I woke up early the next morning to catch a boat to Koh Rong Island. It’s about a two hour ride from Sihanoukville, and there are only a couple of boats a day (morning, and afternoon). I thought this was a good sign. If a place is difficult, fewer people will be willing to make the trip, and the ones that do are more adventurous. The adventurous part is essential, because while the island has near empty beaches and untouched forests – what they don’t have is high end accommodations. Except for the super luxe resort on a tiny neighboring island. At $1,500 a night that place was just over my budget. I couldn’t help but wonder what type of accommodation that price tag would get you?

Instead I took the normal people’s boat, to the normal people’s island. On the way I heard that they had shot a season of France’s version of Survivor there, which got me even more hopeful about finding a remote fantasy island. My imagination got the best of me as I sat on the bow of the boat, toasting in the sun and daydreaming about isolated tropical beaches. As we pulled into the dock I was a little worried. The area by the pier wasn’t quite what I had imagined. There were several little buildings one right next to the other on the shallow beach, with more under construction. What I later understood is that this is just a place to eat, sleep and socialize. The isolated beaches I was hoping for are just a boat ride or hike away. (Pic below from the rocking boat)

But for today I was sticking close to “home”. I unloaded my bag at my guest house, and went to a open air restaurant nearby to use the internet. I’ve developed a pretty consistent pattern – for every week of travel, I lose about a day to maintenance. Online bill pay, emails, researching transportation and hotels, updating my blog. Those days are bizarrely calming! I don’t have to be anywhere, or see anything, and they keep the time from passing in a blur.

(Did you notice I mentioned the word internet? On a mostly undeveloped island? They got it three months ago. Go figure.)

That night I settled in under my mosquito net, and once again fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing. The power cuts off over night so no more fan, but with a strategically placed gap between the walls and the ceiling you catch a nice ocean breeze. I woke up at one point groggy, and assumed it must be dawn with the light starting to stream in. I looked out the window, but no, no – it was just the moon and stars reflecting off the ocean. With no street lights, building lights, or any other kind of lights to detract, it was dream-like.

The next day I stopped at one of the spots on the main beach to ask about a boat trip around the island. A couple of other people had already inquired, so I tacked onto their trip, and the four of us set out about an hour later. The boat ride itself was kind of a comedy. Empty beer cans and bugs sloshing in the water beneath our feet, sleeping assistant, the smell of weed and sea air. The guy in charge explained that the boat they normally used was being repaired before the tourist peak, so they were using a different boat and driver. Maybe it was the scenery, maybe it was a contact high, but I didn’t really mind – it was funny!

We rode around the back side of the island, and stopped to snorkel in front of Sok San Beach. That beach is breathtaking – blue-green water, 7 kilometers of white sand beach flanked by a small village on one end, bungalows on the other, and absolutely nothing in between. Unfortunately the visibility in the water wasn’t good so we hopped back in the boat, and went to the village for lunch. Note the small white boat in the pic? Made of styrofoam. Styrofoam does float after all…

We went for a walk through an inlet behind the village to a waterfall.

Then on to another tiny island just before sunset. The island’s only inhabitants are a couple of monks, and they watched us watching them for a couple minutes before we jumped into the water. Again the visibility was poor, and we didn’t have much time before the sunset, but you could tell it was full of life! Tons of shadowy fish, coral, and some other thing floating on top of the water with suckers on it. On a better day with clear water it would have been incredible.

I spent the next couple of days hanging out with whoever came along. A couple people from the boat ride, a Ukranian girl, a guy who was camping down the beach, a couple of girls who arrived while I was there, and decided to stay and work for a while in exchange for room and board. A lot of people do that here – on the way to somewhere, but extending their stay in a version of paradise. The island is not for the high maintenance traveller – no Starbucks, no nightclubs, no 24 hour power, there’s no avoiding bugs and dodgy toilets, and if you have a medical emergency you’re kind of screwed. That leaves only the type of people who don’t mind roughing it, and can’t believe how lucky they are to have found a place like this. There is a sense of camaraderie that goes along with that, and you find yourself talking to whoever is next to you.

I forgot to mention one of the first things I noticed when I got to the island! Mustaches. Lots and lots of mustaches. Thankfully this was explained by a sign at my go-to restaurant. “Mo-vember”. They were growing their ‘staches to raise money for the village clinic. My last day there was the end of Mo-vember, and they were having a party as a final fundraiser. Mustaches hanging everywhere, and those without a home-grown ‘stache had one painted on. Including the ladies….

I spent every second I could on the island the next day, and took the 4pm boat back to Sihanoukville. I had two hours to think about what I was leaving, and wondering if I would ever be able to see it the same way again. The island has been marked for major development. Resorts, casino, airport, golf course – the works. From the developers website “Koh Rong is a wilderness, and will be completely master planned”. I prefer the wild Koh Rong.