Cambodia: Sihanoukville + Koh Rong

Having our fill of the quiet city of Battambang, Sam and I decided to get on to a more lively setting. Sihanoukville is a popular beach destination for travelers and boasts beautifully undeveloped islands that are on their way to becoming like their Thai competitors in the tourism market. We bought a ticket for a night bus from Battambang to Sihanoukville and were excited that it was a sleeper with a toilet and wifi. After hopping on the back of a moto and arriving at the bus, we were met with a bus with 70% reclining long chair/beds and no wifi or bathroom. That was to be expected because you never know what you're really going to get over here, so we settled in.

Packing a moto into the luggage compartment of the bus.

We switched buses and waited around in Phnom Penh for a bit before arriving in Sihanoukville where we were greeted, as usual, by a herd of eager tuk-tuk and moto drivers. We bargained with a pair of moto drivers and they took us to a guesthouse in the main area - Serendipity Beach. The beach is lined with restaurants and bars advertising 50¢ beers and fresh seafood BBQ. Unfortunately, the beachfront water here receives much of 

the surrounding area's sewage and is not a place to frolic in the waves.

Sihanoukville seen from the boat.

There is a lovely beach down the coast, though, and we took a long walk from one to the other to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the islands. Otres Beach is more low-key and less developed than Serendipity though a ton of construction is in the works.

Post sunset at Otres Beach + the moon.

We spent a couple days in Sihanoukville and then decided to join the daily journey of hippies/backpackers on their way to Koh Rong. It was an uneventful, 2-hour boat ride and I took advantage of being able to sit right on the edge and soaked up the beautiful view of the open water and nearby islands.

Boat to Koh Rong.

Pier at the main beach.

Koh Rong's main tourist village is just a line of shops, guesthouses and bars along the sand. The beaches here were all uncrowded and clean with picture perfect blue water. My favorite parts of being on the island? 1. Fresh barracuda BBQ, 2. puppies everywhere and 3. no one approaching you to sell you things.

Main beach on Koh Rong.

One of many puppy groups.

Good catch in Sangkat Village, Koh Rong.

The island is apparently the same size as Hong Kong Island, but is home to only 3,000 people compared to Hong Kong Island's 1.3 million. We wanted to do some exploring and chose the most well-traveled path in hopes of reducing our chance of irritating a poisonous snake along the way. We did the 45-minute hike to the opposite side of the island and made it to 'long beach'. It's 7km of soft, white sand and nothing else. It would have been more peaceful had the waves not been crashing so loudly. Afterall, it was rainy season and the afternoon storm was due to come in. We jumped around in the waves and decided to tag along with another group hiking back to the main village. We also had the added bonus of two dogs to lead the way and clear the path of any creatures.

View from the hike to Long Beach.

Long Beach.

My favorite experience from being on the island happened after we met a fun German couple who told us about the bioluminescent plankton. After chatting at the bar for a few hours, we ventured out into the 2am darkness to an unlit spot on the beach and went in for a swim. With every movement of your arms or legs, the plankton lit up around you. The move that generated the biggest patch of glow was like a soccer kick so I just kicked my way around, amazed at the sight. It felt like I was making the stars shine and it was gorgeous. The peacefulness of those moments was like nothing I've ever experienced.