This is the most stunning island I have ever seen. The water is crystal clear and the sand bright white - utter paradise. Life really couldn't get any better!
We arrived on the island after a vom inducing speed boat ride with an awful hangover and wandered round looking for a place to stay. We settled on a beach bungalow (the hostels really were terrible) with a balcony, a bathroom, a fan (no air con on the island anywhere!) and best of all 2 double beds!
We spent the day on the beach taking in the gorgeous scenery and then I treated myself to an Aloe Vera massage in the evening. We went for dinner with 2 girls we had met to a place called Sigi's that other backpackers had told us about. It was basically just a shack and one guy, Sigi, who cooks your meal to order right there and then as if it were his kitchen at home. When we arrived the place was rammed so we had to wait a while for our food but it was definitely worth the wait, so delicious!
We wanted to spend the day at Long Beach the next day so arranged a taxi boat to take us over there and bring us back. The plan was for the boat to drop us at the beach and wait until sunset and then bring us back. Naively we paid the return trip up front. The boat dropped us at one end of the beach and we were told there were restaurants at the other end where we could get some lunch and water. It didn't look too far so we started walking along the most beautiful, quiet beach. Well, Long Beach was bloody long! It took us an hour and 40 minutes to walk the 7km beach to get to the restaurant - the only thing on the beach. The sun was blazing down and I could feel myself burning the whole way even though I kept topping up my suncream. When we finally made it to the restaurant desperate for water they said they had only one large bottle left! We sat down, glugged the water and ordered some lunch. I got a cold flannel and sat there with it pressed to my face to try and calm down my sunburn.
Once we had cooled down a bit and hydrated we were able to appreciate just how gorgeous the beach was. With only us and 5 other people on the whole beach it really was lush. After lunch we swam a bit and relaxed in the shade. As the sun was setting we realised that we need to make it back to the boat but it was going to take too long to walk. There was a tiny fisherman's village in the distance so we walked there and asked if they would take us back to our boat - obviously for a hefty fee. The journey took longer than expected and by the time we got back to where our boat was supposed to be it was dark and there were no boats to be seen. For another hefty fee we convinced the fishermen (2 ten year olds who Captained the boat!) to take us back to the main beach where we were staying. Thankfully we made it back safely and had some much needed Gin and tonics!
Unfortunately we were only able to spend 2 days here but I'll definitely be going back one day. At the moment the island is pretty much untouched except for a small number of restaurants and hostels/bungalows but there are no roads and the island is pretty basic. Sadly they are already starting to build more so in a few years time Koh Rong probably won't be so unique. At least we were lucky enough to experience the island like it is now.
Y x
