Thailand = Island time

We were a little sad to leave Vietnam after a fun-filled and adventurous month, but we were also looking forward to getting back to the beaches in Thailand. Funnily enough, Josh and Louise were on the same flight as us to Bangkok, so we had a little more quality time together. But then they rudely cut that short by booking a last-minute flight from Bangkok up to Chiang Mai, so we had to say our goodbyes at the airport. We’d had a lot of fun with this crazy Scottish couple, but I have no doubt we’ll see them again somewhere.

Rather than spend a night in Bangkok we planned on getting straight on a night bus down to Ranong that night, meaning we had about 8 hours to kill. We’re pretty good at doing that, so we headed into town (still lugging our backpacks around) to get money out and get a feed. On a good tip from Josh and Louise we headed to the food court at the top of Terminal 21 which has some really cheap and tasty food. If you’re out shopping in Bangkok and are looking for somewhere new – give it a try. Several hours later it was time to head to the bus station and sort out our tickets to Ranong, the jumping off point for our first island getaway.

Ranong is basically a nothing border town (bordering Myanmar), about 8 hours southwest of Bangkok. We’d planned it so we got off the bus at about 5am and made our way straight to the boat harbour. Obviously we were there far too early so we had to wait about three hours for the first boat to Koh Chang, which is about 1.5 hours off the coast by slow boat. Now, some of you may have heard of or even visited the much larger and well developed island of Koh Chang off the east coast of Thailand, but this is not to be confused with the Koh Chang we decided to visit. We wanted somewhere nice and chilled where we could get away from the crowds and just relax. And quite frankly, we couldn’t have chosen a more perfect place.

Racing to Ranong boat harbour at 5:30am

Watching the sunrise while we wait for the boat

Koh Chang is one of those places you don’t think can still exist in the tourist mecca that is Thailand – a relatively undeveloped, untouched and peaceful island, reminiscent of what Thailand must have been like 30 years ago. You can’t rent motorbikes on Koh Chang, so the only way to get around once you’re on the island is to walk or get a boat. There are quite a few places to stay on the island, most of which are on the long curving stretch of beach called Ao Yai. We’d read about one particular place called Crocodile Rock that had great reviews, so we stayed on the boat until we reached it, hoping that they’d have a room for us. From the moment we stepped off the boat we knew we’d chosen the right place, as it was picturesquely nestled on the rocky outcrop and effortlessly camouflaged amongst huge trees. 

Alfresco dining

Crocodile Rock hidden amongst the trees

Luckily for us it was actually relatively quiet, so we were shown to a cute bamboo bungalow, privately perched just steps from the waterfront. It was very basic but so beautifully done and it had everything we needed – a nice comfy bed with mosquito net, private bathroom and most importantly, a private balcony and uninterrupted view of the sea from both bed and hammock. What more could you ask for? Sure, things on Koh Chang are pretty basic – there’s only electricity from 6pm-10pm, no wifi and no hot water – but when you’re looking for a private island hideaway, this is just what the doctor ordered. The ‘resorts’ are all pretty self-contained and there are no other restaurants or shops on the island, so luckily for us we’d chosen the place with a legendary cook. As a result, we were more than happy to eat every delicious meal in the beautiful surroundings of our resort. And so for the next 8 days we happily spent our days swimming, reading, walking, eating and lazing around in the sun. It was just perfect. Little did I know it was about to get even better.

Our private waterfront bungalow

Watching the monkeys from our balcony as they break open oysters

On our last night on the island we went and lay down on the dock after dinner to enjoy the cool breeze and look at the stars. We’d been lying there for about an hour talking and enjoying the peaceful night, all the while (unbeknownst to me) Kurt had been building up to the big moment. But then, as fate would have it, we both just happened to look in the same direction and saw a shooting star streak through the night sky. Kurt saw this as his opening (no-one could have planned it better) and popped the question. Of course I immediately said yes, but then just had to confirm he was serious as he asked in quite a casual way. Neither of us are soppy romantics, so I couldn’t have wished for a more perfect proposal. And just to seal the deal we both saw yet another shooting star. No shit, we really did. Like I said, the perfect end to an amazing 8 days on an idyllic tropical island.

