We arrived in Sihanoukville after an interesting bus ride from Kampot. Despite being a ‘direct’ bus we managed to pick up many locals on the way. My bag ended up with a huge colony of ants as local fruit was piled on top, and one lady forgot her baby food so we stopped on the side of the rode while someone caught up with us. Sihanoukville is a sprawling coastal town, a huge port to the north, and sheltered long white sandy beaches to the south. It’s a rapidly growing budget traveller hang-out, with a laid back approach, which has created a strip of neon-lighted seafood restaurants and bars along the beach. There were huge deck chairs covering the beach, selling cut price draft beer and BBQ seafood.

We arrived at the bus office, and quickly avoided tuktuk drives who relentlessly ask you if you want a ride. It’s different in Cambodia however, as they respect your ‘no thank-you’ and let you be, unlike in Vietnam where they question you a few times. They also respond with a big smile !

We found our accommodation, after originally going to a similarly named place; ‘copy-cat’ hotels are all a part of travelling in Asia! After an exploration of town, we both (yes Emily even beat me to the bottom of the glass) enjoyed a cheap draft beer at the local backpackers, with a old rugby game playing on the screen!
The following morning we headed south on a hired motorbike to explore the local beaches; away from the neon lights and deck chairs! Our original motorbike broke down half way down the road, meaning we headed back to town when I finally got it to restart, although we swapped it for a more reliable machine. Hot chips and a beer on a beach with beautiful surf and warm water topped off a great day !

The following day, we headed to the Lazy beach office,to await our boat to Koh Rong samloem, a secluded island resort we had reserved the previous day. We had met a British family in Kampot who raved about it, and in view of many average reviews for other bungalow places we decided to take the plunge.

We walked down to the broken concrete wharf to a fishing vessel turned tourist boat (the normal smaller resort boat had broken down). The wind from the last few days had whipped the sea up making many people sick during the two hour trip (despite trying to help by giving out some buccustem). Months of travelling though had hardens our stomachs, and we knew to sit down the back in the middle where it would be smoothest.

We arrived to the opposite side of the island from where our resort was, in a sheltered calm bay. I liked the small boat that took us ashore, the engine dying half way along, so that we coasted in on the momentum.
The walk through the jungle was awesome, accompanied by the two resort dogs, before coming out to a collection of bungalows set slightly back from the beach. A welcome drink in the ‘club house’ was a nice touch, and I think we were the only ones feeling well enough to order some lunch (it was yum!).

The next two days we enjoyed sleeping in, lying on the beach and eating great food. The beach was great, although a little choppy, and beautifully clean. It was also a good chance to meet a few other travellers, have a yarn and a few drinks. The food was great (apart from Emily’s pancakes which were made of crepe mixture and tasted like rubber). The bungalow was great, clean and beautifully constructed. it was a bit hot at hot with no fan, but we witnessed a cole,of huge storms that passed by, the rain, wind and thunder was incredibly loud but it was nice to be in simple huts to experience it! The huge geckos were a novelty, a group of them, each one 20-25cm, curled up in the roof at night.

After two days spent relaxing and recharging, we got back on the boat for another stomach churning 2 hour trip back to the mainland in heavy rain – the hung over girl had a terrible time poor thing.