The bus journey from Phnom Penh was comfortable but extremely noisy. This time, the Cambodian pop music was on the TV and when that wasn’t blaring, it was a Cambodian comedy sketch show...it was the worst time for your iPod battery to die!
Still, the scenery was pretty amazing and we had comfortable seats...comfier than a couple of others on our group who had chosen to sit at the front of the bus on the second deck. They initially had a huge amount of leg room in front of them, but this slowly filled up with locals and before they knew it they had a whole family sitting on the floor next to them, eating breakfast (during busy spells, when all seats are taken, the locals can sit on the floor of the bus for a discounted price).
We arrived in a sweltering Sihanoukville just in time for lunch. It reminded us a lot of Phuket - a beautiful seaside town with lots of funky beach bars and restaurants.
Our hotel was great and based on beach road, so it was within easy walking distance of the beach and most bars and restaurants.
We spent the rest of the afternoon lazing on sun loungers on the beach, with some drinks.
In the evening we headed out for dinner with the group. We went to a fantastic little beach restaurant for bbq seafood, and happy hour beers and cocktails (the beers were only 25 cents each!). It was amazing sitting on the beach, enjoying the food and drink, with fireworks going off in the background.
The next day, we had an early start, as we had decided to take a boat trip to three nearby islands for some snorkelling. The boat ride on the long boat was a little choppy so it didn’t sit too well with my delicate state at first!
The main island we visited was called Bamboo Island and it was an absolute paradise. It was very secluded with only a handful of huts on the beach for holidaymakers. We spent our time before lunch chilling out on the main beach.
After a beautiful lunch of bbq’d barracuda, salad, and fresh fruit, we took a short walk through the jungle to the other side of the island and discovered an even more amazing beach. It was bliss swimming in the clear blue sea with a small beach bar nearby, playing some very apt Jack Johnson!
The long boat’s captain, Lee, was a really nice chap, really chatty. When we stopped off for some snorkelling, we spotted some sea urchins, so Lee jumped in with a polystyrene box and a pair of tongs and caught a few. He then took off the spikes and cut it up for some of us try. Apparently it’s a bit of delicacy around these parts and would go for about $6 in a restaurant (which is really expensive for Cambodia).
Sihanoukville has definitely been our favourite spot in Cambodia so far.
Next stop – Vietnam!