But now it was time to head back to the mainland for a long overdue and much awaited reunion with my parents, who I hadn’t seen since we left New Zealand over 3 years ago. We’d decided to meet in Ao Nang, a very popular and busy beach tourist spot about 16km from Krabi. We arrived the evening before Mum and Dad, and after 8 days on a peaceful island we were a bit horrified at the number of people around. This must be how Leo's character in The Beach felt when he returned to civilisation. But I guess we’d been lucky so far to avoid the high season crowds anywhere. The next morning we walked over to Mum and Dad’s resort to see them, and they must have been watching out for us because they walked out of the lobby to meet us as we walked up. I knew Mum would be pretty emotional but she held it together very well. We’ve been speaking on Skype regularly over the years, but it was so good to finally see them again in person and give them a big hug. They were pretty exhausted after a long and mainly sleepless journey from NZ, so after a stroll along the beach we retired to the luxury and comfort of their air-conditioned room and the pool at their resort.

Afternoon cocktails at the swim-up bar

We had four days together in Ao Nang, spent mainly at their resort making full use of the pool and facilities, and enjoying cheap and tasty street food. Then it was time for the family reunion to be complete, when my brother and his girlfriend arrived. I hadn’t seen my big brother for even longer – almost 4 years at last count which is just ridiculous - so it was awesome to be back together again. We also finally got to meet his lovely English girlfriend in person, so now the family unit was complete. Mark and Rachel had also had a long flight from Australia, but we got them straight in a minivan and drove a couple of hours down to Koh Lanta, where we’d be spending the next five days in a 3 bedroom apartment that we’d found online. And thanks to my very kind and generous parents, we were living rent-free for the first time in a long time! The apartment was pretty sweet with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, big kitchen with everything you’d need (not that we planned on cooking a thing), big lounge and a massive balcony with views of the spectacular sunsets over the ocean. Oh, and there was also a pool. We were living the high life and loving it, especially since we were surrounded by family again.

Within hours of arriving we’d hired three scooters so we had the freedom of exploring the island and the various bays and beaches, and that’s exactly what we did for five days. Koh Lanta actually consists of several islands, but the main tourist one is Koh Lanta Yai (Big Lanta Island). It’s a big island, over 30km long, with a national park at the bottom, but tourism is concentrated on the western side of the island. Some of the hilly coastal roads are a lot of fun to ride with stunning scenery, and we found a couple of good swimming beaches before the crowds showed up. We filled in the rest of our days with more swimming in the pool, eating, talking and drinking. It wouldn’t have really mattered where we were (but we chose a pretty good spot), it was just so good to all be together again, even more so since we could celebrate our engagement with them all. Now we’ll just have to make sure it’s not such a long time between drinks.

Sunset from our balcony

A rare photo of the Bell's together

The men making fire

After my family left we decided to stay on Koh Lanta for five more days, getting in some final chill out time at the beach before heading back up to the big smoke. Some people hate it, but we both really like Bangkok as a city, so we were happy to spend our final three days there doing some shopping to stock up on clothes for the year. I’m one of those rare females who hate shopping with a passion, so getting it all done in one fell swoop appealed greatly. 

Before we knew it the day we never thought would arrive, did in fact just that. When we started out on this trip over three years ago, the end seemed a very vague, far-off notion that didn't even need to be considered. But now that day is upon us and we have mixed emotions about it - sad that this particular trip has come to an end and our lifestyle won't be quite the same, but excited to be heading home to see family and friends again. And let's be honest - it's us we're talking about so the travelling will never be over. One adventure may be ending, but that just means another one is about to begin.

Motorpacking Vietnam - is there any other way?

Crossing the border from Cambodia into Vietnam was a simple and painless process, and there were no bribes involved which was a nice change. We headed straight for Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) which is the largest city in the country and, like any major Asian city, a pretty hectic place. Luckily we’d seen most of the sights five years ago, as this time round we only had a few days up our sleeve to get everything sorted for our next big adventure – riding motorbikes from Ho Chi Minh in the south, all the way up the country to Hanoi in the north.

