Koh Rong

To get from Kampot to Koh Rong, we first took a bus to Sihanoukville. We could only understand why this bus ride was scheduled to take such a long time for a relatively short distance once we were on our way over mostly very bumpy gravel roads. But we arrived well in Sihanoukville where we enjoyed lunch before boarding a speed boat that brought us through very choppy waters to Koh Rong. On Koh Rong we stayed for a total of nine nights at the Lanting Villas, which are located at the west end of the stunningly beautiful Sok San Beach. At that end of the beach, there is a small village with several restaurants and hotels. In general, the entire island is not well developed and only has a few small villages with a few roads in between them. But the lack of much infrastructure with mostly untouched areas including the most beautiful beaches is what gives this island its charm. At least until now! The Chinese have started building an airport and it’s probably only a matter of time before this island will change drastically. So our mission was to enjoy the island in its current state as much as we could.

Out of the eight days we had available, we spent four at the Sok San Beach. This beach is more than five kilometers long, features the most beautiful fine white sand and turquoise blue water, and, best of all, almost no people on it. Each time we went there it really felt like we had the entire beach to ourselves. But since words probably fail to describe its beauty, just check out our photos and videos and you will understand why we spent half of our time on the island at this beach.

For two days we rented a scooter from the hotel to explore the rest of the island. While most of the main roads between villages are made of concrete slabs in good condition, there are also many paths that are either gravel roads with holes and bumps or even worse just dirt roads or sand. Also, there are no gas stations on the island. Instead you just buy gas in pet bottles that people sell along the street, as it is common in Southeast Asia. So riding a scooter on Koh Rong is really an adventure we can recommend.
On our first scooter day we headed north with a first stop at the Lonely Beach to get breakfast at the Lonely Resto. This was already an adventure in itself as we had to traverse many sandy patches, ditches, and holes in the long dirt path leading to the beach. For the last bit we even had to park the scooter and walk since that section is considered unsafe for scooters, at least when ridden by tourists. We then headed to the Preaek Svay fishing village where we saw an otter that wanted to play with a dog by grabbing him by his legs. However, the dog was not up for playing and rather afraid since he was on a leash and couldn’t just run away. We then stopped at Palm Beach for some drinks before heading back to our hotel and enjoying dinner in the village.
On our second scooter day we visited the beaches on the eastern side of the island. We started at Pagoda Beach and then headed via Coconut Beach south to Long Set Beach and Kaoh Touch Beach. While Long Set Beach features many hotels and restaurants, Kaoh Touch Beach is more about parties and BBQ which attracts most young backpackers visiting the island. The two beaches are connected by a small and often steep gravel path which made for an interesting scooter ride again.

On one of the days, we did an afternoon boat tour with fishing, barbecuing, and watching the sunset. We were given reels of fishing line to try our luck in catching fish. While some of the group did, the two of us only thought once that something bit our hook but we were eventually never able to get a fish to the surface. The crew then prepared the fish and grilled them for us to try. With their very simple cooking setup on the boat, they also prepared chicken, rice, and vegetables to make dinner independent of our luck in fishing. We could then enjoy the sunset on the boat before heading to a spot with bioluminescent plankton. Some of the group jumped into the water to see the bioluminescence up close but the effect was minimal so we decided not to get wet again just for this. We’ll instead be waiting for that moment where the sea lights up with every wave before jumping into bioluminescent plankton.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and it was time for us to board a speed boat back to Sihanoukville, this time over a very calm sea, where we again enjoyed lunch before boarding a bus that brought us to our next destination.

Restaurants we can recommend:
- Déja Vu Restaurant and Bar (We came here for breakfast several times. They have very good bowls. Also, Turkish eggs are good to try.)
- Panorama Bar and Restaurant (This bar & restaurant belonged to our hotel where we stayed. They had good breakfast options such as muesli, eggs and pancakes but also delicious and freshly made dinner plates. We really enjoyed a dish with chicken on a pepper sauce. Can’t remember the name ;-)
- Totò Pizza (Small place with authentic Italian food such as pizza and pasta.)
- Island Restaurant & Bar (Here you can find the authentic Khmer curry. If you want to try it, this is the place for it. You can even share it because the portion is so big. The Chicken Cashew Nut and the Pad Kra Pao are also great. )
- The Moon restaurant (A place with not really good reviews but we enjoyed the food with sea view.)
- White Sand Ark Resort (Good food but pricey!)
- Lonely Resto (This place is at Lonely beach. They serve really good food. We were really impressed.)
- Palm Beach Bungalow Resort (A great place for a drink in the evening.)Læs mere