Sihanoukville Beaches- Gateway To Stunning Koh Rong Samloem Island!

What Goa is to Indians, Sihanoukville is to Cambodians. A perfect place with beautiful beaches, party atmosphere, sea food and of course shacks and bars. It should not come as a surprise that it is home to the largest brewery in Cambodia. The city is believed to have the best beaches in the country. We were keen to visit the secluded island of Cambodia- Koh Rong Samloem and Sihanoukville was our gateway to the island.

Stunning Beaches Of Koh Rong Samloem

Since it was more of a pit stop we decided to stay closest to the pier and that happened to be the Serendipity beach. The most crowded and touristic part of the town. The best way to identify the area is by the massive Golden Lion Circle. The area is lined with bar, cafes, restaurants, hostels, hotels and not to forget the string of Casinos. Sihanoukville is a complete casino city solely aimed at the Chinese tourists. If party is on your mind and you want to go completely wild, then Sihanoukville is the place to be. The city is buzzing with life at night and is very lively with live music, lights, casinos lit up and of course people partying like there is no tomorrow.

Though we went with minimal expectations to Serendipity beach, it was pretty much a turn off to put it very mildly. We happened to see the darker side of tourism. Sadly the beach was eaten up by the eateries that have mushroomed around the shore. The beautiful beaches back home in South Goa are paradise. The strong stench, massive amount of garbage strewn around, beer cans floating and glittering in the water, hundreds of restaurants encroaching the beach and sparing all but one feet width on the beach for people to take a stroll. However, since this beach was one of the smallest stretches and the most crowded, this was the scenario. Other beaches such as Otres are believed to be better. There also seems to be a private beach - Sokha Beach owned by Sokha Beach and Resort, where visitors can spend time on the beach by paying a small fee.

We managed to walk around the local market and were amazed by the number of stalls around. While the Serendipity beach was not much fun, we enjoyed the amazing budget friendly cafes and spas which was the only silver lining of Sihanoukville. Most people of Cambodia are extremely nice and friendly, greeting us with a smile at every corner. Their charming smile lit up our day.

Invito Restaurant serves amazing wood fired pizza at a very budget friendly price. Their service was excellent, staff very friendly and the thin crust pizza was very good. The ambiance was top notch.

There are lot of activities that one can indulge in while in Sihanoukville from snorkeling tours to diving. There are a few reliable dive stores that are PADI certified and provide a great experience.

We had stayed at Monkey Republic Hostel Serendipity beach road near Golden Lion traffic circle. Our first hostel experience outside India and boy were we blown away! We had opted for the basic private "Only Fan" room and it was way better than some of the hotels that we had stayed in. The room had an attached bath, cleanest of sheets, soft mattress and pillow, very friendly staff, happening pocket friendly bar and lot to offer during happy hours. The hostel's location is a great plus with bus station, ferry points, serendipity beach, plenty of good eat outs and bars all at walkable distance. Their travel desk helped us with booking ferry tickets at no additional cost. The hostel is very safe. The best part about the hostel was it was very quite and they gave us two draft beers complimentary. They have a pretty good and clean swimming pool. A security deposit of USD 10 is taken for towels which is returned at the time of checkout. None of the hostels we stayed at during our South East Asia trip was a party hostel. We are too old to have neon glow paints on us or to look for any no strings attached.  In all our research, we found hostel world to give good pricing than booking.com.

For our up journey from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville we opted for the Golden Bayon VIP Mini Bus Service. This comes highly recommended after/ second only to Giant Ibis. We were promptly picked from our hotel (for free) and dropped off at their office where our mini bus awaited us. Our schedule departure was at 8:45 am and we promptly left at 8:50 am. We chose seat number 5 and 6 and right in the middle. It is guaranteed that most of the luggage will travel inside the coach as there is very little luggage space. It was a very comfortable 250 km drive and the roads were in great condition that we could even catch up on decent sleep. The only thing is that it takes an hour to hour and a half to cross the city limits and hit the highway as the traffic scene is pretty bad in the capital city. If you plan to take the ferry on the same day to Koh Rong or Koh Rong Samloem islands, you would have an anxious drive as it would be cutting it too close. In our case, bus reached Sihanoukville at 2:35 pm and the last ferry to the islands departs at 3 pm. En route we had a 20 minute lunch break at a not so great restaurant. We decided to opt for coconut water and munched on the awesome local snacks that we were carrying.

