Sihanoukville and Koh Rong Island

Arriving at Sihanoukville we were pleased and somewhat amazed that the sun was out and no signs of flooding!!
Our Guest House was cheap and no frills but had the necessary (Terry says we don't need hot water, despite how much I hate washing my hair in the cold... brrrrrrr ).

We stayed in the main tourist hub of Serendipity, a main street full of guest houses, restaurants and bars and bars that line the beaches too. Along the beach you get constantly hassled to buy the usual bracelets, $5 massage etc.... having said that they are pretty good - of you say no they leave you alone!

Serendipity beach bar at sunset....

We were recommended that Otres beach up the coast was a better beach. Instead of taking the easy 10 min Tuk Tuk we decided to take a stroll along the beach.... was a lovely walk and only took us about 30mins...

There are buffalo everywhere ... these were just 'hanging' at the beach!!

Big washed up jelly fish...

Otres Beach..

Beautiful water, nice places to eat and drink and relax. Still a few locals pestering you... but not nearly as many!

After a few days at Serendipity we decided to take a trip to Koh Rong. Koh Rong is only about 25 kilometers off the Sihanoukville's coast in the Gulf of Thailand, but the slow boat still takes 2 hours!! Apparently it suppose to be Cambodians version of Thailand's Koh Sumai, paradise with beautiful beaches and turquoise waters. So with thoughts of paradise we headed to the Island.

The rather dirty and not so organised shuttle ride and ferry port....

2 hour boat ride to paradise...

Koh Rong has 43 km of beaches and only 4 small villages. The island is also home to more than a dozen guesthouses and bungalows, many of them foreign-owned. However, with it being the low season we were advised there were no need to book accommodation - simply to walk in when we arrived..

A we approached the Island we spotted some little wooden bungalows on the beach front - hopefully there would be room for us!!!

Monkey Island Resort had 19 bungalows, 1 which was perfectly waiting for us when we arrived!!!

Our bungalow - lovely view of the beach..

And as we imagined the beautiful beaches and clear waters...

Koh Rong Island is basically untouched jungle surrounded by beaches... So next day we decided to take a hike over the mountain through the jungle to apparently an even more beautiful and empty beach... Long beach

Trekking through the Jungle - thank goodness for the signs and the rope to ab sail down the rocks....

Arriving at Long Beach.... there was no-one else there!!! We had the whole beach to play around with...

We made a little camp as there was no shade apart from heading back towards the trees in the jungle...

A little later a few more people headed over the the beach on boats.... with the sun getting too much for Terry's delicate skin - we caught a boat back to our side of the island. Our captain was about 10yrs old!! Still much less effort than the hike!

whilst Koh Rong was a lovely get away, in the high season we could see that its probably the party Island. So when the tourists start to flock over it might be better to visit the sister Island Koh Rong Sanloem. We though about this Island instead but as its low season we may have been the only people there - so decided against it.
Koh Rong is still quite undeveloped... electricity only from 6pm-11pm, no hot water and very simple wooden housing. Tourists are encouraged to stay with the local community as an alternative to guest houses and are appreciated if volunteer at the new built school . The hostels and guesthouses all employ local people as cooks and cleaners so helping them earn a living. Hopefully as tourism increases it will not spoil the beauty of the place. There is already a lot of rubbish around the Island that it appears has nowhere to be disposed of.
If planning a trip make sure you have mosquito repellent that works against the dreaded itchy sand flies!!!

After relaxing on the beach time to move on..... next stop Kampot for caves and pepper plantations!!