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Published: November 15th 2012
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Day 53 After arriving in Sihanoukville fairly late last night and, following an uncomfortable sleep in bunk beds in a very hot hostel, we decided to move to a beach side bungalow called The Cove. The wooden shacks were basic but perched right on the sea front with a fantastic view over Serendipity Beach (a popular backpacker area in Sihanoukville).
The sun was shining and the beach was gorgeous but there were A LOT of people selling things and pestering you for massages and manicures, which got a bit frustrating. Nonetheless we enjoyed the day on the beach with a few beers and some barbecued fresh langestine during the day, before heading back to the bungalow to freshen up.
In the evening Serendipity Beach was very lively and was lined with bars spilling out onto the beach. We had a great mixed seafood BBQ on the beach and lazed about on satellite chairs in front of the sea, sipping cocktails until the early hours. We were pretty much ready for bed, but on the way back to the bungalow got persuaded into a beach-side club and, after chatting to the bar staff for a while, were given a
few free drinks (that we really didn't need!) before taking ourselves off to bed.
Day 54 We awoke, with sore heads, and dragged ourselves onto the balcony to a stunning view over the sea. Before long though, the skies greyed and we a heavy rainstorm hit. We lazed in the balcony hammok with Lonely Planet, planning our trip, watching the rain pouring down. Within a couple of hours the rain had stopped and we packed our bags and boarded a 2 hour ferry to neighbouring Koh Rong Island, in search of a quieter beach. We arrived, around 4pm, to beautiful deserted beaches, with white sand and clear water. The island had only a few bungalows and wooden shacks and instantly had a good feel about it. It was quite late but we had time for a quick stroll and a swim as the sun was setting before we cleaned up and had some food. The bungalow where we were staying, Coco, did a barbecue on the beach so we spent the evening enjoying a few happy hour cocktails and plates full of fresh seafood. We headed to bed feeling quite sleepy but ended up laying in bed wide
awake for a long time listening to the bugs and the shuffles of the creatures close by!
Day 55 After a broken nights sleep, in our new bungalow (which was even more basic than the last, with no hot water and electricity for only 5 hours a day) we woke up to a foot-long lizard scuttling across the bamboo wall of the bungalow, which was enough to get us swiftly out of bed! Although it was early, the sun was already baking and so we coated ourselves in suncream (having learned our lesson in Hoi An) and headed onto the beach. We spent the whole day just relaxing and really made the most of the warm sea and lazing on the sand. The island was really laid back and peaceful and with only a few beach hut style restaurants we again spent the evening enjoying a BBQ and a few drinks. Having said it was peaceful, at one point tonight a large yak with massive horns ran down the path behind us escaping from its owner, but that is about as wild as it got! The place was really beautiful and we really could have stayed for longer.
Day 56 After breakfast, we unfortunately had to pack up and leave Koh Rong and took a boat back to Sihanoukville where we decided to spend one more night before we headed to Cambodia. The last few nights sleep had been quite bad so we treated ourselves to a nicer hotel on the main road to the beach and had hot water, air conditioning and a pool! Luxury!!
We spent the afternoon by the poolside and at around 4pm, we strolled down to the beach front and decided to take a small boat and experience one of the fishing trips. It was a lovely calm evening and we set off very keen with our lines and squid for bait. Unfortunately, withing 30 minutes, Suz was hanging over the side of the boat looking rather green--apparantly, her snazzy luminous "travel bands" were no match for the choppy waters! Suz spent the rest of the 3 hour trip trying to not vomit, while Mark hung his line overboard in vain. We stayed out until the sun had set, by which time one guy caught a couple, but unfortunately, not enough to feed us all, then headed back.
Having
returned empty-handed from the fishing trip, we had to buy dinner, so we went to another restaurant run by local young people who help kids up of the street and train them to work in the restaurants. The food was really tasty and we had some delicious spring rolls filled with pork and again made the most of the fresh sea food. Full up and pretty tired from doing absolutely nothing for the last few days, we headed back for an early night and to prepare for our flight to Cambodia in the morning.
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