Seeing Vietnam this way is very popular among backpackers, either in the direction we were going or the opposite way – from north to south. For this reason we knew it would be fairly easy to buy motorbikes and get on the road in a couple of days. After walking around the central backpacker area we saw a few bikes for sale, then we talked to the people at Ho Chi Minh Motorbikes whose sole business is to sell and buy back motorbikes from people doing this trip. After some consideration and weighing up our options, we decided to buy from the crazy scouser (for those of you that aren’t familiar with this term, it’s used to refer to the special breed of people that come from Liverpool in England) who runs HCM Motorbikes. The reason being that their prices were pretty on par with what most backpackers were selling them for, but we also got a few extras included like new helmets, luggage rack, bungee cords, free riding lesson, a guide to get us out of HCM City, 24 hour hotline to call for help/advice and a guaranteed buy back at their shop in Hanoi. So after deciding to buy from them we simply had to choose which bikes we wanted. Not having had much experience at all, I opted for the easy to ride and reliable semi-automatic Honda Wave (US$280), which 90% of the Vietnamese ride. Being a more experienced and confident rider, Kurt went for the manual Honda Win (US$300). This is actually the most popular choice for backpackers doing the ride, as 99% are guys and they want something that looks like a proper motorbike, rather than the Wave which looks like a scooter. Once we’d chosen our rides, Ben the scouser took us and 3 others out on a test drive around the park before venturing out to brave the busy roads in Ho Chi Minh. We rode around for a good 3 or 4 hours (free, even if you decide not to buy from them) through the central and outlying districts which was a great way to get a feel for the bikes and also for the mental traffic. It’s pretty safe to say that if you can handle yourself on the roads in HCM or Hanoi, then you can handle yourself anywhere.

Going for a test drive

Our two bikes are the front and back ones

The road rules in Vietnam basically come down to this – do whatever the hell you like as long as it gets you from A to B in the quickest way possible. If that means you end up driving down a major freeway in the wrong direction or cutting across lanes willy nilly, then so be it. Also, obeying traffic lights is generally optional, especially when it’s red. Basically anything goes, and it’s also preferable if you have 3-5 people on a bike and/or various live animals/household furniture strapped on the back. This makes things way more interesting. But despite the total madness and seeming lack of rules, things just work. It’s probably helped by the fact that no-one is going more than 50km/h (I think our top speed on the whole ride was 70km/h) and motorbikes make up 90% of traffic so the Vietnamese are generally pretty aware of them. So, once we got to grips with the craziness we were good to go.

On our test drive around the city there was also a Scottish couple, and as they were leaving the same day as us we all rode together. They were both on the same bike so luckily they had an extra 10cc of power! Both of ours were only 100cc, but that’s surprisingly all you need as you have to get a special license to own a motorbike larger than 175cc in Vietnam. Not only that, it would simply be a waste to have a big bike, as some of the roads are so terrible that you can’t go faster than 20km/h. You’d also just be an idiot to go faster than about 60km/h in general, as there are so many obstacles (potholes and animals) and people pulling out in front of you that you have to be able to stop instantly at any moment. Luckily we were all feeling pretty comfortable so once we were guided out of the city we were on our own.

The first day of riding was pretty straightforward with no really bad roads, but we may have underestimated just how long it takes to cover the miles as we didn’t reach our destination for the night until well after dark. So on day one we broke one of the two rules – don’t ride at night, and don’t ride in the rain. Whoops. We made it to the coastal town of Mui Ne in one piece, and only one repair needed (I got a puncture). Unfortunately it meant we didn’t really get to see Mui Ne, as we all decided to just keep on going the next day up into the hills to Da Lat. Once again, we underestimated the time and once again we arrived after dark. But that was only because repairs on Josh and Louise’s bike took longer than expected that morning. It was also fucking freezing for the last hour or two, as we were still slightly damp after an earlier downpour, and the fact we were now at an altitude of 1,500m. Da Lat is a popular town to visit, so while the others left the next morning, we decided to stay another day so we could see what the place was like. We’re glad we did because it’s actually really nice and we were happy to just ride around and check shit out. And after only two days of riding, our asses were thankful for a bit of a break.

