Off On Our Next Adventure

By Land and Sea

To get to our next destination of Koh Rong Sanloem, we arranged a van journey through our hotel in Phnom Penh, and then our resort booked our fast ferry tickets for us. It took three hours to travel from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, where we caught the fast ferry out to Koh Rong Sanloem, one of the islands off Cambodia’s southern coast.

On board, we had a chuckle at the lifejackets, purportedly made by a medley of sports brands!

Eden Beach Resort

We had gotten an amazing deal on accommodation at the aptly named Eden Beach Resort, which had its own private pier, so we felt very special being met by one of the resort staff at the end of the pier and taken to where a welcome drink awaited us at reception.

Our rooms were gorgeous, and we had interconnecting bungalows that were beautifully decorated with gorgeous bathrooms. This was our treat accomodation in Cambodia and worth every cent, although it was still considerably cheaper than any other beach resort we have stayed in.

The pool was beautiful, and you could look out over the beach as you swam. There were also cabanas to relax in (that you didn’t need to pay for, unlike some of the other resorts we’ve stayed in).

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the pool and beach before taking a walk along the beach for dinner.

The sunset that evening was stunning, and the sea was as calm as a millpond.

We found a place a few hundred metres away, which was a hostel with a restaurant and bar called The Big Easy. It turns out this was the sister bar to the one on Phnom Penh that Shaun watched his football games in, and we recognized the menu items. The kids enjoyed the rare opportunity to order whatever they felt like.

Relax Day

The following day was bliss. We all had a “do whatever we feel like day” which was long overdue. I basically got to lie in a cabana for most of the day reading my book, while the kids popped up beside me once in a while, in between swimming in the pool, hanging out with Shaun and having screentime at the bungalow….it was basically the travel equivalent of a Yes Day (one of Anna’s favourite movies).

Wharf Jumping With New Friends

There was an Australian family staying at the resort with three young boys ranging in age from 7 to 12. They were a lovely family and soon made friends with Leo and Anna, who were delighted to have company.

They were adventurous kids, and since jumping in the pool wasn’t really allowed, they went down to the end of the pier to jump off. As soon as Leo and Anna got wind of this, they were keen to join in, so we went to the end of the pier to supervise.

What was meant to be a 10 minute few jumps turned into a couple of hours of fun, trying out different height jumps, including the pole on the pier! The only downside was that we hadn’t reapplied sunscreen, so we all ended up a little bit sunburnt that evening.

Shaun the flying Kiwi was in fine form again, jumping in with the kids as if he himself was a kid again! That’s been one of our favourite things about this trip…having time to play with the kids is brilliant and it’s been a reminder to carve out more of this time in our daily lives before they grow up.

Even I jumped in, although it was rather low-key, as I refused to do it from anywhere higher than the actual pier. Saying that, it felt very high to both Anna and I!

An Evening of Bioluminescence

We had told the Aussie family about the bioluminescent plankton that can be seen off the shore off Koh Rong Sanloem or on certain darker beaches around the island, and when Shaun told them the price of the boat trip to go out and swim with the plankton after sunset, they decided to join us.

After a late afternoon snack to keep us going and another gorgeous sunset, we boarded the boat at 6pm.

It was a traditional style boat, lit up with colourful lights that we could see from the other end of the pier. We found life jackets for everyone, including kids’ size jackets, which is rare in this part of the world.

The kids protested about wearing them in the water, but when I explained that they would be swimming in pitch darkness, so needed the jacket on to be visible, they could see the logic, even though it meant we couldn’t dive down easily.

After sailing around a few beaches, we  stopped a couple of hundred metres out from shore. The captain turned out the lights, and as our eyes adjusted to the darkness, the only thing we could see were occasional flashes of lightning on the horizon.

The captain stirred the water around with an oar, and we all craned our necks to see. At first, we couldn’t see much, but as we watched, we could see the water glowing from the movement.

From that moment, Leo was first off the boat, and as he moved around in the water, it looked like hundreds of tiny blue sparks were coming off his arms and legs. Then we all joined him in the water. Thankfully, the boat was well stocked with masks so we could view the plankton under water as we moved. It was beautiful and reminded us of the movie Avatar, where they have the glowing skin, because that’s what our arms and legs looked like as we moved in the water. We tried to get photos, but it was one of those things that just needs to be experienced.

We enjoyed the bioluminescence for around half an hour. The kids were then starting to get cold, so we made our way back to the pier. It had been well worth taking a boat out, away from light pollution on the beach. Saying that, when we arrived back, Leo jumped in the water off the other side of the pier and found that there was plankton there as well, just not quite as bright.

A Late Dinner

After a quick shower, we made our way down the beach to another restaurant that was serving yummy local food.

While we enjoyed some peace and quiet, Anna and Leo had fun photographing the flaming torches to create magical effects.

A Farewell Plunge

The following day was a beautiful sunny day. We had a late breakfast and a morning swim, and the kids made the most of their Aussie friends’ company for some more wharf jumping.

Anna plucked up the courage to jump from the pole after watching the boys do it lots of times and was exceptionally proud of herself!

Sunset Beach

After saying our goodbyes at midday, when the Aussie family were leaving on the ferry, we decided to go for a short hike over to Sunset Beach on the other side of the island.

It was very warm walking in the heat at first, but once we got under the cover of the trees, it was quite pleasant.

We arrived at Sunset Beach very hot and thirsty and ready for lunch, which we enjoyed at the only resort that was open over that side.

Both the kids enjoyed the comfortable seating options after the walk!

Once we had eaten, we got into our togs and went down to the beach for a swim. It was funny seeing that we were the only people with kids over that side; a few young backpackers enjoyed sunbathing on the peaceful, serene beach while our two flopped about in the water together like a couple of puppies. Nothing beats a cooling swim in the sea on a hot day!

A Local Seafood Feast

After our walk back, we all did our own thing for the rest of the afternoon, before going out for a seafood dinner.

We had investigated the options on previous nights, and found a place towards the other end of the beach that did an amazing seafood BBQ for US$7 per person.

Shaun ordered squid, Leo and I both had snapper, and Anna ordered ribs.

We were all stoked with our meals, which looked and tasted delicious.

Waterfall Walk

The next day was our last full day on Koh Rong Sanloem. After breakfast, we walked to the local waterfall, although we found it a little disappointing compared to the previous waterfalls we’d seen in Laos.

The walkway there was strewn with litter, so it didn’t really set the scene very well. At least there wasn’t much rubbish around the waterfall itself.

We spent the rest of the day making the most of the beach and pool, heading down to the end of the pier to enjoy some more wharf jumping.

The kids were a bit sad that their Aussie mates had left as they’d really enjoyed the company, and it wasn’t quite the same without them. This is one of the downsides about extended travel with kids because they really miss their peers and friends at home. Thanks to video calling apps, they’ve had great connectivity with friends, but it’s not the same as hanging out in person. Being away has certainly made them appreciate their friendships and family back in NZ, and they are looking forward to seeing everyone again.

A Much Needed Rest

Originally, we thought that it might be a bit out of the way to go to Koh Rong Sanloem before heading to Vietnam via Kampot or Kep, however when we looked into the logistics, it was pretty straightforward. We’ve found that almost every place we’ve stayed in SEA can help with onward travel, and often, they’re cheaper than using 12GoAsia or other online booking systems. The longer we’ve been away, the more we’ve left booking things to the last minute, and we love the flexibility this provides.

We’re so glad that we stayed on the island for 4 nights…it was a peaceful, rejuvenating experience, with the added bonus of company for the kids, and it was so wonderful to be able to swim in the sea again after being on land for more than six weeks.