After a few hot and hectic days in Siem Reap we decided it was time to do some relaxing by the beach. We headed down south to Sihanoukville. This was not an easy trip. We caught an overnight bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (7 hours), waited at the station (3 hours), then hopped on a bus to Sihanoukville (5 hours). After 15 hours of travel we were more than happy to reach our new home at Moon Flower Bungalows.

We stayed just south of Serendipity Beach (back packer party zone) at Otres Beach (relaxation zone).  We spent our days lazying in hammocks, swimming in the sea and drinking coconuts. The weather was all over the place. One minute it would be sunny and then the next it would be thunder storms. We would quite often get stuck in rain.

Recommendations:

• Go on an island hopping boat trip. We visited two snorkelling spots and spent 3 hours on Bamboo Island. To be honest the snorkelling was not great, couldn’t see a thing as the water had terrible visibility. Bamboo Island was dreamy, great for swimming!
• Party one night at Otres 1. We went to a bar called Blame Canada. The bar is run by foreigners and they had an 80s party on that night. Super fun.
• Go swimming at night to see the glow in the dark phyto plankton. The more you move the more they glow. This was amazing!
• Go to Top Cat Cinema – you can hire out private rooms, watch any movie you like and get pizza ordered in!

Tips:

• Travel with Giant Ibis. They are the best bus company in Cambodia
• Otres Beach is amazing, definitely stay here over Serendipity Beach
• A lot of people were going to Koh Rong, a 2 and a half hour boat trip from Otres. This island is supposed to be stunning but unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to go

Next stop, Phnom Penh!