From Strangers to Friends

By Cher Morente, Singapore Management University, Singapore

Many travel to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat, infamously known as the real-life Temple Run but, after coming across videos of Koh Rong, I knew I couldn’t skip it. It suddenly became one of my favourite trips ever as the bonds that were enriched over the course of 5 days were irreplaceable.

A group of 12, split evenly amongst boys and girls, with some being strangers as they were just mutual friends at the time given that it was only the beginning of the semester. But, over the course of 5 days, the boys we once considered strangers were now one of our closest friends.

Despite varying schedules, we managed to make it work. Seven of us flew a day earlier than the rest into Phnom Penh, wanting to make the most of our free days off school. We landed in the evening so our first mission was to drop our bags then have dinner. We proceeded to a local eatery recommended by other travellers at our hostel which was then followed by some drinks at a rooftop bar.

The following morning, we visited the royal palace in attempt to gain some knowledge about Cambodia’s culture. However, as beautiful and magnificent as it was, what was truly eye-opening was the Tuol Sleng Museum. We took an educational tour with an audio guide to take a closer look into the unpleasant history that occurred in 1975-1979 which, if you need to put it into perspective, those are the years our parents were and/or already born (most likely). Seeing physical artefacts, such as photos, building and recreated devices from the time of the Khmer Rouge presented mixed feelings of empathy as well as anger which stemmed from realising the extent and degree of what it was like for Cambodians. As dark and uncomfortable it may be, I believe it is important to learn about the history which is why I recommend it nonetheless.

On a brighter note, we returned to the hostel to meet up with the others who left earlier, in hopes to uplift the dampened mood we were in as a result. After some of the guys finished swimming and some from doing work, we entered into a long conversation amongst ourselves while waiting for the other five to arrive from their flight. When they finally reached the hostel, I could not be more excited to see my girls. It was about time, after spending a whole day with only one girl amongst a whole group of guys. Now that the whole group was complete, it called for a Pizza 4P’s dinner (if you know, you know – if you don’t, then get to know).

Finally, the day I had been looking forward to the most had come, we were going to make our way to Koh Rong. Until, we ran into a problem once we got to the departure station. A couple of our friends’ booking was invalid due to it not actually going through at the time of purchase which resulted in no seat reservation despite being given an email. In the midst of trying to solve our friends’ problem since our current bus was fully booked, and the operator telling us to wait when other passengers have alighted the bus, we grew suspicious as there was one minute left until the scheduled time of departure. After asking again, the operator claimed that she thought we already boarded. When it was pretty clear we were still there as they could see us through the glass windows of the waiting room and we were the only people left there. With the next bus scheduled in 45 minutes, we left our two friends and boarded the bus as we had agreed on meeting at the port.

Around 40 minutes of our journey, the bus had stopped then unbeknownst to us all, we see our two friends get on as there were two empty seats from no-shows. Ecstatic from the reunion, some of us drifted into a nap which lasted until our stop. We thought the chaos would stop there but, when we got off we were greeted by a plethora of shouting uncles trying to get passengers on their tuktuks to the port. Thinking it was a scam, we refused and started to come up with our own way of transport (we thought we would be getting dropped off straight to the port so we didn’t really have a plan). Upon hearing it would only cost $2 USD for tuktuk/car, we opted for it as a token of spontaneity and it would get us to where we wanted anyway. Half of us in a car and half of us in a tuktuk, we raced our way to the port which only ended up being a 10 minute ride – if that – and had plenty of time until the 12pm boat.

Tired from the long journey and with the cloudy weather, I was scared to which direction this trip would take as I hoped it was not one of those over-hyped destinations often seen on social media. All my worries diminished when the boat docked on the island, the bright blue sea and the whitest sand you ever did see definitely did not disappoint.

To make the most of it, we headed straight to the beach, after dropping our bags at the hostel and grabbing a quick bite, and soaked in the sun which unfortunately was hiding behind the clouds at times. Regardless, the view, the music, the sea breeze and each other’s company kept our energies high.

The following day, we made it our mission to get to coconut beach. But, with being a group of 12 on a fairly remote island, it proved to be quite difficult to find transportation. Luckily, the staff at our hostel were able to help us find someone who could take us all. Thinking it would be a tuktuk of some sort, but we ended up with a safari-inspired truck hybrid.

When I tell you that there was no one else but us on that beach when we arrived, there was no one else (apart from those working at the cafe/restaurants). It was perfect. Peaceful. After some smoothies from Rafiki’s, we played classic games like Marco Polo, Beach volleyball and more.

Surrounded by scenery like this, what more could you ask for.

As the late afternoon rolled around, we – the girls – had a mission to catch sunset to take photos. But with one bathroom between 6 girls, it was like an Olympic sport. I’m not quite sure how we managed but we made it and it was unreal.

We performed our nightly routine of activities before dinner and chose a nearby restaurant. As the table echoed with laughter, we all knew that this was a core memory for all of us as we showed appreciation and adoration for each other in our own ways. Now, a day isn’t complete without playing games so, of course we ended the night with a game of stuck in the mud and mafia.

I think the main reason why I loved this trip so much is not just because we became closer as a friend group but it was the fact that we were comfortable enough with each other to unleash the child-like side of our personalities. As adulthood looms over us, it was refreshing, and healing dare I say, to let loose like that and bask in the nostalgia-filled present. Definitely a trip I’ll always remember.