Koh Rong

After a night in Shit-hole-oukville (not entirely sure if that spelling is correct) we caught the 8:30 fast boat for the one hour trip to Koh Rong, a Cambodian island in the Gulf of Thailand. The largest island in the Koh Sdach Archipelago, Koh Rong is alone iamong the islands in sporting modest tourist accommodations and services. In 2000, developers proposed and made plans for massive developments on the island including a ring road and large resorts which would be sited at all the beaches on the island. The fact that there is almost no water on the island, all power is derived either through generators or solar, and there is no place to put the waste so many people would create have those plans pretty well at a standstill. 

As a result, Koh Rong remains an under serviced (there is often no water available at the resorts and power is only available when the generators are on - from 9 am through midnightish), backbacker enclave. There is a small "town" which lies just north of the pier at the south east end of the island. Here one finds almost all of the resorts - most rambling collections of thatched huts off the beach and a restaurant/bar beachside. Many of the staff at these resorts are young westerners who swap a place to sleep, food, a small bar tab and tips so that they can extend their stay on Koh Rong.

Kim and I stayed at Co Co's, a resort associated with Koh Rong Dive Centre and located just off the beach directly opposite the pier. Hut number 13 sported an en suite cold water bathroom, two double beds and a hammock on the front porch. Perfect.

On our first fully day, while Kim explored the beaches, I enjoyed a day of diving - two, hour long dives in corral reefs off a neighbouring island. Day two Kim and I spent snorkelling in the reefs off Koh Rong. In the evenings we dined and shared the company of other travellers at the bar at our resort. In between we lay on the beach, read, talked, and enjoy the occasional frosty beverage. Hmmmmmm.

Today we travel to Koh Chang, the penultimate stop of our Southeast Asia adventure.