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Published: September 1st 2013
On arrival in Sihanoukville, we had to negotiate a tuk tuk to take us to our hotel. Not knowing where we had been dropped off took away some of our bargaining power and we ended up paying a little more than we should have. Oh well, these things happen. At least he knew where our hotel was!
The Golden Sands is just two streets away from the beach and has a large swimming pool in its enclosed garden. We ended up staying for 5 nights which turned out to be a day too long, but that was because of the weather, not the hotel. A word of warning though, a new hotel is being built next door so you want a room overlooking the pool or you will have a grand view of the construction site. The hotel is also used for tour groups varying from hoards of Vietnamese to a dozen or so less adventurous backpackers. They were not too noisy although the breakfast buffet did suffer from things running out. Why don't the staff check on things like coffee instead of waiting for the pot to run dry?
After checking in our first port of call was
a look at the beach. Beautiful white sands stretch for a few kilometres, but cheap restaurants line the edge and take something away from the atmosphere. Ochheuteal Beach is probably the busiest but the stiff competition means prices are low. Shame the service wasn't better though and a good job that we eat beef when that was served after ordering chicken. Sandy feet are not our thing when we have a pool though, so we retreated back to the hotel to enjoy the afternoon sun. Later on we enjoyed late night cocktails on a wooden shack/bar jutting out over the sea at Serendipity Beach. It was lovely.
The next day we did our own little walking tour. It was hot and sticky and it seemed that very few people walk the route we took. Independence Beach was gorgeous and there were hardly any people there. What a shame we were walking and not swimming. The road then took us inland for a while and we stopped to admire a pack of monkeys who had come out to see us. What a shame some of the locals have no respect for them. One young hooligan even steered his motorbike directly
towards them causing the group to scatter.
We continued past the Vietnam Memorial celebrating their victory over the Khmer Rouge. Nearby we dropped down to the aptly named Victory Beach. There we went inside the Russian nightclub "Airport" which seems to be out of operation at the moment. A huge AN24 aircraft is the centrepiece and you can climb up into the cockpit. There are also lots of airline posters around the place. It really could be quite an amazing club. We then walked along the beach which was fabulous. Sadly the view is dominated by the bridge which has been built over to "Treasure Island", a purpose built Russian resort as far as we can gather. Further along we had to cut through a resort which is under construction and would be quite something but for the fact that the building work seems to have stopped and there is a shanty town of construction workers next door.
Walking up Victory Hill was pretty hot and sweaty. We had to stop at a bar for an ice cold beer on the way up! Then we went to see the Independence Monument which was a little disappointing. A tuk
tuk took us back to our hotel and a nice afternoon by the pool left us feeling refreshed and ready for a visit to one of the many barbecue restaurants. $3 gets you a plate of meat or fish, potatoes, salad and garlic bread. Bargain!!
More walking the next day as we went the opposite way along Ochheuteal Beach. After a few kilometres, development has been halted. It seems the land has been sold for more 5-star resorts but nothing much has happened yet. Dark clouds gathered as we edged further and further from civilisation. The heavens opened just as we got to an area where huge tarpaulins have been strung up in the trees. That gave us some shelter as we waited for the storm to pass. What a storm it was! Once it was safe to return to our walk we made our way over the headland to Otres Beach. This is now the true backpacker haven of Sihanoukville. The bars on the beach are unobtrusive and we sat in one to enjoy and iced coffee and chill out before getting a tuk tuk through the countryside back to our hotel. Yes, the pool beckoned for the
rest of the day, but sadly the weather said otherwise. We made it to the pool but after just one length swimming the rain came down so heavily we retreated for a siesta instead.
We had great plans for the rest of our time there. Hiring bikes to see some of the countryside was one idea. A ferry over to one of the tropical islands was another. Sadly we were hit by 2 days of heavy rain and stayed indoors all the time. At least we did find a great place for coffee! By the time we left we were pleased to be getting out. Even the prostitutes were getting restless which is a sure sign that it's time to move on!
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