Cambodia - Phnom Penh to Koh Rong Samloem
- mollyben98
- Mar 16, 2018
- 3 min read
We all flew from HCMC to Phnom Penh ($123), arrived at the airport around 7pm and paid $9 between 3 for a Tuk Tuk to Ampoule Modern Hostel - it took ages so i would definitely recommend a taxi instead! We were all knackered from the day of travelling so that night we just wandered around by the hostel, found an amazing supermarket (Super Duper) packed with English & American snacks - it took all of my might not to go to town on the array of cereals, The next morning we booked our transport to Sihanoukville ($10 each), the others booked theirs to Siem Reap ($11 each) from the hostel, then hired a Tuk Tuk for the day for $30 between six of us and headed off to the Backyard Cafe for an amazing and healthy breakfast.
After fuelling up for the day we headed to the Genocide museum ($8 inc. audio guide - which is a must!) where we wandered around for about 2 hours listening to the harrowing tales of the regime and imprisonment and looked at mug shots and blood stained prison tiles. From there we set off to the killing fields ($6 inc. audio guide - again, a must) and wandered around for another hour or so learning more about the Khmer Rouge era. After a day learning about the horrors of the Khmer Rouge and mass genocide we chilled at the hostel before a lovely dinner at a great little spot called Eleven One Kitchen (roughly $15 for starter & two big mains). We had another early start the next day for our 4.5 hour bus - but not before another trip to the Backyard Cafe. We said goodbye to Joe and Amy here too as we were heading in opposite directions for the rest of our travels. The bus journey was fine, a bit short on leg room but other than that can’t really complain. We arrived in Sihanoukville around 1pm and went straight to the ferry office to book a boat across to Koh Rong Samloem for the morning which should have cost $22 return pp, but the cashier forgot to charge us. We then got a Tuk Tuk to our hostel (Ta Kloy Tip bungalows), went for a very nice bite to eat in Boho hostel next door before taking a stroll along Otres beach. That night we ate at a place called The Joint which was fantastic! Highly recommend it if you’re near Otres beach.
(Breakfast at Boho - Mol and I both had exactly the same, it just looked too good!)
The next morning we were back at Boho for breakfast before embarking on our journey to Koh Rong Samloem.
(Sea hammocks, swings, jeti, inflatables and the pier bar at Mad Monkey)
We stayed at Mad Monkeys on the island which we were recommended and we would very highly recommend. After the 45 minute boat to the island we then got a second (free) boat to Mad Monkey as the hostel is basically a separate resort, with their own secluded beach. The place was idyllic - absolutely beautiful with picturesque views in nearly every direction.
As soon as we arrived we were given a beer each and bumped into Tom and Willem - again which was an awesome coincidence! We also bumped into a guy we initially met in Koh Lanta and made friends with a great bunch throughout our time there.
(Frank, Lauren, Tom, Willem, me, Kelsey, Molly & Amy)
There’s no need to write too much about Koh Rong Samloem as, like Phu Quoc, we spent most of our days lounging around on the beach (or in the sea hammocks) and getting drunk. We did do the snorkelling and fishing trip one day ($10 pp) I caught three fish, Mol didn’t want to hurt them so didn’t catch any.
There are no cash points on Koh Rong Samloem so you need to make sure you’ve got enough cash beforehand to cover your stay. They operate a tab system at Mad Monkey so you just pay everything off at the end - which makes things easier, but also much easier to get carried away!
After four days and three nights of drinking and partying (to the sum of $270 inc. accommodation) we headed back to Sihanoukville to catch our 12 hour night bus to Battambang (which we booked before we got on the boat for $18 each).
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