Asian Adventures - Sihanoukville, Cambodia
We had an interesting tuk tuk ride from the centre of Sihanoukville out to our hotel. We arrived in the centre about 7.30pm and our hotel was 15 minutes outside the main town, near Otres Beach. Sihanoukville is a beach town with their most famous beach being Serendipity Beach. If you travel further along the coast you would come to Otres Beach where we were staying.
We flagged down a tuk tuk and the driver said he knew where our hotel, Sok Sabay Resort was. He in fact did not, neither did he speak much English. We spent over an hour trying to find our hotel as the driver kept stopping to have a look at the map on my phone or ask people for directions along the way. As we became closer to the hotel there begin to be less and less people going about and soon it became just the tuk tuk driver and us on dark woodland tracks. I was genuinely thinking we were never going to get there or he was going to drive us into the woods, rob us and just leave us there! Thankfully, neither of those things happened and eventually we saw lights in the distance and saw a sign pointing up to the hotel. We were so relieved! We arrived to a lovely, peaceful resort. The bar/restaurant had big comfy seats in an outdoor area sheltered with a straw roof. The resort felt so relaxed as soon as you arrived and because it was in the middle of nowhere the surroundings were so quiet that you could hear all the wildlife.
We checked in, were shown to our room and then came back to the restaurant to get some food. We were staying in a Bamboo Bungalow with our own balcony in front of it and there was a pool in the middle of all the bungalows. There was a little sheltered area beside the pool with swinging chairs and a book shelf full of books to sit and relax there. The bar/restaurant overlooked a lake where you could fish. This was our first resort we had stayed in on this trip.
Sihanoukville is right on the coast and people come there for the beach. Unfortunately for us it pretty much rained our whole time there, in fact our weather for the whole of our stay in Cambodia was rubbish!
We got some sunshine on our first day so borrowed bikes from the hotel to head down to Otres Beach. We had seen loads of pictures showing how beautiful the beach was and couldn't wait to see it. The beach didn't look exactly like the pictures we had seen as they showed glorious sunshine, the beach filled with people and numerous cafes and stalls all along the beach front. Since it was low season the cafes and stalls were all shut up and not many people were on the actual beach. The fact there weren't very many people on the beach was actually quite nice as it felt like your own private beach. We made the most of the hour of sunshine we got that day; sunbathing and swimming in the sea before a sand storm started in the wind. Then it started chucking it down with rain. The rain seems to come out of nowhere over hear. It can be bright sunshine one minute then torrential rain the next!
After our lunch we cycled back to our hotel hoping for a hot shower. Our hotel had failed to inform us that they only have hot water when it's sunny as their hot water is powered by solar energy so no sun, no hot water. We had tried to have a shower the night before but because our water was cold we assumed the shower wasn't working properly. Rory went to speak to a member of staff to tell them our shower was broken and was embarrassed when they said it was actually meant to be like that. Don't think I've ever showered as quick! The rain barely went off the rest of the day so we just lounged about the hotel. Although it was raining it nice to sit outside in their sheltered areas as it was still really warm. We sat on the swinging chairs watching the rain and looking through the books they had in the shelter. It was nice you weren't restricted to your room when the weather was bad, you could still sit in the communal areas of the hotel.
We got dinner in the hotel as it was quite far away from any other restaurants and because the weather was bad it was easier to stay where we were. I ordered a pork dish which I was quite excited for until I saw the mountain of grated carrots coming towards me. There was no garnish on the plate just a huge piles of carrots on top. It just so happens carrots are my least favourite food so Rory found it hilarious that that's what I was served. After moving the pile to the side of my plate I could dig in and the meat was delicious.
We had a lovely terrace outside our bungalow that overlooked the pond and we would sit out at night with some beers and playing cards.
We woke up to rain again the next day but managed to squeeze in a quick swim in between the showers and then had a relaxing breakfast outside our bungalow after.
We flagged down a tuk tuk and the driver said he knew where our hotel, Sok Sabay Resort was. He in fact did not, neither did he speak much English. We spent over an hour trying to find our hotel as the driver kept stopping to have a look at the map on my phone or ask people for directions along the way. As we became closer to the hotel there begin to be less and less people going about and soon it became just the tuk tuk driver and us on dark woodland tracks. I was genuinely thinking we were never going to get there or he was going to drive us into the woods, rob us and just leave us there! Thankfully, neither of those things happened and eventually we saw lights in the distance and saw a sign pointing up to the hotel. We were so relieved! We arrived to a lovely, peaceful resort. The bar/restaurant had big comfy seats in an outdoor area sheltered with a straw roof. The resort felt so relaxed as soon as you arrived and because it was in the middle of nowhere the surroundings were so quiet that you could hear all the wildlife.
Sihanoukville is right on the coast and people come there for the beach. Unfortunately for us it pretty much rained our whole time there, in fact our weather for the whole of our stay in Cambodia was rubbish!
