Phumĭ Kaôh Rŭng Sâmlœ̆m Khnŏng

Booked a night in a simple accomodation on the other side of the island, but at the end I was never ready to go and leave such a cozy and warm place. There is actually nothing really to do around here, but this place is just the perfect one to do nothing. To reach sunset island you had to do an easy 2 km trek, but also very nice, that did as a filter for all the tourists who can't survive without AC (yeah, even in a desert island), high speed wifi and brand new installations. You would think that this people sound very tiring, and probably a minority around here (how would you go to a third world country with a backpack and not even try to adapt), but unfortunately, its the very big majority of people around this place. So this magic filter created a beautiful and relaxing place, where you could only find three hotels and an activity center; where no british nor large group would dare to cross, and only nice and interesting people reached this secret spot. As the days went by, I started recovering my energy and my glow, which I realised I had started losing more and more since my arrival to south east asia. Not feeling confortable anywhere and not a part of anything started to make me lose myself and not fully enjoy the experience, even question if I was the problem here (the backpacker athmosphere in this countries is reallyreallyreally not my cup of tea). So sunset beach kicked off as a medicine (even though nothing exceptional happened), and got me ready for some more discovering. You might be asking yourself what was I doing for the last week... But it was basically eat, work, eat, work, swim, eat, sleep and sometimes socialise for a bit. Even though the island is very expensive and it was raining most of the time, every moment was more than enjoyed and I got the chance to fully center on my masters for a bit, and also get immersed in the french culture on my very french hotel (had lots of crepes, pastis, played french games, with french people, learned some more french... And all over again). So there was a twist on my trip, and found a volunteering job on a close beach (apparently one of the 25 most beautiful beaches in the world according to national geographic) working as a bartender, were I also offered to teach some yoga. So I'll stay longer in this interesting country (really can't understand all these people who said you could do it in a week or two...), and jump to Thailand from here to meet Alliette (my canadian cousin who's actually not my cousin) and try the experience of travelling with someone for a month... What a challenge!
Last but not least! The owner of the hotel next door was nothing less than... Catalan! So I spoke my native language for the first time on my trip, had some bravas at her place (oh god, what a pleasure) and celebrated Sant Joan with a bonfire thanks to her (how unexpected it is to meet someone from your land for the first time on the most remote place!)

🏠 Accomodation: Sleeping Trees (nicer vibe on the beach and communal dinners every night for a reasonable price) or HubaHuba (the name will be soon changed to Kamaku, if you're catalan you'll understand what this means;), the place looks pretty nice and even has a beachgym)
🍴 Food: sleeping trees (they've got crepes, pizza and homemade bread and compared to the prices of the island its not so bad), bravas at HubaHuba (but food is quite expensive)
📍Essentials: sunset at sunset beach, lazy beach, trek around the island, mostly do nothing in a hammock, see the plankton at night, snorkel around the island, enjoy some boardgames which most accommodations offer
🔍 Some facts: you can find two of the most dangerous ants in this islandRead more