Cambodia - Day Three

When I hear “night bus” my stomach instantly knots and I grimace uncontrollably. I have visions of motion sickness, stale smells, and most importantly, discomfort due to a lack of bathrooms. For someone with a small bladder and IBS-like symptoms (sorry if that’s TMI), the latter is the most terrifying of all. When I learned the night bus was an inevitable mode of transportation on this trip, I was tempted to call the whole thing off. But, just like Cambodia in general, I was pleasantly surprised by my overnight bus experience.

The bus was filled with bunk beds, sleeping two people per bunk. And…the best part…in the back of the bus there was a BATHROOM! My sensitive stomach could relax (at least a little bit). The bus company also provided a water bottle for each person. Since a lack of bathroom accessibility and dehydration are two of my biggest fears, I was overjoyed by these revelations. Not to mention, the beds seemed to be at the scientifically best angle for sleep and made of an easily wipe-able material, which I told myself they do thoroughly after each ride. On top of all those amazing features, I also pretended like I was riding the night bus in Harry Potter. With a combination like that, what’s not to like??

Following a very successful overnight bus ride, we arrived in Phnom Penh at around 5:30 am. We had a few hours to kill before catching the next bus to Sihanoukville. Luckily, there was another location of the same hostel company we stayed at in Siem Reap nearby so we had a comfortable rest and breakfast there before our 5 hour ride to the coast (rest assured I was also concerned about the bathroom situation on this bus).

The ride to Sihanoukville was long, but beautiful. The drive took us through the countryside of Cambodia where mountains juxtaposed the lush green landscape, which was dotted with cows and palm trees. With one rest stop and dozing on and off, the trip passed smoothly and we eventually arrived in Sihanoukville. From there, we had one last ferry ride until we finally made it to our next destination – Long Set Beach on Koh Rong Island!

The ferry ride was not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination. When I think of a ferry, I picture a spacious white ship with deck space and lots of large windows. The breeze off the water gorgeously rustles every one’s hair as they sip on sophisticated cocktails. For some reason, there are also a lot of parasols, but that’s besides the point. This ferry experience can be best described as the smelly bowels of my imagined ferry.

There was no deck space, instead we were all funneled below deck to sit on rows of vinyl benches. While there were windows, they were small and oddly placed so that you had to sit up very straight to see out of them. Because I am prone to motion sickness, I pretty much contorted my body the whole ride so I could see out at all times. Needless to say, I was not a fan of the ferry. ESPECIALLY not on our return trip…a storm exacerbated all these aforementioned elements. Let’s just say I witnessed more than one person get seasick, which is more than one person too many.  

I was very grateful when my feet finally reconnected with land. Especially since this land was beautifully soft, untouched beach! I practically skipped off the dock, letting my toes wriggle deep into the sand. Immediately off the dock was our home away from home for the next two nights. The resort consisted of a series of bungalows in varying distances from the beach. There was one main building with the reception desk, bar, and kitchen (often lacking in ice and bread). Although the beach itself is famous for being off the beaten path and an escape from throngs of people, it was oddly deserted. There were many moments when we exchanged glances and wondered if everyone knew something we didn’t know. For most of our short stay, we only spotted one other couple…aka 4 people total at this resort. Strange, but certainly lived up to its reputation.   

While our bungalow was slightly further back from the beach (around 30 steps), we still had a wonderful view of the water that we frequently appreciated from our balcony. The weather was a bit finicky during our stay, so we had ample time to relax on our balcony, surrounded only by the sounds of rain and occasional chicken clucking. We were on the quest for a relaxing beach getaway, and we absolutely succeeded with this gem.

For the rest of our arrival day, we settled in and lounged happily on beach chairs. We occasionally dipped into the calm, warm water. There was some reading, some napping, and some forced picture taking. I was a happy camper J