Roadside puncture repair

Mui Ne

Da Lat

The next four days were spent riding on the Ho Chi Minh trail up in the western highlands, staying in some relatively small and off the beaten track towns. It was during this time that we also experienced the worst roads on the entire trip. There were stretches of 30km or more that were dirt/mud ‘roads’ (that’s a very generous term) that were in such shocking condition you couldn’t even call them potholes. It was more like the road had just been bombed, and we were reduced to riding no more than 10km/h to navigate our way through this nightmare of a track. Not only was it frustrating, but it was ridiculously time consuming, and the novelty of going ‘off road’ wore off after about 5mins. There were many sections of road like this that we had to cover, and if they weren’t muddy then they were dry and dusty which meant our faces and hands (the only exposed bits) were covered in dirt. And to top things off, while we were on one of these roads out in the middle of bum fuck nowhere, some local Vietnamese guy came riding up beside us and waved for us to pull over. I thought he was being nice and telling us we had a bag or something coming loose, but no. For the next five minutes he stood in front of us, refusing to let us past while he was calling someone on his phone. We had no idea what was going on, but after a while we knew something was up and we just wanted to get the hell out of there. But every time we’d try to ride off he’d straddle our front tyres and stop us moving. I eventually got through in the wake of a local woman who rode straight past (obviously), and when Kurt tried to follow the guy ripped his key out of his bike. Well, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Kurt dropped his bike and went after the guy, got him in a headlock and stomped on his foot to get his key back. I thought he showed remarkable restraint in not decking the guy. I don’t why this skinny little shit even tried to fuck with Kurt who is about 5 times bigger. In the end Kurt got his key back and we continued down the road, but the little fucker followed us and stopped us again. Luckily this time he didn’t try to mess with us so we just kept going. We were worried he’d called a posse of his mates and that they’d soon appear behind us, but thank fuck they didn’t as we were still on the dodgy road and couldn’t go fast to escape. We reckon the whole plan was to get more people there and try and get money out of us one way or another, so we’re glad we got out of there in time.

Half way through the trip we were back out on the coast in Hoi An, which is a beautiful historical town that we loved last time and were happy to visit again. It’s an extremely popular tourist spot, and while there were shitloads of foreigners around it was still an enjoyable place. So much so that we spent 3 nights there, in an enormous room at a quiet little homestay in a back street. The guy was lovely and had another room, so we gave directions to Josh and Louise who were coming the day after us. Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Old Town area is a really beautiful place to just wander around. There are a couple of things you can see and do in town, but we were happy to walk around and people watch and just take it easy. We were there in time for the monthly Lantern Festival, which is a time to honour their ancestors and set up altars outside their homes and businesses. Down by the river all the locals are selling lotus flower shaped cardboard lanterns with a little candle to set alight and float on the water. Unfortunately it was a bit of a non-event as we were expecting the river to be rammed full of glowing lanterns, but we managed to soothe our disappointment with many glasses of beer hoi, which is a local fresh beer. And at about 20cents a glass, it’s probably the cheapest beer we’ve ever had.

From Hoi An we all headed up the coast and over the famous and scenic Hai Van Pass to Hue, another hot-spot in Vietnam with many historical and cultural sites. During the Vietnam War the city suffered a lot of damage as it was in a vulnerable position near the border between North and South, but now a lot of the historical areas are being restored. We spent a couple of nights there and had great intentions of visiting the Imperial City, but we just ended up riding around the walled section of the city instead. For free.

Hai Van Pass

Entering the walled Imperial City in Hue

From Hue it was a couple more days of riding back up on the Ho Chi Minh Trail until we reached the National Park area of Phong Nha. The day we rode from a little town called Khe Sahn to Phong Nha was by far the most incredible ride of the whole trip. It was also the longest day at 230km, and because most of it was along a virtually deserted road we had to carry extra petrol, as there were no petrol stations along the way. It was a beautiful sunny day, and for 8 hours we were surrounded by the most spectacularly stunning scenery. It was hard not to stop and take photos every 5mins, but around every corner was a jaw-dropping view. And what made it even better was that there was pretty much no other traffic on the road – only a few other motorbikes and one car the whole day – so it felt like we had it all to ourselves. Except for the 5 other backpackers we kept leapfrogging that is. Surprisingly, the road was in great condition, and that made the ride so much more fun. When we arrived in Phong Nha we were almost sad for it to end. What an unforgettable day.

Phong Nha is back on the tourist trail, as it’s a National Park with several caves that have only recently been discovered and opened up to tourists. We ended up spending 4 nights there so we could spend a couple of days visiting different caves. The first day we rode out with the 5 guys to Paradise Cave, which is 31km long and was only discovered in 2005 by a local man. It was absolutely pissing down but that didn’t stop us, as it rained most of the time we were there. Paradise Cave is pretty damn impressive for the sheer size and scale of it. When you think of caves you normally imagine small, cramped places right? Not this one. You walk down some stairs and are presented with an enormous cavern that reaches way up to 100m. There’s only about 1km that’s open for tourists to walk through, but there are so many massive stalactites and stalagmites and other random formations that it doesn’t feel like you’re being cheated. There’s lighting all around, but not in a tacky way, so you don’t miss anything.

