CAMBODIAN BEACHES
Travelers have started bypassing some of Thailand’s beaches in favor of the more rustic and remote beaches of Cambodia - unfortunately the more travelers that head to Cambodia over Thailand the less rustic and remote the beaches of Cambodia remain. Despite having lived in a beach community for the past three years I have never quite grasped how some backpackers can spend months at a time on a beach doing virtually nothing - don’t you become bored of the nothingness? Isn’t there more that you’d like to see and do? Well...the beaches of Cambodia may have changed my mind.
SIHANOUKVILLE
After a five to six hour bus ride from Phnom Penh your body will be sore and looking forward to relaxing on the beach for the next few days. A thirty minute tuk tuk ride takes you to Otres Beach away from the main area of Sihanoukville. Otres Beach has limited budget options and Castaways Beach Resort is family run operation and one of the last resorts to yet to be converted into an upscale, boutique hotel. Castaways rooms are not much - just a bed and a toilet; you'll need a flashlight to see around the bedroom - but it is directly on the beach, looking out to the peaceful and serene Gulf of Thailand.
I had big plans for the next day - wake up early and take a day trip to Koh Rong but within five minutes of watching the lake size waves lap against the narrow beach I decided to forego the trip and enter full “lazy-mode” at Otres Beach. I instinctively ordered an Angkor Beer and took my seat on a lounge chair to watch a great sunset.
I had big plans for the next day - wake up early and take a day trip to Koh Rong but within five minutes of watching the lake size waves lap against the narrow beach I decided to forego the trip and enter full “lazy-mode” at Otres Beach. I instinctively ordered an Angkor Beer and took my seat on a lounge chair to watch a great sunset.
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At the start of the day you are faced with a monumental decision - walk up or down the beach? Certainly you could do both but the laziness syndrome that strikes is particularly crippling and it's doubtful if you could walk in both directions the same day. I decided to walk up the beach in the direction of other hotels to scope out additional restaurant and bar options. There’s a half mile development gap between Otres 1 (where I’m staying) and Otres 2 (closer to Sihanoukville) - huge tracts of land have been walled off with cinder blocks - presumably awaiting a high bid before a new, modern resort will be constructed. I made it only halfway through this expanse before turning around and heading back to Otres 1. Otres 2 will need to wait until another time...and there should be another time.
It should be mentioned that while the Gulf of Thailand is absolutely stunning the cleanliness of the beaches left something to be desired. Trash removal had not kept pace with the increase in tourism. It wasn’t as noticeable when swimming, but a walk along the beach, especially at low tide, involved continuous monitoring of the sand to avoid stepping in trash…not enough to ruin paradise but enough to be aware of before coming back.
It should be mentioned that while the Gulf of Thailand is absolutely stunning the cleanliness of the beaches left something to be desired. Trash removal had not kept pace with the increase in tourism. It wasn’t as noticeable when swimming, but a walk along the beach, especially at low tide, involved continuous monitoring of the sand to avoid stepping in trash…not enough to ruin paradise but enough to be aware of before coming back.
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KAMPOT
Kampot is about thirty minutes from Kep and makes for a good stopping point along the way from Sihanoukville.. The Riki Tiki Tavi is a Kampot restaurant institution so I ordered some local food. The meal was slightly interrupted by a torrential downpour - a possible prelude to the monsoons that will arrive in a few months. After the rain stopped, I flagged down a tuk tuk to complete the remainder of my journey to Kep.
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KEP
Thirty minutes from Kep (two and a half hours from Sihanoukville), after a ride on unsealed road and covering my face whenever a vehicle passed and kicked back stones - I was in Kep. Compared to Sihanoukville, Kep feels like entering a deserted ghost town. It was evident from the wide road/pathway that the Cambodian government expects and has planned for dramatic and rapid expansion of tourism activities in Kep. However, Kep lacks the main thing associated with beach side ocean resorts…a beach. There’s a nice crescent shaped beach and Rabbit Island is a quick ferry away but they all involve leaving the hotel and walking over a mile.
Kep's main attraction is a crab market with a few stalls and a line of restaurants and bars built over the Gulf of Thailand. For dinner I settled on a restaurant called Trei. There was a wide range of items on the menu but one obvious choice - Kampot Pepper Crab. Fifteen minutes later I was enjoying one of the best meals of the trip - a combination of the locally caught Kep crabs with the world renowned Kampot peppers can’t be beat.
Kep's main attraction is a crab market with a few stalls and a line of restaurants and bars built over the Gulf of Thailand. For dinner I settled on a restaurant called Trei. There was a wide range of items on the menu but one obvious choice - Kampot Pepper Crab. Fifteen minutes later I was enjoying one of the best meals of the trip - a combination of the locally caught Kep crabs with the world renowned Kampot peppers can’t be beat.
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Once at the beach you don't need to return to the hotel for lunch - a 1 KG bag of crabs cost six dollars. Add an Angkor Beer for another dollar and you'll be living the dream.
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Kep’s not nearly as developed as Sihanoukville…the hotels have taken the lead in bringing people to the area but more restaurants are needed for the town to reach it’s potential as the ideal weekend escape from Phnom Penh. If development is done correctly this could be an upmarket location offering a respite from the Sihanoukville and Thailand party crowds. It's evident this was the original French plan. Every so often you can look up from the road and see a former French estate in a state of decay - a reminder of Cambodia’s horrid past but strangely foretelling of a great future. These homes are owned by military personnel who seem reluctant to sell.
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For additional Sinhanoukville and Kep photos see FLICKR ALBUM.