We got some sunshine on our first day so borrowed bikes from the hotel to head down to Otres Beach. We had seen loads of pictures showing how beautiful the beach was and couldn't wait to see it. The beach didn't look exactly like the pictures we had seen as they showed glorious sunshine, the beach filled with people and numerous cafes and stalls all along the beach front. Since it was low season the cafes and stalls were all shut up and not many people were on the actual beach. The fact there weren't very many people on the beach was actually quite nice as it felt like your own private beach. We made the most of the hour of sunshine we got that day; sunbathing and swimming in the sea before a sand storm started in the wind. Then it started chucking it down with rain. The rain seems to come out of nowhere over hear. It can be bright sunshine one minute then torrential rain the next!
We gave up on the beach after that and took shelter in a restaurant on the way back to our hotel. After our sand storm experience we brought in loads of sand to the restaurant, although I'm sure they are used to it. It was everywhere; on our bags, clothes and even stuck to our faces!
After our lunch we cycled back to our hotel hoping for a hot shower. Our hotel had failed to inform us that they only have hot water when it's sunny as their hot water is powered by solar energy so no sun, no hot water. We had tried to have a shower the night before but because our water was cold we assumed the shower wasn't working properly. Rory went to speak to a member of staff to tell them our shower was broken and was embarrassed when they said it was actually meant to be like that. Don't think I've ever showered as quick! The rain barely went off the rest of the day so we just lounged about the hotel. Although it was raining it nice to sit outside in their sheltered areas as it was still really warm. We sat on the swinging chairs watching the rain and looking through the books they had in the shelter. It was nice you weren't restricted to your room when the weather was bad, you could still sit in the communal areas of the hotel.
We got dinner in the hotel as it was quite far away from any other restaurants and because the weather was bad it was easier to stay where we were. I ordered a pork dish which I was quite excited for until I saw the mountain of grated carrots coming towards me. There was no garnish on the plate just a huge piles of carrots on top. It just so happens carrots are my least favourite food so Rory found it hilarious that that's what I was served. After moving the pile to the side of my plate I could dig in and the meat was delicious.
We had a lovely terrace outside our bungalow that overlooked the pond and we would sit out at night with some beers and playing cards.
We woke up to rain again the next day but managed to squeeze in a quick swim in between the showers and then had a relaxing breakfast outside our bungalow after.
We had planned to go to Serendipity Beach in the centre of Sihanoukville but because the rain became quite heavy we decided to leave it. We had a lazy morning at the resort but thought we should get out of the resort in the afternoon. Rory had found Top Cat Cinema online that had private booths to watch a film of your choice in. We thought it sounded quite cool and it was something to do in Sihanoukville that wasn't outside as everything is geared towards the beach there.
When we arrived we were shown to a booth with bean bags and a menu to order drinks and food to have whilst watching the film. There was even weed chocolate or weed pizza to order. Instead of tuk tuk drivers shouting at you down the street asking if you want a tuk tuk, here they shout and ask you if you want any drugs!
The cinema seemed border line illegal as there was just a massive TV in your booth with a laptop connected to the TV and a hard drive with thousands of movies to choose from. You pay in 2 hour slots and can watch as many movies as you want. We chose to watch American Beauty. I'd never seen it before and really enjoyed it. I'm not very good at films as I've not seen many of the 'classics' as I only saw Shawshank Redemption for the first time a couple of years ago!
Thankfully when we came out the cinema the rain had stopped so we took a wander down to Serendipity Beach. Serendipity is the party beach with bars all along the beach front all offering drinks deals. We sat at a bar right on the sand and were so close to the sea. Although the weather hadn't been great that day it nice watching the sun go down whilst sipping a cocktail. There's something nice about being sat right beside the sea.
After out drink we wandered back up to the centre to Maybe Later, a Mexican restaurant, to satisfy our nacho cravings we were having! We got pulled pork on the nachos and they were delicious! The best part of the restaurant was their bathroom completely decked out in Rambo pictures! It was such a surprise walking in.
We grabbed a tuk tuk back to our hotel which was quite scary at times as you were driving on small farm track roads in pitch black and not passing many people either! When we arrived back we headed straight to our terrace to spend our last night chilling there.
It was unfortunate we got such bad weather during our time there but at least we managed to get some time spend on the beaches Sihanoukville is known for.
Recommendations -
Sok Sabay Resort - http://www.sihanoukville-cambodia.com/sihanoukville-businesses/2015/sok-sabay-hotel.html
Otres Beach - https://www.lonelyplanet.com/cambodia/sihanoukville/attractions/otres-beach/a/poi-sig/441770/355898
Serendipity Beach - https://www.travelfish.org/sight_profile/cambodia/southern_cambodia/sihanoukville/sihanoukville/3097
Maybe Later - https://www.sihanoukville.com/nightlife/maybe-later/
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