After a wonderful – but hot – week in Siem Reap we decided to take a break and cool down on the beach. Cambodias´ Koh Rong Samloem Island was the perfect location for this pause.
Following a great recommendation from other globetrotters we met in Halong Bay, we decided to stay in Cambodia, take a plane to the seaside and spend a week or so on this secluded island. White sand, blue sky, sunshine, crystal clear warm water and a nice bungalow right on the beach. Paradise. (And all that at low prices compared to other similar spots in the world).
The island is still very much unspoilt, at the beginning of its touristic development, with all its advantages and some limitations.
As for the advantages: very few people, quietness, no loud music at night, 3-4 small ferries a day only. The nature is at your doorstep: birds (hornbills for example), lizards and monkeys in the jungle behind the bungalow – and some of them in the house… :) ; fish swimming around your feet in the shallow waters of the bay. It is a perfect place for snorkeling, long beach walks or watching the sun rise over the sea directly from bed or during an early swim (no kidding – we became real early birds during this stay :) ).
When it comes to limitations, in many bungalows electricity is available for some hours a day, there is only “cold” water, which in reality is not a problem in the heat, no air conditioning, which you have to get used to at these temperatures, and getting to and from the island is somewhat cumbersome. However, some limitations, like lack of internet proved to be an advantage after all: being offline for over a week was a real liberating feeling. Although in order to get connected and book our next accommodation we had to wander to the other end of the island, where in some restaurants wireless network was already available. :)
The location was really inspiring. Beside writing our blog and working on photos we also started working on the plans of our perfect beach house. Whether it will stand on this island, or maybe somewhere in the Caribbean should become clearer when we have visited all potential coastlines… :)
We chose a great resort with bungalows for our stay, if you are interested you can read about the Saracen Bay Resort here.
