The roads thus travelled: Siem Reap > Koh Kong > Koh Rong Samloem > Koh Ta Kiev
The HIGHLIGHTS
Siem Reap: Angkor Wat temples (breathtaking – and they make you feel like Indiana Jones), a Khmer cooking class, and a romantic Valentines bike ride through the city with Fi.
Koh Kong: Jungle trekking, waterfall swimming, and bbq’d barracuda on the beach.
Koh Rong Samloem: see below for the wonderful antics performed at KRS.
(We decided to skip Koh Rong, which although known for causing travellers to get sick, also had a virus spreading, and Fi and I like food and sun too much to risk becoming invalids).
Koh Ta Kiev (with Alex and Ollie): a small island - no mirrors, bucket showers, campfire making, a planking competition, and sand in your beds (and everywhere else).
The beautiful Koh Rong Samloem
The Koh Rong Samloem Adventures
KRS is an island just South of mainland Cambodia, renowned for its beautiful sea, chilled vibes, and lack of wifi.
The four days spent on this island are probably some of my favourites. Our first hostel, Driftwood, was set in a remote cove, with a cool treehouse style lounge, and some fluffy goats strolling about.
Upon arrival we learnt that, due to a lack of wifi, there had been an overbooking of the dorm rooms. Some people were left to camp in tents or sleep hammocks – and some very lucky people (cough cough) were upgraded to private wooden bungalows, with the coolest outdoor shower you have ever seen (I shit you not, I've never had such a long shower, purely just from not being able to stop staring at the beautiful jungle surrounding me).
Our beautiful bungalow
And the amazing outdoor shower
The one problem? Our next two nights on the island were to be spent at a different hostel: Mad Monkey (I don't think any explanation is required as to the “type” of hostel this is). Now, MM is located on a cove round the corner from Driftwood – an impossible hike away, or a 10 minute boat ride away.
A $20 10 minute boat ride.
Please note: our 12 hour bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap was cheaper.
So what do we do as two thrifty backpackers? We decide to walk to a different cove, with a larger pier, and try to get a cheaper boat from there.
Genius! Right? … Let's carry our massive backpacks through a jungle with steep climbs and descents, then through the ocean which is thigh deep, for 4.5 MILES.
Geniuses we are not. But we fucking did it! - with zero injuries, several curses, one Fi tantrum where she threw her backpack down a hill, and only the occasional fearful thought that a cobra might kill us.
The only negative side to this incredible accomplishment? The boat was still fucking $20.
So we decided to stay in the beautiful M’Pai Bay for the remainder of our stay.
And what did we do?
• One sunset boat trip: where we saw almost zero aqua life whilst snorkelling, but Fi did manage to catch a fish for the locals dinner (Y)
• Got our falafel and hummus fix at a delicious Turkish restaurant on the pier
• Go kayaking … Just kidding. What we actually did was hijack two kayaks booked by four guys, sit in the middle, enjoying the sun, whilst they paddled us around the island. This was relaxing until my kayak (accompanied by paddlers Ollie and Maverik) got caught in a very strong current, capsized and spent what felt like hours trying to return the short distance back to shore. (I helped by holding the electrical goods and throwing out water with my hands from our sinking kayak … #icarriedawatermelon).
• The rest of the time was spent drinking sweet ice coffee, sunbathing, swimming, playing ‘tap the cock’, pool, getting sassy comments from the 13 year old Cambodian waiter, and laughing at the sunburnt white people (it's okay if you know them)
Next stops: Kampot and Phnom Penh
(We still haven't managed to get rid of Alex and Ollie yet).
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