Camping + Strawberry picking

Somewhere in New Forest, England

Cambodia - Koh Rong

Cambodia- Koh Rong 

After reading countless of blogs, we decided that Koh Rong was a must-see destination in Cambodia. From Sihanoukville, there are ferry companies to bring you to Koh Rong for a reasonable price. I can't remember the exact price but it wasn't ridiculous. 

I could have edited this picture so the sky and water looks blue and ridiculously out of this world but I didn't want to. This was the scene I saw when I got there. It WAS beautiful and the water was really clear, but it wasn't like THIS. 

Credits: http://amyrollo.com/adventures-on-koh-rong-island-cambodia/

I had expected it to look exactly like this, so yes i was a little disappointed when we got there. We went in July and maybe weather just wasn't on our side. It rained almost every day we were in Sihanoukville and Koh Rong so maybe because the sun wasn't out, the beach ended looking like it was drenched in grey. The sea was more green than blue, still pretty clear though. You could see corals in the distance and little fishes. 

Right after we reached the jetty in Koh Rong, we were briefed by a guy about the island's perks and quirks. 

SANDFLIES: We were advised to get coconut oil and not roll around in the sand because the beaches are teeming with sandflies. I have plenty of experience with them from the beaches I often go to in Malaysia, so i was constantly making sure I was covered in coconut oil. 

Unfortunately, they still got to me and I suffered badly for a week after :( 

ELECTRICITY: From 11pm to 7/8am, there isn't electricity, so only gas lamps and torches guide you back to your accommodation if you're hanging out at a bar or a restaurant near to the jetty. Also, there is hardly any hot water, so just don't hope for any. 

One thing I remember vividly was that the sand was squeaky clean. Literally squeaky! Before going, I had read somewhere that Koh Rong had 'squeaky clean' sand so when I got there, I realised what they were talking about! MJ and i were walking along the beach barefoot and it was the first thing we noticed. The sand is so fine and smooth you can really hear a 'squeak' as you rub your feet against each other. 

ACCOMMODATION 

From the jetty, it takes about 15-20 minutes to walk to the far end of the beach, where tree top bungalows was. We went there to check it out but decided not to stay there cos it was so far away from everything and I was being lazy heh. They do have pretty bungalows that overlook the sea and also a private beach for guests only. 

We walked back and found these beachside bungalows which were US$40/45 a night (can't rmb) and settled for that. One bungalow can actually house 4 since there are 2 queen sized beds. There is a pretty spacious bathroom and a balcony. 

View from the balcony 

AROUND & ABOUT 

We only had 2 days and a night at Koh Rong so we wasted no time at our bungalow. Walked around for a bit to find some food. 

There are food stalls like this all along the beach and they make these french baguettes stuffed with meat and few pieces of vegetables. Pretty okay. 

The locals are used to foreigners being on their island, most have picked up simple English. There is also a childcare centre run by a few caucasians. They teach them English and allow visitors to join in during their outings. If you have time, you can volunteer to teach in their classes too. 

This was GREAT. I think it was US 1.50 (??) Beef noodle soup. 

 

A lot of renovation was going on, more bungalows being built. 

Favourite puppy of that day! 

LONG BEACH 

Long beach is a 45-minute hike away from the beach you're dropped off at (gotta find the name of it). BRING A PAIR OF SANDALS OR SHOES. We were totally not prepared for this hike. For some reason, we felt haughty that morning so we trekked there in slippers....worse idea ever. The paths are slippery, muddy, and steep. Which means you want free hands to grab onto branches, roots, whatever you can find. The entrance is kinda tricky to find, but just ask someone and they'll point you to the right direction. 

Start of trek to Long Beach 

Our entire trek there was accompanied by rain so when we got there, we were disappointed yet again because we were greeted with grey sky and a green sea. 

 Long Beach is 7km long, hence the name, and has no accommodation or anything, just a cafe that didn't look like it was open for business. 

I was a little grumpy when we got there because we had trekked there barefoot (slippers were making it worse). I had scratches all over my knees, feet and was just so sick of the rain. Naturally, I wasn't appeased when I saw the gloomy view. (all that for this??!!?) 

To be fair though, the weather really spoiled everything. If not, it would have been a pretty great beach. 

Lucky for me, these few pups really cheered me up. There were dogs and puppies in Koh Rong and Sihanoukville everywhere!!!! They always popped up out of nowhere. They would just sit next to me quietly, whether or not I had food. 

I'd like to link you to 2 travel blogs that I found. 

On this one, there are pictures of the tree house bungalows, and the trekking journey to Long Beach. 

Also, her photos of the beach look a lot more hopeful than mine so you'll just have to try your luck and see if you get good weather there! 

http://pilgrimwithapassport.blogspot.sg/2014/05/cambodia-koh-rong.html

This next blog was the reason I really wanted to go to Koh Rong. 

It tells you more about life on the island and encourages you to go there NOW before resorts, casinos and clubs take over and it becomes just as commercialised as Phuket. 

http://www.thisamericangirl.com/2013/12/13/keep-koh-rong-right/

Sunrise on Koh Rong

I don't know when I will return to Koh Rong but I'm glad we'd stopped by for a night because it really is a very peaceful place, with so much more to offer. I wish we could have stayed longer to explore more. Even though the weather wasn't great, and part of the trip was ruined because of my wisdom tooth acting up, I liked the place a lot. 

Till next time! 

