Sihanoukville and Island life at Coconut beach

Arriving in Sihanoukville around 3:30pm, we hopped off the shuttle & went looking for a tuk tuk. We found a man on the corner, & after he made a call to our hotel, we bundled into his ride & in no time, were dropped at the bottom of a large hill where we were picked up by the hotel van. We checked in & were shown our bungalow room amongst overgrown trees & unkept gardens. We wasted no time in getting changed into our swimmers & strolling to the hotel pool. After a dip in the massive water-filled hole in the earth that resembled an infinity pool at certain angles, we laid back on the sun chairs & ordered a margarita for the birthday boy, & a piña colada for yours truly.

The cocktails went down a treat, & after another swim & reading our books in the sun, we retreated back to our room to call home, & Sean’s Mum before getting ready to head out for a night on the town. After popping a bottle of rosé we brought from Épernay, we got ready & jumped in the hotel transfer van, being dropped off at the ‘Golden Lions,’ a roundabout in the town near where the many restaurants & bars were located. We walked up to a place called ‘Sandan,’ & were soon sat at a romantic candlelit table for two outdoors. The restaurant employs underprivileged young people & teaches them how to be waiters, dealing with customers first hand under the watchful eye of a senior waiter. The food was very good, & the Argentinian Malbec, (our first red wine since London!) matched with the meal perfectly. 

Not tempted by any of the desserts on offer, we walked around the corner to an Italian restaurant called ‘Olive & Olive,’ where, after I mentioned it was his birthday, Sean was presented with a chocolate cheesecake complete with candle & terribly cheesy happy birthday music!! After a beer & a birthday tequila shot, we decided to venture down the road to find an Irish bar to watch the All Blacks game. Unsuccessful, we were led into a bar called ‘the Big Easy,’ thanks to their two for one cocktail offer. After a few boozy cocktails, the game came on & Sean was right into it. Unfortunately, we had to leave soon after as I had a rare run in with an ignorant English derelict of a girl who had an uneducated standpoint, she even put me in a chokehold before Sean pulled her arms back & told her to lay off the drugs!! 

We walked across the road into a bar called Utopia for one more beer & to watch the rest of the game, I was still a bit shook up so when the hotel transfer came to pick us up, I wasted no time hopping in, beyond ready to crawl up in bed away from such a horrible person!! 

The next day was spent solely at the hotel, & mainly in bed watching movies with the exception of breakfast, a couple of dips in the pool & a surprisingly delicious dinner at the hotel’s Japanese restaurant. I was hungover & feeling sorry for myself & so the nothing day was definitely needed! 

We checked out the next day after brekky & spent the next couple of hours lounging by the pool. Taking the free transfer just after lunchtime, we were dropped at Serendipity wharf where we walked 150 metres down the beach to our next seaside accommodation. We were lead up to a basic, colourful bungalow with a fan. Dropping off our bags we headed back into town towards ‘Olive & Olive.’ Having a delicious, large pizza this time along with homemade bread & dips, we filled the hunger gap & afterwards headed back down to our guesthouse to hang out & play cards. 

A few hours later we decided to walk down the beach to a loud, lit up, happening part where many bars & restaurants lined the sands with countless offers of 50 cent beers & fresh BBQ seafood. We settled on one of the same same but different places, where we had a tender steak & a seafood stir fry along with a couple cold bargain beers. Fireworks, fire dancers & people letting lanterns go off up into the sky was the evening’s entertainment, & after we got bored of them, we strolled down the beach & back to our bungalow, ready for bed & paradise the following day! 

We packed up & checked out, then headed to a cute little café for a coffee & brekky. Three cute puppies lived here & were all over us begging for attention! We finished up & left, making our way to the fast ferry. Boarding just after 9am, we set sail for Koh Rong, & after an okay 45min ride battling mosquitoes, we made it to the main beach wharf. We were greeted by a man holding Sean’s name on a sign, & were told to wait for the owner on the wharf. Half an hour later, a young man showed up & introduced himself as Robbie. He grabbed our bags & lugged it onto a local fishing boat & before long we cast off towards Coconutbeach! As we left the main beach, the rain began to bucket down, such perfect timing. The relentlessly wet boat ride lasted for 40 mins & we were beyond relieved to arrive at our accommodation, Coconutbeach Bungalows! 

Taking shelter from the rain at the restaurant after a brief tour of the place, we were given a complimentary tea & met one of the other guests, Ned, who was from Lithuania. The rain cleared & we didn’t hesitate for a second to head on down & check out the beach itself. Taking a spot on the dense white sand, we sprinted to the water & dived on in (once we were out deep enough, as it was quite a shallow beach!) We splashed around for a little while, enjoying our first taste of paradise before heading inland to sun bake & meet a puppy who we named Shelley. Shelley allegedly came to Coconutbeach on a boat full of tourists, who sadly didn’t take her on the return trip, hence she was stuck at Coconutbeach meeting new people everyday & living under the accommodation tents. 

Ned told us of a short walk we could do to the local fishing village, & we agreed to tag along. Walking a significantly uneven rocky road over a hill, we eventually reached the small village with one wharf full of shacks where families lived. It was quite dirty & there wasn’t too much to see, so we didn’t hang around long & ventured on back to our little slice of paradise.

We chilled out, went for another swim & then headed up to the restaurant to grab a beer & meet the two other couples; Kent & Fardiana from Canada & Singapore respectively, & Rob & Judy from the UK. We played cards, smashed some food & swapped stories before Robbie decided a game of King’s Cup should be played. 

We partied, drank & laughed the rest of the night away & went to bed full of booze & happiness!

The next day we chilled out, swam a few times, had dinner with everyone & I got a special birthday cake which was a lovely touch by our hosts. We went down to the beach & let off some Chinese lanterns into the star filled night sky. After another drinking game which involved physical exercise, we were exhausted & trotted off to our beach paradise hut.

The following day was spent inside the cabin as I was incredibly sick. I didn’t venture out of bed until mid afternoon for a tea on the deck, before crawling back to bed to feel sorry for myself. 

The next day I felt a whole lot better however it was our last day on Koh Rong! We went for one last morning swim at sunrise before breakfast, then after packing our gear, we boarded the rickety ferry bound for Sihanoukville. Farewelling our beautiful hosts, we set sail with a bunch of locals.  

It was 4 days of bliss, beach, beer and little bit of ball. It was an amazing few days to spend our birthdays while I was still getting over my sinus infection! Some much needed time to unwind, breath, and appreciate all that we had experienced over the past 6 months. What a mammoth trip, with a thousand stories to tell/write. 

We headed back for the boat to the main island only to bus to the airport…and spread our wings back to Australia, only to plan our next adventure.