My brother researched our family heritage a few years ago and discovered that my father’s descendants were captains from Wales. Ever since then, I’ve always loved to imagine that my keenness for the sea is engraved in my blood. I am a mermaid through legacy.
So after an eye-opening two and a half weeks in Siem Reap
where I visited one of the world’s wonders’ Angkor Wat, lived amongst the
Bakong village, and danced on Pub Street with retreat friends, I decided to hit
the ocean. Many shared stories earlier on from the Hariharalaya retreat made
known that Otres Beach was a hippy happy paradise in Southern Cambodia. I was
set to go.
Otres Beach definitely matched all expectations with aqua
blue water, island mountains jutting out in the background, and delicious
seafood served at Mushroom Point Lounge. Tourism has just touched this emerging
destination with bungalows and hostels only a few years young. In contrast,
Serendipity Beach is a quick tuk-tuk ride away and is already flooded with
bars, pub food, party, and prostitutes. I can only pray that Otres can survive
a few years without reaching this level of saturation.
I arrived and immediately ran into the ocean, which
surprisingly reminded me of the Charleston summer water. . . the temperature of a
bathtub. And the corners of my mouth stretched into a smile as I made this
relation. Within minutes of drying off, Khmer locals, who hoped I would buy a
pedicure, massage, or bracelets, approached me. This one lady, Tia Maria, was
so persistent. She made me a free bracelet and told me if I wanted anything
later to come to her. I said ok, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
An hour later I felt ready to get pampered as one Khmer lady
was convincing me, “I make you pretty, you get boyfriend.” Then her friend
arrived, who I thought was Tia Maria from earlier, and I conceded to getting a
pedicure, a full body threading, and a hair wrap. After two minutes of these
kind ladies working, another Khmer lady approached me. She started yelling,
“Lady you promise me, you help my friends why you not help me?” And instantly I
realized I had mixed up Tia Maria.
I tried to explain the mixup but she just stood there angry,
while the other Khmers just kept working on me. As Jenny finished my hair wrap
and moved to my armpits, Tia Maria started screaming at these ladies pampering
me. They all started screaming, in a language I couldn’t understand, and then
Tia Maria looked at me and said, “you are a fucking ugly bitch.” I immediately
stood up, stopped the work the ladies were doing, and retreated into the ocean.
I let my tears from this woman's cruel words flow into the deep blue. I knew I
didn’t owe this lady anything. But I couldn’t help but feeling disturbed by her
fresh mouth.
After gaining composure I thought this hateful lady had
enough, so I returned to my chair. She continued saying nasty comments about me
in English, and a whole catfight erupted between the nice Khmers and Tia Maria.
I grabbed my belongings and said enough-I ripped the free bracelet off my hand,
and just walked away. Thankfully a friend I had met at the bar walked with me
on the beach as I sniffled, telling her what all the commotion was about.
Truthfully, before the retreat I would have been in Tia Maria’s face bouncing
nasty language right back to her. And I probably would have just sat there,
getting myself all heated about it. But one thing I’ve learned in the past
years is that you never need to stay in a situation you feel uncomfortable.
Backlash serves no purpose, just walk away.
When I went to get a breather at my hostel, the owner was
very interested in what happened. He knew exactly who this lady was and walked
to the beach to tell her she was never welcome in front of his property again.
He told the police the same. And just like that, I felt cared for.
The following day, my birthday, the nice Khmers finished
pampering me. My friends on the beach, new company and some retreat friends I
had reunited with, joined in the class service of these ladies. They made me
feel like a Queen and one Khmer, Jenny, was obsessed with the way I laughed-
she had me cackling all afternoon!
We took a boat adventure tour of three islands on my last
day. A trip from 9am to 4pm, for the cost of $12! However, when we went
snorkeling the boat anchored on the coral and I soon realized there is no
international regulation of the reefs. Countless tourists were standing on the
coral, I was enraged, tried my best to explain to them how they were killing
the wildlife by stepping on it, but no one listened to me. One tourist stepped
on a sea urchin and rather than feeling sorry for her pain, I thought “well
damn right.” It was a beautiful adventure but I know that if I return in a few
years all the coral will be dead. And that is a sad, sad thing.
Another quick boat ride changed the energy around as we had
the island of Koh Te Kiev all to ourselves. Right out of a postcard- jungle
behind us and a beautiful ocean in front. I spent the majority of the afternoon
floating and swimming far out with my great friend Irene from the retreat. We
imagined the islands in the distance to be animals- a turtle, a dinosaur, and
an otter. We spoke about trying to soak in all the small details. The feeling
of your face half in water and half above it. The sense of sand between the
toes. The freedom in having this big expanse just for us. It was very beautiful
and she helped me remember how very fortunate and blessed we are.
I brought in the age of 24 with jade manicured nails, silky
smooth sun-kissed skin, and countless pina coladas. I filled the day practicing
yoga in the ocean, gorging on seafood, and having friends (who days earlier
were strangers) provide constant birthday hugs. As I ordered a cocktail before
sunset on May 4th, music filled my ears and reminded me I was
exactly where I was supposed to be. The song playing was by Bakermat, and I had
used it as the soundtrack for a video tribute to my brother. The pure chances
of musical alignment gave me the shivers.
Music, when it hits you, makes you feel all right.
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