Holiday in Cambodia

Koh Rong Island, Cambodia 6.11.2014

We arrived in Phnom Penh after a 30-hour travel. We were really tired but got some energy from the nice warm air that welcomed us while stepping out of the plane. We took a tuk tuk ride to the hostel which we had booked online.

We spent only two days in the city and mainly rested. We visited the Russian market. It is the cheapest market to find clothes, shoes, souvenirs. One must bargain on every item. But our objective was the beach. We booked a bus trip to Sihanoukville and left the same day with a boat to Koh Rong Island. We left early in the morning and the bus trip took five hours. The boat took another two hours. Once arrived we were really happy because the beach is wonderful. White sand and crystal clear water. There are no roads or cars on the island. Mainly there are guesthouses, bungalows and restaurants.

On the island there is nothing to do which suites us perfectly. The east coast where the ferrys come is the busiest and most alive. Lots of party places too.

Sunday we decided to check the east side of the island and trekked through the jungle following a path. It took about 50 minutes and was quite a hike. We saw a monkey and big butterflies. We ended up to a 7km long beach which was even more beautiful. No loud music or other people just the sounds of the jungle behind the beach. On the other end there was a village and on the other just one guesthouse with bungolows with no electricity or running water. We decided to walk back, take our backpacks and come to a seaview bungolow for a couple of nights. We took a boat from the west side to the east and after some technical problems we arrived for the sunset on Long Beach.

When it became dark everything felt extreme and was really exciting. The bungalows had open windows and were located between the jungle and the sea. There were huge spiders on the roof, biggest was the size of a plate. There were also really big geckos in the roof, about 40-50 cm long. In the night we heard geckos, monkeys, squirrels, birds, rats, lizards... Monica didn't sleep so much. Johannes either. But it was worth it.

The next day we walked the beach from end to end and back, total 14km. The village on the other end was small and called Sok San village. There was one luxury resort at the start and then a really poor village next to it. We had lunch there and talked with the owner that he is looking forward to the high season. We were the only ones there that day.

In the evening the generator stopped to work because the gasoline was finished. It had been so windy for a couple of days that the guesthouse didn't get any supplies in. The boat service doesn't run with windy / stormy weather. The second night was better than the first. But the morning was ... breathtaking. Johannes woke up around 7am and went to the bathroom and saw a black tail going behind the door. He jumped out and then he saw it was a snake. It quickly went to a hole in the corner of the bathroom. We both waited behind the mosquito net if it would come out but it was too scared. We went to check if it was still there and we saw its head constantly. We started packing our stuff and for a couple of hours it stayed there in the corner. We left the bungalow and told the staff that there is a snake in our bathroom. They were excited and went quickly to get it out. They even got a video of it. And they discovered that it was a 120cm long King Cobra.

Now we are back on the east side and this feels luxury. We are enjoying the beaches, the sea and the sun. and food is good and cheap. Just relaxing :)

Yesterday night we went to a midnight swim with another couple from New Zealand. We met them when we were having a barbeque meal on the beach. We drank few drinks together and decided to go and see if there is some plankton that shines in the water between 11pm and 1am. We were lucky! It was almost full moon so at first we couldn't see it. But when swimming we saw all these tiny shining points. It was like swimming in the sky with million stars.

Now we will probably stay on the island for a couple of days more and then head to the south. The visa is valid for 30 days so we still have three weeks time.