local man who was keen to show us as much of the local culture as possible. We were able to talk with him about his life but he also organised us visiting local people off the tourist trail. Now, we are living the 'backpacker' life and finding to our surprise, it's a very different kettle of fish.
A story of partying, full English breakfasts and expats
The travelling group with Stray are mostly people in their twenties, having a break from work like us. We met our first bus load of them at 9am in Siem Reap. We got on bright eyed and bushy tailed. Over the next half hour the bus filled up with people bemoaning their sore heads from the late night on the infamous Pub Street the night before. Furtively, we exchanged glances with each other. Our India group were mostly in their 50s and bed-by-ten kind of people. We'd got on so well with them - we were worried we weren't going to quite fit in here!
Of course as we got to know them we've found our new group to be just as lovely people. Due to the flexible Stray system of hopping off the bus for a few days when you find a place you like, we've met and parted ways with quite a few backpackers now. They're all interesting, go-with-the-flow people with great stories to share and eager to make new ones. What has intrigued us though is what the world expects that we as backpackers want - and to what extent we and others fit with that cliché.
After our homestay on our first night with Stray, we travelled to Sihanoukville. This seaside town is filled with bars, clubs and Western backpackers. Most signs are in English and advertise cheap drinks and full English breakfasts. It all seemed geared entirely towards foreign tourists. Our tour guide Coco talked excitedly about partying all night and expected us all to hop off here so we could live the party life for longer.
He took us down to a beach restaurant for a yummy seafood BBQ and drinks. We admit that we indulged. Georgia had a few Sex on the Beaches; Jon had a 'tower' of beer. After dinner we all headed further down the beach to a club and we revelled in the good music and more very cheap beer (~40p a glass). We had a great time dancing and playing beer pong into the wee hours.
The next morning however we were suffering. At about 11 we ventured out to get breakfast at our hostel - which turned out to be inedible pancakes, eaten in the company of an old and grizzled Irish man chain smoking and steadily drinking. The most interesting thing he did was accidentally smash his beer on the floor, and then sit there while the waiter rushed to clean up after him. At the same time, we discussed the night before and remembered the children performing fire throwing tricks for tips, and women hanging around who were obviously prostitutes. What a seedy spot we were in!
Almost everyone else did hop off the bus to spend more time here but personally, this place really distressed us. Was this sort of place what backpackers usually want to find - cheap booze in a sunny spot? The hotel wasn't even particularly nice - the group staying in the dorm had bedbugs, but at the same time they didn't seem overly bothered. Weren't they here to experience Cambodian culture like we were?
Where is the real Cambodia?
After Sihanoukville, we arrived in a sleepy riverside town called Kampot. This pretty place was much more our style; there was a more obvious local culture and community here, and we were overjoyed that we'd chosen to hop off here. But even here, we felt the backpacker lifestyle making itself known.
The Stray recommended hotel was opposite a hostel called The Magic Sponge, run by a cheery retired Alaskan and this was the first place Coco brought us in town. It was very easy to while away an afternoon at the pool table, playing mini golf, watching a DVD and eating from a menu of local and Western dishes. We went a few times, including to an open mic night (at which Jon bravely did an A Cappella rendition of Desperado by the Eagles) and a pub quiz. But the only locals ever there were the waiters.
This kind of trend has followed us through Cambodia. When we've been taken to restaurants by our Stray tour guide, they're very Western set-ups with English menus and international food on offer. The recommended accommodation is all in 'backpacker spots' with locals offering us marijuana on every street corner and Western style bars nearby.
Are we just snobs?
You might think from this post that we're not fans of the backpacker culture at all. But in fact, we found ourselves revelling in it - for a short while. After three weeks of rice, noodles, curries, and endless varieties of unleavened breads, it was comforting to order a burger and to find a place where everyone else speaks English as a native language. The whole scene makes a bit more sense when you consider that the diehard backpackers are on the road for months or even years at a time. These backpacker spots become their islands of familiarity, as close to home as you can get when your life fits in a 65 litre bag.
But it's fair to say that, when we compare it to our time with intrepid, we miss the feeling of connection with the local culture. Because it feels to us that backpacker culture is sometimes more about meeting people who are also backpacking and enjoying the sense of camaraderie and familiarity that brings, it feels like the cultural connection is more of an afterthought that you have to go and actively seek yourself - we have managed it to some extent, but it's hard when you don't speak the language or have a clear idea of what 'the culture' looks like.
