January 24, 2024
Day Phnom 4: Don't Stop the Party
Phnom Penh to Kampot (by bus)
The iconic music legend of the 2010s is none other than Pitbull. His music resonates so greatly with milennials for the simplicity of his lyrics and also his Latin-inspired background (he is a Cuban American from Miami). The lyrics present a simple yet powerful theme: the international party will go on despite the very real struggles of life and death in this world and all those who would seek to stop the party.
His music contains pure joy and freedom, some would even say it comes from heaven. Many people have gotten out of depression and addictions from listening to his music with classics like "Feel this moment" and "Rain on Me". In this current sad state of global affairs, there are more people than ever who will try and stop the party. They are succeeding.
Pitbull is known as "Mr Worldwide" which contrasts greatly to the dark nationalist forces in this world that are indeed stopping the party. His music couldn't be any more appropriate today, especially considering it was born in the pre-Trump and pre-covid period of the 2010s when it was still possible to travel and world and party in most countries like he does. So was life better back then? Yes, it certainly was. Just listening to Pitbull's music now brings a sense of painful nostalgia.
It was a real wakeup call to realize that we can't take the party for granted, and that is why I had to seize the chances last night. Even if it means a nasty hangover, so be it. So with that reality, I rode the bicycle to bootcamp.
The workout involved three rounds of dumbbell squat to shoulder presses and 400 meter run. I was going at what I thought was a slow pace, but was actually smashing the workout. The others were astonished. One woman from India said, "You're just killing it man". I slowed down to try and add more time. To be honest, the workout wasn't intense compared to what I'm used to, but I appreciated the extra attention from the coaches.
After bootcamp, I chatted with a former local who moved to New York and was now here on business. Turns out he does screenwriting and is soon off to the Middle East for a project. His name was hard to remember, but he explained a technique that is a lifesaver for someone like me who is forced to remember tons of names for the job we do. I took notes.
Then it was back to the hotel for checkout and of course I forgot the keys at CrossFit. So, on the bike again. Just a week ago I would have been all anxious as fuck about this, but now it wasn't really a big deal. The staff at the cafe inside the gym saw me and basically knew what I was after.
After chilling out some more at the hotel and doing a bit more decluttering, eventually I checked out and went across the street to the sports bar to update the blog. Things were incredibly well run at the M Residence and it's more or less a condo with the option to do both short or long stay. Compared to my condo in Thailand that banned Airbnb a long time ago, I was getting more interested in Cambodia now.
I decided to go to Kampot and the staff helped see me off and wished me well on the journey. It made more sense to chill out there and check out a backpacker place run by some people I met on a pre-covid trip.
It was a very easy and smooth bus ride over, actually a minivan. The folding bike cost an extra $5 but it was worth the money. It was such an easy and quick ride, one of the most pleasant I recall. The roads and infrascture had improved a ton since my last trip. This was a foretaste of what I could expect while biking. It seems that what people are saying is true: GDP growth is around 5-6% here and unlike China's bullshit figures, these ones are real. You can see and feel it with your eyes what's actually happening on the ground.
Once it Kampot, the vibes were even more chill. I stopped off at a Mexican / Khmer hybrid place for dinner and soaked up the atmosphere. Then it was an amazing bike ride in the sunset towards the place I was after: The Hideaway.
I met the couple who now run the place (Ashley from the US got married, big congrats to her and Tom from Australia). They recognized me right away. Tom's Dad also joined the team, and for someone in his late 60s he was incredibly fit and he oozed vitality. He, along with the entire family, had rejected the rat race in western countries and decided to move here permanently. They now own land, including the business. His Dad was another example of the role model for what I would like to be at that age. Chilled out, relaxed, not stressed, and retiring in SE Asia.
There were several reasons why my Dad passed away too early. Covid was none of them. One was he kept working too long after he retired. In the end, all that stress caught up to him and he suffered a sudden stroke. The second reason was he ate too much and didn't exercise enough. I get why, he wanted to keep busy. But sometimes you have to embrace the idea that there's nothing wrong with doing nothing. What happened to him is a warning that the rat race is in your own mind and can literally kill you.
Tom was a natural bartender and he asked, as they do, "What's your story bro?" I tried to catch him up since covid, and that's when he shared what it was like during the pandemic. The downside was no customers, but he also said there were no restrictions. Just two weeks of a curfew from 9pm to 5am and that was it.
I then told the Shanghai lockdown horror stories and he just shook his said, "The whole thing was a fucking joke man, I saw it on the news. Unbelievable how they could do that to you guys." Most people who weren't there would say that, and I appreciate the sympathy. The problem is that for those who endured the suffering, they are choosing to forget it happened and move on. I am remembering this on purpose, for the simple reason that the government used the lockdown as a practice round for what they could get away with in terms of control. Of course they'll try something like this again in the future.
We talked some more about China and all that and he said, "So let me guess, you're on a scouting mission." I said, "Yeah that more or less sums it up."
Then he shared a ton about his business and how it's picking up going forward. Unfortunately he had to fire some people but don't we all.
There were other guests I got talking to as well, and a German guy in particular had a super interesting story about his Thai ex-wife and now a Laos girlfriend that lives with him in Cambodia and she basically runs the bar while he spends the day riding his motorbike around. That's the gist of it I think.
All along a guy was sitting back and listening, and I introduced myself. Turns out he is a Saudi national who used to live in China doing import and export. He left with his wife and kids just before covid and now lives in Cambodia but is trying to get to the US. Similar to the woman from Turkey I met yesterday, this guy had a lot of nasty things to say about those in power from his own country. This only added more weight to my theory about the global nationalist autocracy
On a positive note, this trip was showing how that once you connect with people it's quite amazing what they'll open up with. And in my case it's only too easy to reciprocate with what's happening on my own journey.
Today's ride: 22 km (14 miles)
Total: 57 km (35 miles)
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