When the island calls, should you answer?

I opened my eyes and winced. The light from the bare window seemed to sear into my skull. For a moment I was confused. Where was I? Why were my clothes damp? I sat up gingerly, taking in my surroundings.

Ah.

I was stranded on an Island.

I shivered, remembering the poorly thought out late night swim. Leaving the room, I made my way down the rickety steps to the sand filled lounging area of the ‘Three Brothers’. My friend Leanne was sitting opposite the reception desk, reading. She looked up at me and we exchanged a look.

Was this really happening?

Yesterday, we had missed the last ferry to Sihanoukville. All our belongings (passports included) were strewn about on the floor of our unpaid room back on the mainland. I had nothing on me but $6 and a pirate copy of Catch-22. Oh, and I had no shoes. Someone had stolen them during the night.

There had been, according to the hostel owner (and random travellers who saw fit to comment on my naked feet) a spate of shoe thefts on the island. The Koh Rong shoe bandit had struck again. Why do these things come out after the fact? I took solace in knowing that I was not alone in this.

We laid in the sun for a bit (so I could dry off). We had three hours till the next ferry left and I’ve never been good at sitting still. There was plenty of time to pop our heads into the forest behind us and take a quick peak at the isolated beach which lay beyond. Deep down I knew it was absurd but the absurdity made it all the more compelling.

It was surprisingly easy to find a group of people who knew the way. I had, in all the excitement, forgotten that I was barefoot. The pathway which had started as grass and soft sand soon became nothing but sharp rocks.

As we moved deeper into the forest, the trees blocked out the sun. The pathway became more winding. We climbed up only to slide down fallen trees. Once in a while we came across tricky obstacles but ropes had been strategically placed to lead us to safety.

This was more like an obstacle course than a walk through nature.

Forty-five minutes had gone by and still the beach was nowhere in sight. The humidity was stifling and I was sweating profusely. It might have been smart to bring a bottle of water. But then, if I was stupid enough to do this barefoot, why would I think about hydration? It was at this point that I realised something. We were late. If we hoped to catch the ferry, we would have to separate from the group.

Unfortunately, we had no idea how to get back.