Koh Kong (4 nights)

On the bus from Phnom Penh I met a Canadian carpenter called Walter. He spends six months of the year in Cambodia (Phnom Penh) and then goes home to try and earn enough money to come back out again. He was traveling to Koh Kong to meet his cousin, who was due to cross the border from Thailand in the next couple of days. We walked together from the bus and found a guesthouse by the riverfront, with a great little restaurant/bar on the balcony overlooking the water.

That evening I went out to try and book myself a tour to Koh Kong island. I knew that you could charter a boat independently, but also that it would cost around $60 dollars, so I needed to find some others. The town is only a small and quiet place, but after some perseverance I found a guesthouse that offered and tour and that had enough people to go. It ended up being me and 4 bikini clad girls on an idyllic and deserted beach! We snorkled, sun bathed, and had BBQ seafood. On the way back to the town we stopped off at a local village where we were surrounded by smiling children. They all came to wave us goodbye and sat cheerfully on the end of the pier while our guide tried to start the boat again. When we finally got going again we were able to enjoy the sun setting beind the far bank of the river. It was a nice day.

The next day I did little but relax and try and ignore my sunburn :-( Who knew that an hour snorkling could have such painful results? (I realise this is actually common knowledge, but prefer to pretend I was not simply too stupid to apply suncream). I met up with Walter and his cousin Monty in the evening and ate BBQ chicken hearts and squid (yummy).

The three of us took motorbikes the next day and journeyed to a waterfall in the morning and then explored the other bank of the river in the afternoon. We bumbled along a dirt track for some while before discovering a fantastic little restaurant on its own by the beach. The food was great, as was the view, and I fell asleep in a hammock!

The next day I left for Thailand.