View from our hotel room in Phong Nha

Paradise Cave

The next day we went to the Black Cave with Josh and Louise who’d arrived the previous day, but unfortunately for them they didn’t love the ride like we did, as they had a miserable day of riding in the rain. Sucks to be them. The Black Cave is about an hour and a half of fun, where we started off ziplining for about 100m to the bank of a river, where we then jumped into the pretty frigid water and swam a short distance to the cave entrance. With our headtorches on we were guided into the pitch black cave, walking/swimming through water then into a narrow and muddy passage which opened up into a pool of thick, squelchy mud. It was impossible to sink into, much like the volcanic mud pool in Cartagena, Colombia. After a therapeutic mud bath we then had to slip and slide our way back to the cleansing water, and after a swim we emerged back into the daylight. Next was a short paddle in a kayak to the final event – zipping down a flying fox which ended in being flung into the water once more. It was a whole lot of fun, and it only cost about AU$14. I love Asia.

When we left Phong Nha we only had 3 more days of riding to reach Hanoi, our final destination. The last couple of days weren’t so amazing in terms of scenery, and slowly but surely the traffic reappeared. When we rode into Hanoi it was like re-joining civilisation, and it was the most traffic we’d seen since we left Ho Chi Minh. Thanks to GPS on our phone and Kurt’s ridiculously gifted powers of navigation, he guided us to the area we’d be staying in. After 12 days of riding we’d covered 2,272km, and our trusty little bikes were still going strong. We’d only had to make minor repairs along the way, probably totalling less than $15 per bike, so all in, including the cost of petrol, it would have been cheaper than taking the bus. And aside from being a million times more fun than sitting on a bus, we got to see parts of the country that it simply isn’t possible to travel to by bus. I would say we also got to see the most beautiful part of the country too. With absolute freedom to go where and when we wanted and get off the beaten track, seeing Vietnam from the back of a motorbike is without a doubt the best way to travel the country. It’s one of the best things we’ve ever done (and there’s been a few), and we’d happily do it all again.

We reached Hanoi a few days earlier than we expected which turned out to be a good thing, as it took us a few days to sell both of our bikes. Kurt went to one of the hostels to put up some posters to try and sell our bikes, and out of the blue he heard someone say, "Is that you Kurt?". Much to his surprise it was a woman from his hometown, the very first random bumping into of someone from home for us on this entire trip. Alyson is managing the hostel and we got to spend some quality time with her over the course of the next 5 days or so. It was great to bump into her, she is living the dream and loving life in Hanoi. So if you're ever in one of the Vietnam Backpacker Hostels in Hanoi then say hi for us. She will probably have a few beers with you and talk some shit about us. Alyson is one in a million, a great gal. 

Kurt’s bike was first to go for US$250, and a few days later mine was sold for US$200. So all in all we only lost out on US$130 for both bikes. Not bad at all. However, because we were focusing all our time on selling the bikes, we didn’t get to see much of Hanoi. Except for bars and sitting street-side drinking cheap beer hoi. Not that we’re complaining, but I guess it just means we’ll have to go back again one day so we can explore Hanoi. We don’t need much of an excuse to return to Vietnam, so it’s pretty safe to say we’ll be back. 

Beer Street in Hanoi

Cambodia - twice as nice the second time around

After a month in Laos the next stop was Cambodia, and as Don Det was only 30km or so from the border it was a fairly straightforward trip to get there (although it did take way longer than you would expect - about an hour). Once at the border it was a simple matter of getting stamped out of Laos and having to pay the US$2 bribe each. We asked for a receipt to see if that would get us out of it, but he just refused to stamp our passports. So unfortunately there's no way around it. 

