After spending a delightfully adventurous week in Kampot tearing around on a motorbike and stuffing ourselves with as many dishes drowned in the local speciality lime and peppercorn sauce* as we could ingest, we were in need of some R&R and headed for the untouched paradise of white sand and cobalt water that is Koh Rong Sanloem.
* One of the aforementioned pepper dishes included the (surprisingly tasty?) crispy tarantulas with chilli, pepper and lime.
The boat ride to Koh Rong Sanloem was not the easiest nor the most pleasant journey of our trip. We shuffled like bewildered cattle from the aptly named Autonomous Port in Sihanoukville onto a ropy local passenger ferry via a wobbly wooden plank. I say aptly named, as the dictionary defines autonomous as "the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs" and we certainly witnessed no sign of anyone showing the slightest interest in organising or controlling our affairs in any way, least of all directing us to the correct boat or letting us know the departure time of the ferry.
Despite the initial chaos, when we eventually managed to board with our bodies and luggage in tact, we were greeted with a very foreboding sign telling us to 'Keep Silence'. Luckily we saw the funny side and spent the rest of the (very choppy) trip to the island in high spirits.
Stepping off the boat, our first sighting of Koh Rong Sanloem was breathtaking. The crystal clear water and soft sandy beaches were offset by the gorgeous surrounding mountainous landscape. The island is tiny, and the shore is mostly unspoiled by tourism, with just a peppering of rustic beach huts.
We stayed at the Sweet Dreams resort which I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to stay on Koh Rong. The hotel is made up of charming bungalows, each with a huge glass front wall so you can gaze out at the stunning sea view while still tucked up in bed with your morning coffee. The owners were two Bulgarian brothers who insisted on carrying our heavy backpacks from Koh Rong Port to the hotel and provided us with free red wine with our dinner.
After dumping our bags in our beach bungalow, we decided it was high time to take a walk along the beach and explore our new home. Now it must be said, that due to the lack of tourism on Koh Rong Samloem, there are not a lot of activities to do, so we each took a good book with us and decided to spend the afternoon relaxing.
We were not disappointed with the number of beautiful chill-out spots...
After a few satisfying hours reading, the storm clouds that had been threatening most of the afternoon finally burst and we were forced to take shelter in our little beach hut. We spent the rest of the day in an enjoyably relaxed fashion sipping ice cold beer on our balcony and playing cards.
The next morning we awoke to bright rays of sunshine streaming through our window. After a delicious breakfast of pancakes, fresh fruit and the strongest coffee I have ever tasted, we excitedly threw on our swimmers and headed for the sea.
The sun was bright and warm and I happily took the opportunity to stretch out in the shallows and top up my tan...
Strolling along hand in hand, we barely encountered another soul and felt like we had the whole island to ourselves. We sadly reflected that if we were to return here in 10 years time, the whole place will likely have descended into a tourist trap complete with nightclubs, multi-storey hotels and endless brick-a-brack shops such as has happened to it's 'big sister' island Koh Rong. Some places are perhaps best done just the once.
For now though, Koh Rong Sanloem is an extraordinary picturesque slice of paradise. I enjoyed it so much, this was my reaction on being told it was time to leave!
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