Everything seems very well organised, very friendly too with happy smiling faces and plenty of flag flying and waving by the loyal supporters in the Pick-ups and those along the roadside.

Not speaking the language, I’d very easily be taken in by the visual spectacle that I see. It’s only when I go online to read the news that I hear of the ‘darkside’ to this event.

Acid throwing against party members and the shooting of journalists seems to be common practice behind the relative ‘glamour’ of these campaigns. Two sides of the same coin. Local people that I’ve spoken with aren’t in the least bit shocked, not even surprised by these events.

Perhaps this is a sad reflection on the brutal past that many of the ‘middle aged’ Khmers have known all too well. Maybe because of this they are now toughened to the ‘reality’ of politics in Cambodia, maybe this also goes someway to explain their refusal to condemn it. Power through fear is an excellent way of silencing a population.

Sihanoukville is a sleepy Beach Resort town, it’s far away from the ‘grit’ of Phnom Penh so it’s very easy to forget or miss what is going on around us.

Whether you live or visit here, never forget you are in Cambodia.

The latest event was last saturdays ‘Speedpool’ competition. Since moving to Sihanoukville, it’s been hard to avoid the Pool Tables, most bars have them and they are extremely popular with expats, visitors and local girls alike. With this in mind, I’m actually developing into a reasonable player, often able to beat some of the very best girls in town!

So obviously I wasn’t slow to put my name down for this Pool tournament, it wasn’t until I arrived the Golden Lion Plaza event organised by Pacino’s Bar and Rubix Bar, that I discovered it was SpeedPool.

SpeedPool is a relatively new development in Pool, basically you play alone and simply have to pot all the balls in four ‘racks’ as quickly as possible. The winner receives $30 usd and if you beat the target time of 10 mins for the four racks, you get the bonus of $50 usd for a total of $80. Not bad at all.

My first frame was an extremely dissappointing 3.56 minutes, my next a much improved 1.47. I could do this I thought! Sadly, my total time was 10.36 giving me a 4th place finish. In a winner take all competition, not good enough.

Another great night in the Golden Lion Plaza though and an event that will, I’m sure, become a firm favourite in many peoples weekly diary.

I was ‘reliably’ informed that many months of training has gone into the preparation of these specially bred Racing Crabs and it was obvious by the dedication of many of the owners / trainers, that they are taking this sport seriously.

It was an excellent turnout and many punters were putting their ’shirts’ on their favourites, too be honest though, much like horses, they all looked the same to me. It was clear by my lack of winnings that I knew nothing about this particular, highly competitive sport. After the 3rd race none of my Crabs had managed better than a 6th place finish. I decided to call it a day and retain what was left in my wallet for drink.

It was a fun night out, with much of the proceeds going to a Cambodian Childrens Charity, which made the event even more of a ‘good thing’, I believe this is going to become a monthly or bi-monthly happening. I’ll be checking the lastest Crab ‘form’ before the next one!

Last weeked they had a Sihanoukville based Cambodia band on stage, Red Hair. This made a pleasant change for me as i’m not really a fan of American ‘rock’ music.

This “Cambodian Night” probably wasn’t as well attended as the “Route 66″ nights, but for me it was much more ‘fun’. Certainly the girls enjoyed themselves and once the band had ‘found their feet’ and were in full flow, many of the local girls joined them on stage as additional ‘dancers’.

It was however, a little of a slow start and the band didn’t seem especially ‘comfortable’ up there. They mixed their Cambodian songs with a few western ‘classics’, something I don’t find enjoyable, however later on the music was all Cambodian and they really seemed to come into their own.

Starting at 8pm, they continued till well after midnight ……. all in all, a great night once again.

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Most of the bands in this music genre seem to do little but work at their electronic keyboards, Synths, Computers, etc, X Makeena are different. Very different. Their performance on stage was not limited to their music or vocals. The lighting, the smoke machines, the props, when added to their physical performance was a spectacle indeed. Entertaining from start to finish.

