Advertisement
Published: January 29th 2018
Edit Blog Post
We DO have WiFi on Koh Rong, albeit not very feisty!
Our journey here was not quite as advertised. The pickup (yellow) bus for the Cambodian Island Speed Ferry company arrived as advertised, around 8.20am, stopping off to pick people up along the way into town and going on to Sokha Beach before dropping us off just before the pier. We again were glad we hadn’t stayed in Sihanoukville, so many casinos, nowhere that looked very inviting. We flashed our tickets at the desk at the start of the pier and were waved along without boarding cards. There were 3 boats from the same company. We needed the smaller one at the number 5 stop. It is worth asking, those thinking of doing this trip, exactly what the stops are. We wanted Sok San Village, and all the info said 45mins, it goes to Koh Touch first and then to Sok San. This was NOT the case!
As it turned out there were only 6 of us for Sok San. The others were one big Chinese tour group. The island didn’t quite look as I imagined. After an hour and a quarter we pulled into a beach with some
bungalows, I knew it wasn’t the right one. All the Chinese got off. We had gone right past both our expected stops to one at the far end of the island called Heaven Beach. The crew said another boat would take us back to Sok San. We were slightly confused and mildly pissed off. We were told to wait 10 minutes, then 15, then an hour and a half! Luckily 2 others were Cambodian and argued with the crew that they were only here for the day and had to get the 3pm boat back. After someone went off to talk to the boss they allowed us on the smaller boat which had rocked up with some others and they brought us round, it took about 15 mins and we didn’t have to pay any more. Apparently the guy at our bungalows says this always happens. It’s probably better to get the boat to Koh Touch and pay a local boat to bring you round from there. It would be much quicker.
On the plus side, the boat dropped us literally at the jetty which is a stone’s throw from our bungalows (Sok San Beach Bungalows), although that word
conjures up a slightly grander image than the reality. We are not complaining. For 25$ a night we have our own hut, bathroom with a cold shower (no sink), 2 beds with nets, a fan and a table. The porch has (now) 3 chairs and we are literally 20 feet from the sea. There are a few cracks and gaps, and the workmanship is rustic but the views are superb. We had lunch sitting in the restaurant on the jetty, very reasonable prices, buse and undercover when it rained. It rained quite a lot. Then we sat on our porch and watched staff and guests dig one of the piles from the jetty out from the sea. It had washed up early onto the beach but was submerged. First it was one girl with a shovel. We wondered what she was looking for. Then one by one more joined in. It was HUGE and very entertaining for us. The 3 super-confident and chatty little boys next door, backpacking for 8 months with their parents, really enjoyed joining in.
When the rain stopped we went for a walk along the path behind which leads through the village. No chance of
getting lost, just the one track. There is a stinky lagoon leading into the sea with a dodgy plank bridge over it. Sign pointing to a waterfall somewhere on the other side. The tide was out. You wouldn’t want a room near it. Not pretty! The village has quite a few places to stay but only our is on the beach. There are some little shops, prices if anything a bit cheaper than on the mainland. You can get toiletries, mozzie spray (really necessary for sand flies here), snacks, fruit. The Italian restaurant called Eat Pray Love has good reviews. We walked past the kitchen of another place and it was horrendous, food left out and improvised fly papers covered with corpses. The people are very friendly and smiley, the kids say hello but all are living in very, very poor conditions.
Back to our hut as it grew dark. Electricity available from 6pm-5am. Not the brightest, but adequate we hope. We have everything crossed for some sun tomorrow!
Sooooo slooooooow internet, photo uploading is near impossible, I’ve done my best......
Advertisement
Tot: 0.104s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0679s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb