It’s hard to put the feeling and experience of Koh Rong into words. I think it is best explained by peoples’ desire to stay. I thought I would stay a few days and was there for two weeks, many people do the same or decide they don’t want to leave at all, halt all other travel plans, and get a job on the island.

My arrival was rather interesting, having to take a slow boat as the fast boat was broken, then having to get picked up by a fast boat when the slow boat broke down. The journey was supposed to take 45 mins and took nearly two hours. Scott, a friend I had made in Vietnam, was already on the island and gave me a guided tour of the main stretch. I was thrilled. Finally I had found a location where I would be staying on a white sand beach, with beautiful views and clear water to swim in. There was a very relaxed feel about the place as we took a walk along in early evening, people reading or holding conversations over candlelight in comfy chairs along the sand.

View from halfway down main beach

Over the next couple of weeks I had a mixture of island exploring activities and some rather more relaxed social days, which generally ended with some social drinks. We became known as the non-permenant residents of our hostel.

On one of my first few days on the island, Scott and I started the day with an exploration of the jungle hoping to find some exciting hidden spot, and ending up back on our own beach a few metres up forty minutes later… So with this plan failing we took a trip to another beach nearby. Once again another stunning white sand beach stretched before us. It was much more peaceful here with most people opting to stay on the closest beach and no bars or shops in sight.

There is one other beach (Long Beach) which is regularly visited by tourists to the island, which involves a rather interesting meander through the jungle or a 30 minute boat trip. I made two trips to this beach, one on foot and one by boat.

The trip through the jungle takes around 45 minutes and even involves some make shift abseiling on the Long Beach side. Finding my flip flops were making me extremely unbalanced I opted to walk barefoot, which was generally okay, though a little hard work over the more gravely ground. (I no longer recommend this method however, as after I told a guy he could do this trip in trainers or bare feet, he opted for the barefoot option and lost half a toe nail along the way!) We spent a nice afternoon on the beach, despite fighting off sandflies, and took a boat back to our beach during an amazing sunset.

My second trip to the beach started at the very end of Long Beach, and yes, it is aptly named. A group of us took an hour long boat ride from our beach, with the objective of seeing a hidden waterfall behind the village and then walking back along the beach. The waterfall was beautiful, hidden away a small way up a jungle path, the large fall broken down into many small pools between the rocks below it. The walk there however, was not quite so beautiful. We had to wade through a river to get there, and judging by the look and the smell of it, there was definitely some sewerage mixed in. This added by the soft ground underneath which made your feet sink into goodness knows what, made for a rather interesting journey. Thankfully, the waterfall did make up for this somewhat. The walk back along the beach took around an hour and half, and with my feet constantly sinking into the sand it didn’t half give my calf muscles a workout!

I also managed to get some kayaking and paddle boarding done during my time on the island. The paddle boarding was a great new water sport for me to have a go at. I didn’t get off to the best start, having a fair few wobbles when we first set off, followed by about six consecutive falls into the water. After this I did finally seem to get my feet into the correct place on the board and things went much smoother. By the end of the day I felt like a rather proficient paddle boarder, even able to ride some gentle waves that appeared during the afternoon. Though granted, I spent so much time keeping my balance I was barely moving, and eventually opted to paddle the way home on my knees.

In a more relaxed approach to island life I also took part in some yoga classes. These were held on the beach, ending as the sun began to set, and were a great introduction into my yoga education. They were held by a man named Julian, who did not charge but accepted any donation you may wish to offer in exchange for his lessons. I spent a lot of time with him during my two weeks on the island, fascinated by his lifestyle and the stories he had to tell. Having been traveling for 23 years, so far, he certainly had many interesting things to share! I found his outlook on life and money inspiring. He has no steady income but lives through swapping his many life skills for donations in the form of a meal, bed or beer etc. and is certain in the fact that whenever he is in desperate need, somehow something will occur which changes things for the positive, as has always been the case up to now.

So after nearly two weeks I was very sorry to leave the island, and people like Julian behind, but decided I needed to move in before I got stuck there forever! That and there is also only so much $2.50 a bottle whiskey a person should drink…