Right now, we're just going with the flow. But we're coming to the conclusion that if we want to recreate the experiences we had in India, then we might just need to be brave, go our own way a little and find those experience our for ourselves.
J&g xx
LINKS TO REVIEWS
Sihanoukville:
A story of partying, full English breakfasts and expats
The travelling group with Stray are mostly people in their twenties, having a break from work like us. We met our first bus load of them at 9am in Siem Reap. We got on bright eyed and bushy tailed. Over the next half hour the bus filled up with people bemoaning their sore heads from the late night on the infamous Pub Street the night before. Furtively, we exchanged glances with each other. Our India group were mostly in their 50s and bed-by-ten kind of people. We'd got on so well with them - we were worried we weren't going to quite fit in here!
Of course as we got to know them we've found our new group to be just as lovely people. Due to the flexible Stray system of hopping off the bus for a few days when you find a place you like, we've met and parted ways with quite a few backpackers now. They're all interesting, go-with-the-flow people with great stories to share and eager to make new ones. What has intrigued us though is what the world expects that we as backpackers want - and to what extent we and others fit with that cliché.
 |
| Sometimes the world expects us to want to ride a train made from bamboo with a motor sat on it. And the world is dead right! |
He took us down to a beach restaurant for a yummy seafood BBQ and drinks. We admit that we indulged. Georgia had a few Sex on the Beaches; Jon had a 'tower' of beer. After dinner we all headed further down the beach to a club and we revelled in the good music and more very cheap beer (~40p a glass). We had a great time dancing and playing beer pong into the wee hours.
The next morning however we were suffering. At about 11 we ventured out to get breakfast at our hostel - which turned out to be inedible pancakes, eaten in the company of an old and grizzled Irish man chain smoking and steadily drinking. The most interesting thing he did was accidentally smash his beer on the floor, and then sit there while the waiter rushed to clean up after him. At the same time, we discussed the night before and remembered the children performing fire throwing tricks for tips, and women hanging around who were obviously prostitutes. What a seedy spot we were in!
 |
| Thankfully, that afternoon we found a much quieter beach where we could take in some stunning views! |
Where is the real Cambodia?
After Sihanoukville, we arrived in a sleepy riverside town called Kampot. This pretty place was much more our style; there was a more obvious local culture and community here, and we were overjoyed that we'd chosen to hop off here. But even here, we felt the backpacker lifestyle making itself known.
 |
| This is Jon jumping into the river on a sunset cruise up the river in his underpants. It's fair to say that sometimes we made our lifestyle known to the backpackers, too! |
This kind of trend has followed us through Cambodia. When we've been taken to restaurants by our Stray tour guide, they're very Western set-ups with English menus and international food on offer. The recommended accommodation is all in 'backpacker spots' with locals offering us marijuana on every street corner and Western style bars nearby.
Are we just snobs?
You might think from this post that we're not fans of the backpacker culture at all. But in fact, we found ourselves revelling in it - for a short while. After three weeks of rice, noodles, curries, and endless varieties of unleavened breads, it was comforting to order a burger and to find a place where everyone else speaks English as a native language. The whole scene makes a bit more sense when you consider that the diehard backpackers are on the road for months or even years at a time. These backpacker spots become their islands of familiarity, as close to home as you can get when your life fits in a 65 litre bag.
 |
| And fascinating though it is to see how rice noodles are made, it might be nice to sometimes not wonder whether your food was prepared in a place like this. |
Right now, we're just going with the flow. But we're coming to the conclusion that if we want to recreate the experiences we had in India, then we might just need to be brave, go our own way a little and find those experience our for ourselves.
J&g xx
LINKS TO REVIEWS
Sihanoukville:
- Serendipity Beach
- Otres Beach
- The Secret Garden (restaurant on Otres Beach)
- Yasmine Café and Restaurant
- NYNY Guesthouse
- Ellie's Café
- L'Epi D'Or Bakery
- Rikitikitavi (fancy restaurant, good for a night out!)
- La Plantation (pepper plantation tour)
- Ecran Movie House
- Butterfly Tours
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