Coral Beach, paradise

 

Our bungalow.

 

While in Cambodia, we stopped in Sihanoukville for a couple of weeks.  This is a small city on the Cambodian coast and known for it's beach atmosphere.  There are a variety of islands just off the coast with everything from very rustic, open conditions to upscale resorts.  Some of the islands seem dedicated to partying.  We chose Koh Ta Kiev on the suggestion of a woman we met at Slumdog Curry, an Indian restaurant in Sihanoukville.

 

Koh Ta Kiev only has 4 small resorts on it, all of which are the more rustic style.  You can rent anything from a tent to a hammock for a night.  Molly and I, being the flashpacker duo that we are, went with Coral Beach, and it couldn't have been better.

 

 Our little oasis.

 

Coral Beach is on the far side of the small island from the mainland.  On the boat ride in, we got to see the assortment of other small resorts on the island.  Coral Beach has a number of bungalows similar to ours with a 3 walled construction, elevated off the sand and a heavy rolled tarp in case of a storm.  Molly and I went snorkeling nearly every day with gear provided free of charge, and I even went spear fishing one morning.

 

Before you ask:  no, I didn't get anything.  I didn't have a Kui (stringer) so it was a one fish sort of deal.  I took a shot at a couple of good sized fish, but didn't start going Ted Bundy on the smaller guys.  I was out for 3 hours and suffered my second nasty sunburn, but it was worth it.  

 

 

First time for everything!  A circular bed, so we slept at angles.

 

Our bungalow was awesome, the beach was great and the water was beautiful.  There are lots of sea urchins, though.  Big ones.  Basketball sized.  The first afternoon I went snorkeling the tide went out on me and it was an uncomfortable trip back through the bay. 

 

The island is now owned by the Chinese and are in the process of "improving" it.  Namely, they have plowed a road down the middle of the island and disappeared.  Sooner or later they will get around to working on it, though.  Cambodia is interesting - They will sell or indefinitely lease parcels of land/islands to other countries.  In a lot of cases, it is a tit for tat bargain for aid that isn't ear marked for certain projects.  

 

I saw this chair on the website and unfortunately it was rotted out, but what a great idea when the tide's up.

The French couple who owned the place were fantastic.  Very laid back and very nurturing in some ways.  I took a nap one day and was woken up because the kitchen was closing and I hadn't ordered lunch yet!  The food was fantastic and they were getting produce fresh from the mainland daily and ordering fish straight off the boats who were out in the channel all night.

In all, we spent 5 nights on the island and loved it.  We played cards by candlelight, drinking ice cold cans of Coke (it becomes a treat), hung out in hammocks at all hours of the day and night, and played in the beautiful ocean.  Koh Ta Kiev and Coral Beach were definitely highlights of this trip!

Sunset on our 2nd night at Coral Beach.

 The boat took about 30 minutes from Otres 2 beach.  The common room/dining hall serves delicious French food prepared by Micah and served by Priscilla.

 

The view from our bungalow.

 

Koh Ta Kiev loves Molly & Greg!

I like to poke islands.