X Makeena consists of five members. Nico works on programming and machines and Stefo plays bass and synth bass, while Says, Vicking and Karlton provide vocals and ‘beatboxing’. All however, blend seamlessly both visually and musically.

Despite going into the evening with some trepidation, I can report that I had a very enjoyable night at the Pocoloco, it’s a great place to drink anyway, but the performance by X Makeena was amazing and I found myself applauding along with a much younger crowd, at every opportunity.

X Makeena are now coming to the end of their Asia Tour, they play their last night in Phnom Penh on the 21st June before returning to France. Their Asian Tour has taken them to Lao, Brunei, Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.

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One simple enquiry with us quickly compares the price of the selected hotel across over 30 different listing agents, instantly highlighting the best price. Why not give it a go?

Just click here Search for hotels in Sihanoukville Cambodia

It’s not all just about Sihanoukville either, seach for hotels in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, the rest of Asia, infact Worldwide listings are available.

Not that this is a particularly ‘bad thing’, personally the weather being a couple of degress or so cooler is most welcome and since the rain comes and goes throughout the day, you can still get to where you want to be in relative dryness.

There is of course a downside though, many bars are closed for the ‘off season’ or simply too quiet now to be classed as ‘fun’ anymore. Due to the lack of trade, bars have closed, girls have gone home and the overall attitude in many places is ‘muted’ to say the least.

Fortunately not everywhere is effected. The Freedom Hotel and Bar is still relatively busy, as is the Pocoloco Bar and Nightclub near the Golden Lion Roundabout. The Kangaroo Kitchen too, though they have fewer hostesses now, is still a good place to dine, drink and enjoy. One of my former favourites though, Oceans Club, has closed its doors.

A visit to Blue Storm the other night highlighted a difference. Whilst the town may be short of Western Tourists, this predominantly Khmer establishment was probably the liveliest place in town. Young and affluent Khmers filled the VIP seating areas around the dancefloor, drinking large Bottled Beers in the main (and plenty of them!). With a can of beer costing 2usd, it’s not cheap here by local standards, nevertheless every seat was taken, and once the Khmer music finished at 10pm, the dancefloor filled and pounded to the beat of western dance music.

It’s worth a visit to the Blue Storm, but I have to say that in my opinion not every westerner will be welcomed, we’re simply not the target market. We won’t be ‘turned away’, but a certain level of behaviour is expected. Stepping over the line would probably not be a ‘good experience’.

XMakeena, a French Drum & Bass band, as part of their Asian Tour will be playing at the Pocoloco together with O.C.T, an established Khmer ‘Pop’ band.

Admission is free, and I’m sure you’ll find that Pocoloco is the perfect venue for live bands, with a great atmosphere, the raised stage area and plenty of comfortable seating.

Add in good food and drink, at reasonable prices, served by friendly waitresses and you are guaranteed a great night.

Visit the website @ http://www.pocoloco-sihanoukville.com

Sailcambodia operates from Victory Beach and have a number of Yachts for Charter or Bare Boating (Self Sail). The principle crewed charter boat is the Cygnet, a 45ft racing cutter designed by S&S.

Sailing excursions can be tailormade to your requirements and destinations can be selected from any of the 30 or so Cambodian Islands off the coast of Sihanoukville, or even further afield to Thailand. It really is up to you.

Rony, the owner, has been sailing the local waters for a number of years and says that this area offers some of the best sailing he has experienced. Constant winds and crystal, warm waters make for a very attractive and rewarding cruise.

Visit their website here - http://www.sailcambodia.info

or call Rony on +855 (0) 16 450 964

I’m out and about a couple of times each week ’snapping’ around town and I’ve met a couple of other people who are very keen photographers, so, how about forming a club in town?

You don’t need expensive equipment and you don’t even need to be ‘proud’ of your work so far. Meeting together and discussing our latest captured images with ‘like-minded’ friends would be a great way of developing our skills, i’ve also seen some amazing images captured on a Mobile Phone Camera!

If you are interested in getting together, contact me via this site.

Here’s hoping!