Cambodian beaches

Time for some beach time. Jason treated us to a two night stay in a 4* hotel, Moon Julie Hotel. It had a pool, gym, air-con and very own omelette chef for breakfast (plus we got upgraded to a junior suite). Sihinoukville was a very backpacker friendly resort, with lots of bars and beach side restaurants. We loved the evening beach bbqs; BBQ prawn/squid/fish, with potatoes, coleslaw, garlic bread for three dollars and a nice cold beer.

In the day we relaxed on the beach with a fresh fruit smoothie. There are a few beaches around the resort, but they vary considerably; Otres beach is nice and chilled, as well as clean, but Serendipity and Occheuteal beaches were quite dirty so you couldn't swim and had lots of cheap souvenir stalls. Apart from the beach food we weren't that taken by Sihinoukville and so caught a boat to an island called Koh Rong for an overnight stay.

We started chatting to an English girl on the boat to Koh Rong, Nickie, that had been travelling for 18months and has given us some top tips for Vietnam. Thanks Nickie! We all stayed at a place called Bongs that had basic wooden shacks, limited electricity and an awful toilet. It was far from the 4* hotel we'd been staying in. Most of the accommodation is very basic. Its an island that has tonnes of natural beauty, but unfortunately the backpacker scene is growing at a rate that the island development can't handle. For example, the sewage leaks into the main beach area and parts of it are a busy construction area under development. We only stayed on the island one night so only managed to take a small hike around one side of the island to one of the smaller secluded beaches that is picture perfect white sand and clear water. The only down side is the sand flies; you have to smother yourself in coconut oil if you have any hope of not being bitten. Nickie had just had a recent hospital stay because her bites got infected and she needed IV antibiotics. There are loads of people with bitten scarred legs and a guy working in the guesthouse bar thats foot was swelling with infection everyday. Grim! We would have liked to do the trek over the island but we'd only taken an overnight bag with us and had unsuitable shoes to avoid the deadly snakes and scorpions the island's jungle had.

Overall we were both a little disappointed with this beach and island area, especially when comparing them to some of the Thai and Sri Lankan beaches we've been to. Now it's time to find Jason some trekking.