Bayon Mini Bus

Overall we would give Golden Bayon a 5 star rating for their on time pick up, safe driving, comfortable seats, very clean bus and also for providing a bottle of water and they charged us USD 9, which was USD 2 less than what Giant Ibis was charging. Budget saver tip: If you book online there is a USD 1 processing fee and the Forex conversion charge by banks where as if you go to the booking center or any of the travel agencies it is a flat USD 9. Saving USD 1 might seem cheap, but for a budget backpacker couple travelling over 75 days opting multiple journeys it adds up. Overall very professional service. Try and have your tickets booked a little in advance rather than a day before to get the best seats possible otherwise they tend to hard-sell the last 4 seats that could get quite uncomfortable. Though we did not use the services of Mekong Express in Cambodia, just by the looks of it, their minibus looked on par with the two big players.

For our return journey from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, we opted for Giant Ibis Mini Bus Service. We were pleasantly surprised to see a bus in top notch condition and impeccable professional service offered by the crew. The previous night we visited their office near Golden Lion Circle updated our pick up location and the following morning we were promptly picked up from our hostel free of charge and the bus left right on time. Giant Ibis offers massive leg room than their competitors Golden Bayon. On board, we were served cold water and snacks from "Blue Pumpkin" bakers.

Giant Ibis Seat 1 A and B

The driver was very professional, not driving rash and maintaining speed limits at all times. It was the most comfortable 250 km journey. Tip: Do not opt for seats 1A and B right behind the driver. The seats do not offer enough leg room and engine compartment would made it a very uneven and uncomfortable journey. The additional USD 2 that you pay for the ticket is completely justified. This journey made us even more excited and we were looking forward to taking their night bus service from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.

Not being too much of party people, we were craving for some secluded, calm and quiet beach time and we were definitely disappointed with Sihanoukville. Expecting the worse we set sail to "Koh Rong Samloem," which turned out to be the trip highlight!

Our Slow Backpacking Travel Experience Across South East Asia!

It was time for us to set out on yet another memorable long trip but this trip would be nothing like our previous ones, not in the comfort of our homeland. The trip focused on South East Asian countries and we finally zeroed down on visiting Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar for 75 days in all. The different culture, people, fantastic food, language barriers and challenges that came with this Asia trip was just the perfect travel experience that we were longing for.

It was a smooth sail and we had the most amazing experiences where we got to spend a night on a cruise, fired an AK 47 at a Gun Range, kayaked in deep blue waters, swam into a dark cave with just a helmet mounted torchlight. The stunning architecture distinct to these Nations was visible in their palaces, temples and monasteries. Their beaches and islands showed us the stunning natural beauty that these nations have to offer. We also were able to experience some extreme weather conditions from being blazing hot to continuous rains for days to experiencing the after effects of a typhoon. Their museums gave us more insight into their past and we learnt so much more about their History. We also had our first dormitory experience in one of the hostels and this trip was not just an amazing journey but a great teacher as well.

We started our trip with Cambodia, the land of ancient Hindu temples and fell in love with not just the Angkor Wat temple but the beautiful temples surrounding the complex. Though these temples are not much in the limelight, we feel they are way more deserving than the Angkor Wat itself. The other beautiful highlight of Cambodia was the stunning Koh Rong Samolem island. This beautiful island with crystal clear water was the most spectacular experience. Getting to meet so many lovely people from across the Globe and going for a swim under the cover of darkness at the Plankton Beach was definitely a trip highlight. We ended up snorkeling and fishing while on a boat and feasting on barbecued fish right on the boat - an experience that we can never forget.

