Cambodia – December 2022
The tiny island of Koh Rong Sanloem, south of Sihanoukville, was never on my radar when I first researched places to visit in Cambodia. But while travelling through Laos, I heard multiple people raving about the chill athmosphere and raw jungle experience which brought back fond memories of the Perhentians. Realizing that this is actually my last opportunity to visit another tropical island before heading to wintery Japan, makes the decision to head out there on a 1 hour speed-boat an easy one. And so I depart from Battambang on a nightbus to Phnom Penh, where I (typical Cambodian transportation style) am asked to change to a van. Since all passengers are headed the same way, the driver drops us off at the ferry terminal. Here our ways part, most of the other travellers go to the larger „Koh Rong“ island.
Day 1
I on the other hand buy a ticket for the smaller boat bound for M‘pai Bay. My plan is to stay in the area for 2 nights. This should give me enough time for a dive or two before crossing the border to Thailand, from where I’m scheduled to fly to Japan in a couple days. As we leave the coast behind, the sea gets rougher and some of the Cambodian girls on board go feed the fish in the back of the boat. I’m doing well for now and in my mind am already chilling in one of the hammocks at the hostel that I found on Google Maps. When we arrive at the pier of the small town, I head straight for the Bonsai guesthouse; only to realize that like many others on the island, it’s pretty abandoned. By now I’m too tired to dwell long on this set back and I immediately switch to plan B, which leads me up the hill to The Cliff Hostel.
The place has caught my eye on booking.com thanks to the pretty view from its restaurant terrace. However, it’s a bit further from other town centre. A short climb later, I arrive and am thankfully allowed to check in right away. I take a nap in the airy dorm and later venture back to the beach in search of a convenience store. Still a bit tired, I decide to have dinner at the hostel’s own restaurant. I’m enjoying my pasta and a beer when a group of young Cambodians turn up on the terrace with a portable cooler. They sit down at a low table a bit away from me and proceed to unpack loads of food and beers. A few minutes in, one of the girls comes over to my table and invites me to join them: “eating alone is too sad!”. After years of solo travel experience, I’m totally fine having dinner on my own – but the girl’s English is really good and they seem like a cool bunch. Long story short; many beers and a few tequila shots later, the last language barrier is gone and we are having a blast at karaoke.
Day 2
The next day I wake up slightly hungover, but I’m feeling nowhere as bad as the girls from Phnom Penh. Nevertheless, they are determined to make the most of their morning on the beach. After all, they are leaving later in the afternoon. None of them really know how to swim, but we still enjoy playing in the small waves. Then it’s time for my new friends to catch the speed boat back to shore. I send them off at the pier and then head to a nearby restaurant for lunch. In the afternoon I have a double dive scheduled with Bubbles Up Dive Center that I want to be fit for. On the first round, 2 new divers from England join the Dutch instructor and me. Given the small size of the shop, we carry our own gear to the pier, where we are picked up by a local fisherman who takes us out to the reef. We spend blissfull 50 minutes at 14 meters depth before returning to shore, where I exchange my tank for a full one for the second dive. This time it’s only me, Anne, a bunch of fishes and even a barracuda! Happy but tired I return to my hostel, where I have a small dinner before retiring to bed early.
Day 3
Loving the island vibe, I spontaneously decide to stay for another night. (I will briefly regret this decision within 24 hours, but on this page we love living on the edge). After devouring a lovely avocado/egg benedict toast, I chill at the beach for a while. In the afternoon I venture a bit further towards the eastern edge of the bay. Along the jungle path, I find multiple abandoned houses that have been heavily destroyed by wind and weather. Later on, an English guy who has been living on the island on and off for a couple years, tells me that the previous owners (all foreigners) returned to their home countries during the pandemic and never came back to fix the buildings. I decide to invest the money in a Khmer owned business that night and take the other hostel guests to the small family restaurant half way the hill for dinner. Then, as we proceed into town, we bump into a group of people hanging out in front of the dive shop. The expat community is enjoying their monthly “cheese & wine” treat and invites us to join. I feel conflicted, but am also desperate to have real cheese. Finally, I say yes, already thinking about the cup noodles that I will buy later at the locally owned corner store for a midnight snack.
Day 4
During the night, a storm hits the Gulf of Thailand and the usually peaceful M’pai Bay is raging. The waves almost rise up to the top of the pier and it quickly becomes clear to me that there won’t be any way to leave the island today. This brings 2 problems: I have a plane to catch from Bangkok to Japan in 72 hours and at best it takes a full day to cross the border overland from Sihanoukville. Also: there are no ATMs on the island, most places do not accept card payments and I barely brought enough cash to pay for another night’s stay. Accepting these realities for what they are, I do what any sensible person would do: First I pick up my laundry that I left with the family restaurant owners the previous day and then I find shelter from the still strong wind at a café. Over a poached egg bagle and coffee for breakfast, the whole situation suddenly doesn’t seem that bad anymore and I take the bad weather as an opportunity to catch up on some content creation and planning for the next weeks. In the evening, the wind slowly calms down and together with a German guest and the English co-owner of The Cliff Hostel, we head down to the beach a bit east from the village.
I overheard the 2 guys talking about swimming with bioluminescent plankton, so obviously I had to join the excursion. Leaving our headlights on a tree at the beach, we carefully walk out into the dark water. It’s definitely the creepiest ocean experience I had so far, and I freak out a little when I stumble across a large rock on the sea floor. Luckily, the water slows down my fall, but I still hit my elbow on something hard. The sea is cold, and once again I question my life choices. But moments later, all that is forgotten. The plankton illuminates the foam on topping the waves and circles our bodies when we run our fingers through the dark water. It’s just as magical as the first time I witnessed this surreal sight in the Carribean. We stay for a while, before we get too cold and then rush back to shore to change into dry clothes. The second part of the evening programme is already in on: a bar on the main beach live streams the final game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the whole town gathers in front of the single TV screen.
Day 5
Already anticipating that there won’t be any boat in the morning, I sleep in a bit before heading down to the pier. There I meet the dive shop owner, who’s cautious optimism gives me hope that I’ll be able to leave the island in the afternoon. I bring all my things down to the beach and have a last lunch at the local café. The waves are still high, but there are lots of people who are waiting to get off the island. So when the ferry finally shows up, we are all ready for the bumpy ride. Nobody complains (or throws up) and we are back on the mainland within 45 minutes. I spend 1 night in the strange town of Sihanoukville before embarking on the 14-hour journey to Bangkok with less than 24 hours to go before my flight to KL. I’m still amazed that 1 filthy bus ticket with a phone number scribbled on the back actually was enough to cross over from Cambodia to Thailand in 4 different vehicles (read: cramped vans).
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