Cambodia - Sihanoukville (Snookyville)

CAMBODIA 

I usually cringe at the thought of not being able to plan my holidays detail by detail, but Cambodia forced me to throw any urge to pre-book accommodation beforehand and just ACTUALLY go with the flow. I liked it i guess, for once. But I guess it's one of the few places that would allow you to be spontaneous because there's always cheap lodging somewhere, giving you more alternatives on the ground, not just over the net.

Sihanoukville/Snookyville

We got off our plane in Phnom Penh and spent a night there.

The guy we stayed with arranged our transport to Snookyville. We got up early to catch the 7:30am ride. We were put in a mini van for about 5 or 6 hours (?) with one pitstop along the way for food and bathroom break. 

Snooky has 2 main beaches, Serendipity and Otres. From what we gathered on travel blogs, Serendipity was for partying at nights and getting up at 5pm and Otres was for chilling out all day and all night. We decided to stay on Serendipity since we wanted to do some hardcore drinking on our first few nights in Cambodia before we lazed for the rest of the trip.

When we got to Serendipity, we immediately got approached by this guy who was a tuktuk driver. We told him we were going to Monkey Republic, and he said "Okay 5 dollars". Within 5 seconds of getting on board, he said "2 dollars is ok, because near" WHAT HE MEANT BY NEARBY WAS LITERALLY A 20-STEP WALK TO MONKEY REPUBLIC. 

I was warned about this before the trip, that Cambodians had not yet developed a proper mannerism towards tourists, but in my opinion, they were being real smart hahahaha. We weren't pissed, because the guy offered to show us another place further down the road, nearer to the beach, since we hadn't booked any room at Monkey yet. He was real cheeky, which is probably what made his outright robbery so entertaining. 

We checked into Monkey Republic, they charge US$10 per night, for a ensuite room with a queen sized bed. No air conditioning but rooms are cool enough at night. It is spacious enough for 2, with a functional bathroom. 

Monkey doesn't take online bookings.You just have to go and see for yourself if there are any bookings. If not, there are plenty of other places to stay at, all along the road and down towards the beach. 

In the day, the streets are pretty dead. Monkey was about a 15 minute drive to where the 'town' is. I actually had to go to a dentist in the town area to get my wisdom tooth removed because on Day 4 of the trip, it started to hurt so bad I couldn't eat or sleep well. 

It cost me US$80 just in case you wanted to know AND IT WAS VERY VERY UNPLEASANT. The dentist was very nice, don't get me wrong, but for some reason, the anaesthesia didn't work for me, even after he doubled the usual amount. 

I could feel the entire process of him trying to yank my tooth out, i didn't just feel pressure, i felt PAIN. Just please try to remove all your wisdom teeth before coming to Cambodia if would rather not risk feeling one of the worst pains in your life. 

We had one of our meals at Monkey, it was gooooood. Ribs and fries, pretty cheap. The beers go for 50 cents at night, in the day it's cheap though I can't remember how much. Alcohol is cheap basically. 

SNOOKY NIGHTS

We didn't do much other than party in Snookyville at nights. It's pretty much cheap alcohol, barbecued food on the beach, and open air bars facing the sea.

OTRES BEACH

We spent a day on Otres beach, a 15-20 minute tuktuk ride away from Serendipity and found it really really tempting to stay there for 2 years or so. 

The beach is much cleaner than at Serendipity.

There are about the same number of vendors - the ones who try to sell you their manicure/threading/massage services- and a good number of bars and accommodation choices along the beach. 

This was the perfect napping/reading place for us, there were plenty of cushioned seats around in the shade and lots of warm breeze to lullaby you to sleep. 

We met one of the famous kid vendors of Snookyville within minutes of settling down. He made about $5-6 off us easily by selling us factory made 'friendship' bracelets and then his mum managed to convince me into a $28 beach package, which included threading parts of my body I never knew could be threaded.  Honestly it was hard making a decision whether or not to buy from these kids. Some people say buying from them keeps them out of school, but at that point of time, I didn't really see how other way i could help, even if it were a really insignificant way. There are after all so many other factors keeping them out of school. Ultimately, I made my decision based on whatever felt right.

Breakfast was mediocre. I wish we got to eat more authentic Cambodian food. Most restaurants we visited offered a mixture of thai and french food options.

We only planned for a day trip to Otres but i wish we had more time to spend there. Now that we've been to a few parts of Cambodia, we'll probably skip Siem reap and phnom penh and return to these beaches, maybe visit Kampot too. 

Big sun beds available with no obligation to get a drink or whatsoever.

For a young boy of his age, he was a really good salesman haha. Beyond that cheeky and cunning surface, he was still just a young boy at heart, very innocent and playful. 

Oh lord, when i saw these..........i went nuts hahahaha. DON'T THEY LOOK AMAZING????  

They taste just as good as they look. 

We walked down the beach and found a bookstore beside a bar. Got ourselves a book each (3-8 USD) and slumped into these comfortable cushioned seats. 

Looked up for a moment and this was the view. This was exactly what I had wanted. To have a fuss-free spontaneous trip where we could spend hours just doing nothing. 

Little guy came back again (And again and again) hahaha. We didn't mind though, he was alright. 

This was the Otres we managed to see a bit of in a day. I'm sure there's plenty more of it we didn't have time to discover. If time permits, I would be more than glad to spend a week or two there. 

Unlike Serendipity, where it's more known as the party beach, Otres is for the late 20s and above, when you no longer feel hyped up about putting 2 litres of alcohol in your system. It's a really laid back place, and just sitting there for an hour or two can rejuvenate the last one or two shitty years you've had. 

I'll be back, Otres!