While in Phnom Penh, on one hand we witnessed the amazing water festival and on the other we learnt about the depressing past that still haunts this wonderful Nation. A visit to Killing Fields and S21 Prison showed a glimpse of the terrible times and what the people had been through making our eyes moist. Under the Khmer Rogue rule, the atrocities committed by them were gut wrenching. The mass killings by the regime lead to the death of close to 2-3 million people (25% of Cambodia's population) just because they were educated or were not following the ideologies laid out by the communist Khmer Rogue.

After spending 15 days, with a heavy heart we bid adieu to Cambodia and flew into Vietnam. We wouldn't even know where to start with the awesomeness of Vietnam. The cruise on stunning Bai Tu Long Bay, beautiful Tra Ang grottoes, heart stopping caves of Phong Nha, rich history of Hoi An, lovely beaches of Nha Trang and the chaos of Ho Chi Minh city was a complete package. The sheer number of UNESCO world heritage sites, cool coconuts, pagodas, Palaces and amazing local beers literally made our 30 days in Vietnam feel like 3 minutes. Also, not to forget trying out the local cuisine and instantly falling in love with their sinful coffee so much so that we became coffee addicts and we are not really coffee drinkers. The coffee is so amazing here that we picked up 2 kilograms of coffee powder and two very beautiful and cute Vietnamese coffee filters. Though we experienced stormy weather in Vietnam, we still managed to enjoy the cultural history that the Nation has to offer in the beautiful city of Hoi An.

These beautiful places are so pristine, it is difficult to digest that some of these places were bombed on a daily basis for close to 20 years by Uncle Sam. The courage and valor of these people needs to be saluted.

We also got a glimpse of the harsh reality of the Vietnam War and the repercussions that the war has left on the people of Vietnam. Many parts of the country are still suffering due to the unrepairable damages caused by the war and the atrocities carried out during the war. The museum in Ho Chi Minh city displays photographs wherein many regions have suffered due to the toxic chemical sprays (Agent Orange) and the deformities that people are now born with. These pictures are pretty graphic and not for the faint-heart. While most of us were in tears reading the atrocities carried out, it is unimaginable to even think that these people are still suffering and for no fault of theirs. Human mind can think of such inhumane things and not have a bit of remorse is shameful.

After 45 days of strict budget backpacking, it was time to pamper ourselves on the beautiful islands of Thailand with creature comforts and we did not have to look far. The calm and serene Koh Yao Yai island off Krabi would come second to none. Koh Yao Yai offered perfectly calm, secluded beaches that we had pretty much to ourselves the entire time.

All the 3 nations have amazing local breweries that dish out inexpensive and the best beer on the planet. It was a very budgeted trip and while in Cambodia we managed to travel by local buses, in Vietnam we preferred the train services. Despite opting for some pricey excursions- Bai Tu Long, Trang An, Angkor Wat, plenty of foreigner priced entry tickets, internal flights, plenty of walk and public transport and very few cabs, we managed to spend almost the same amount or less had we been travelling in our homeland. In none of these countries we opted for local sim cards. One could also do the same trip in a way lesser budget.

Due to prior commitments, Reshma flew back home while Ram continued the journey to the beautiful Burmese Land- Myanmar.

While travelling to Myanmar, it was on the news for all wrong reasons and it still is but it was simply the best travel destination in South East Asia. In my experience, Burmese people were really nice, warm and welcoming. Though it might sound cliché, it was truly the warmth of these people that made me fall in love with this Nation. Will dedicate detailed post about the issues the country is facing (political/Rohingya crisis.)

Myanmar took me back in time with it's laid back and chilled out life. While the lovely city of Mandalay welcomed me with some historic monuments and lip smacking food, a hand written train ticket took me on an adventurous train ride over the breathtaking Giotduct bridge and this train journey is a must. The colonial homes in the lovely hills of Pyin ya Loo were enchanting and one of them now converted into a hostel was my home for 4 days where I did nothing but enjoy the pleasant climate, cycle around and soak in the scenery. Of course, Myanmar experience is incomplete without visiting the mighty Bagan pagodas and monasteries and it was out of the world. Watching the sunrise over these ancient monuments was an icing on the cake. Finally, I wound up my trip in Yangon and after 75 days was back to home sweet home.

Individual posts on each destination that will help plan your future trips to South East Asia will be up on the blog shortly!