Goodbye Laos

Then we had to walk about 100m to the Cambodian border which was a complete joke. There is a massive building, quite new looking too, which is obviously meant to be the immigration checkpoint. But why use that when you can just put up a dodgy wooden shack on the side of the road instead? They clearly don't give a flying fuck about the image they present to tourists upon entering, and this is further reinforced when you buy your tourist visa at the border. All the most up-to-date information we'd read online said that a visa cost US$20-$25 each, but when we walked into the dodgy shack they said it was US$35 per person. Well, the visa was actually $30 and they charge a $5 'stamp fee'. Such utter bullshit, but we had no choice. Luckily we had exactly enough money to get us in, otherwise we would've been ripped off even more by having to use other currencies. This particular border crossing is the worst we've ever been across, and it really highlights how corrupt the country is. In fact, Cambodia is the most corrupt country in all of Southeast Asia. That was pretty fucking obvious at this point.

Once we were officially in Cambodia we had to wait an hour or so until our transport to Siem Reap left. I'd read a bunch of information and reviews online about getting to Siem Reap the quickest way possible as there's a new road, and I'd found a company that did this route. I contacted them directly and reserved seats for us which turned out to be a very good idea, as two Irish girls who'd booked tickets from Laos were told they had to pay an extra US$10 each to go on the new road that day. It was obviously another scam/rip-off, but again, they had no choice. Not a great welcome to the country though, especially after already being ripped off for visas. After a detour through the shithole town that is Stung Treng, we were on this brand spanking new road to Siem Reap.

Siem Reap is actually a pretty blinged out city, with some very expensive hotels, spas and restaurants. Thankfully it still has cheap and cheerful accommodation and food joints for us budget backpackers too. We decided to splash out though and spend US$10 per night for a room with all the bells and whistles - air-con, hot water (yes, that is quite rare in SE Asia), cable TV, good wifi, cleaned daily and free use of bicycles. Talk about living the high life. When we were last in Cambodia we only spent one day at Angkor Wat, and we were both ridiculously hungover (well, mainly me). So this time we wisely decided not to drink, and to get the three day pass so we could explore a lot more.

Our favourite food places - local markets

Delicious glutinous case filled with fresh greens

Angkor Wat is a sprawling Buddhist (it was initially Hindu though) temple complex built in the 12th century. At the time it was the largest city in the world with a population of over one million, and today it's still believed to be the largest religious monument in the world, covering an area of about 500 acres. Now here's a fact we only just discovered which is pretty shocking - a private company, owned by a Cambodian-Vietnamese businessman, has rented Angkor Wat from Cambodia since 1990 and manages tourism there. For profit of course. Disgustingly, only 28% of ticket sales goes back into the temples - most comes from foreign aid. Anyway, because of the simple fact that the complex is so massively large, the majority of visitors hire a tuk tuk for the day to take them around a select few temples. But as we like to do things our way we said fuck that, we'll ride bicycles instead. Luckily they were free from our guesthouse because we rode them a fair few miles over the three days.

It was about a 6km ride from Siem Reap out to the entrance of Angkor Wat, but thankfully it was a very pleasant ride - a totally flat, well-paved and shaded road. On the first day we arrived at about 10am and spent 6 hours riding around a bunch of different temples, including the centrepiece of any visit to the complex - Angkor Wat temple itself. Completely surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall, this temple is pretty impressive. But that also means there are a million tourists there at any given time of the day. Many of the other temples are a lot less crowded, and at some there were only a few other people wandering around which was much more enjoyable. Of course we had to go back to Ta Prohm, the jungle temple made famous in the movie Tomb Raider. Unlike other temples, this one has been left in pretty much the same condition in which it was found, meaning it has a more wild and natural feeling than others that have been restored. 

A lot of temples have several parts to them, and you can climb up the steep steps to the top for a great view, and walk around and inside the ruins as well. We're not religious in any way, shape or form and I don't understand the need for quite so many temples, but it is pretty bloody awesome to see. Some have faces carved on all four sides at the top of every building which gives quite an eerie feeling of constantly being watched, but each one has something slightly different. Obviously it's easy to get templed out here too, so on the second day we were up at 4:30am to ride out and watch sunrise over Angkor Wat temple (disappointingly hazy), and we were done and back in town before lunchtime. Then on the final day we rode out just for sunset. All in all it was much better this time, being able to take our time and visit whatever temples we wanted to and spend as little or as much time we liked at each. It really is an impressive place.

