Snookyville

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DAYS 26-30
After checking in and catching up on a few hours missed sleep we walked the 30 second walk to the beach to find some lunch. The bars are very close to the sea edge, leaving very little beach at the point closest to us and involved scrambling over rocks and into bars to avoid the waves. About 100 meters down the beach there is more sand and the bars are much nicer and quieter. The tourist industry here is very basic which is also what makes it very cheap - a backpacker’s haven of 50c beers and meals for 3 USD. The beach is full of Cambodian woman offering massages and manicures or selling fruit, children (who should be in school) selling bracelets and men selling sunglasses. You would be lucky to sit for 5 minutes without an interruption from them and they all want to make sure you only buy from them ‘later’ if you say no now. Reading a book and putting in head phones do work if you prefer to be left alone. In the evenings we have been to the same set of bars/ restaurants on the beach as they offer really good barbeques and much cheaper drinks than the end of the beach we are staying. They have fresh fish and seafood to choose from and so shrimps and snapper have regularly been our choice. It’s a beautiful place to just chill in the evening and enjoy good food right on the beach. Sihanoukville is a haven from the fast pace of most of Asia, a good place to recharge empty batteries.

DAY 31 We had been looking for a boat trip to go on while we were by the beach. There are many Islands which are not far from the main land. We decided upon 3 Islands in 1 tour which left daily from Coasters bar. We arrived there at 8am and breakfast was provided before we boarded a long tail boat along with 11 others. The first stop gave us the chance to cool off and do some snorkelling. We had anchored just off the first Island along with other tour boats but it was good to be able to see the fish in the warm waters. Once all back on board we headed for Bamboo Island where they provided a BBQ lunch of Barracuda. We stayed here for three hours which gave us the chance to swim in the clear blue waters, sunbathe or go explore the Island. There was also the option of staying on the island in some secluded bungalows which for those who enjoy total peace and quiet would be a great option, it came highly recommend by a fellow traveller. On the way back we stopped again for snorkelling and arrived back at Serendipity Beach by about 4pm. We had booked our travel for the following day from Sihanoukville to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam so we had a nice meal in the hotel next door and packed ready for an early start.

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Photos

Serendipity Beach
The view of the beach in Sihanoukville

Bamboo Island
Beautiful tropical Bamboo Island - great place to relax

Long boat
One of the long boats that takes people out to the islands around Sihanoukville