After several days in modern Siem Reap we got a night bus all the way down to Sihanoukville, on the southwest coast of the country.  We didn't visit this part of Cambodia last time, so we were looking forward to seeing how it stacked up compared to other coastlines and to getting back in the ocean. But first we had to take care of some business - getting our visas for Vietnam. We chose to spend one night in the Victory Beach area of Sihanoukville as it meant we could walk from the bus station, find somewhere to stay, drop our bags off then walk straight to the Vietnam Consulate down the road. We'd read it was much easier and quicker to get them done in Sihanoukville than in Phnom Penh, and this proved to be true. After filling out a simple form and paying the painful fee of US$60 each for a 30 day visa (the most expensive visa so far), we were told to return at 4pm that afternoon to collect them. Why can't they all be like that? At least we were getting some efficiency for our large sum of money. So, with our final visas of the trip secure in our passports, we were free to set off for the island of Koh Rong.

Koh Rong is the second largest island of Cambodia, about 25km off the coast of Sihanoukville. This distance is now covered in about 45mins thanks to a new speed boat that started operating last year. We kept hearing how great this island was, and that although it's got the usual backpacker party scene, it's still a million times less developed than other islands in Southeast Asia, like Koh Tao or Koh Samui in Thailand. Because we were there in low season it wasn't overly busy, but I can imagine that in the peak of high season it's absolutely rammed. This is because 98% of the accommodation and bars are concentrated in the main 'village' area where the boats arrive, and it's not a very large area. We managed to find a simple but large room with bed and mosquito net for only $5. So much cheaper than we expected to have to pay on an island. The main beach is quite beautiful, but the strange thing is, most people choose to all cram onto the one small section in front of all the bars and bungalows rather than walk to another beach. The island does have 43km of beaches after all. The longest beach that everyone says you have to go to is on the other side of the island, and is only accessible by boat or walking over the hill. We chose the latter. It took about 45mins, the first part of which is uphill, the second part a steep and rocky downhill. Some kind soul has even put in a rope which makes it easier to descend by basically abseiling. When we eventually emerged onto the appropriately named Long Beach, we understood what all the fuss was about. The squeaky soft white sand stretched out for miles in a gently curving bay of brilliantly clear turquoise water. And the best part? There were only five other people on the entire beach. Once again they were all clustered together, so we walked on a few hundred metres to get our own private stretch of beach. It was such a stunning place, but we soon discovered the down-side - millions of tiny sandflies that absolutely devoured us. We thought the best escape would be to spend as much time in the water as possible, but fuck me if we didn't get bitten in there too. Bloody sea lice would you believe. This stunningly picturesque, almost deserted beach is close to being ruined by these bloody biting creatures, both in and out of the water. But we braved it for the whole day in order to watch a perfect sunset, then got the boat back rather than risk our necks climbing up the rocks in the dark. 

On the hike over the hill to Long Beach.

It was worth it.

There is actually the 'perfect' beach on Koh Rong that again, most people don't make the effort to walk to. Which is actually a good thing. At 4km long it's another gorgeous stretch of white sand and clear blue water, an easy 30min walk from the main beach. We went two days in a row, and on the busiest day there were probably 10 people in total. There's actually a set of bungalows you can stay in around there, but despite this it's still peaceful and private. If you're ever on Koh Rong you should definitely spend most of your time on this beach - before it too gets over-developed. We spent 4 days on Koh Rong doing nothing but lying on the beach, reading and swimming. We did also have a few of one of the many local Cambodian brews, awesomely and simply named, Klang. It's not a bad beer, and at 6% and only $1 per can, it does the job nicely.

Getting back to Sihanoukville, we decided to avoid the main tourist beach called Serendipity and head a few kilometres further south to Otres beach. I'd read great reviews about this stretch of coast, with everyone saying it was really chilled, clean and quiet. Just what the doctor ordered. You can never have too much beach time. After the usual walking around we chose a place called Chez Paou, which had simple but clean bungalows by the beach for $10 a night. There was an open restaurant/bar and plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas out the front, so it was the most resort type place we've stayed at on our entire trip. For an entire week we did a whole lot more of sweet fuck all. It did rain a bit, but in between showers we'd laze on the loungers and read, swim, catch up on internet and eat some surprisingly good food for a decent price. 

Otres beach has now been added to our list of places we could actually live. I have no idea why we didn't come to this part of Cambodia last time, but it has totally changed our impression of this country (for the better) and definitely made us want to come back again. But for now, that's all we have time for Cambodia - Vietnam is calling us.