Diving and beaching in Sihanouk Ville...

Erik: After reading and hearing about the non-stop beach party town of Sihanouk Ville, I was a bit dread to go there – especially after the calm of Kep and Kampot. It was on our way, though, and I did want to get a few dives in, if possible. At first blush I really hated the place – loud, obnoxious, drunk tourists everywhere, beaches full of both litter and bathers, and very little to actually remind you that you were in Cambodia. We had a hot, hard time finding a hotel as it was high season, but we did finally find a room at Villas de Roos, run by a friendly Belgian man and his Khmer wife. We had not one, but two queen-sized beds in the room, and not much else, as the beds took up most of the available floor space.

After a few hours in the town, I was ready to leave - it's really not a pretty place - but Talor convinced me to go diving the next day and relax a little, which was good advice. I shopped around and booked with the least busy of the dive shops, and was very happy I did – there were only 4 guests on the boat the next day, and I was the only diver, so I got personal attention. I also got to get my French back up to snuff (it had suffered more and more as I struggled to learn Spanish) – as one of the snorkelers was French and my dive master was Swiss. It was an enjoyable day - the diving was nothing special, but it was good to just get in the water again. We lunched on a small, lovely palm-lined island, which was a great way to chill out between dives.

Most of the restaurants in the town cater pretty much exclusively to the barang tourists, so it was difficult to dine in a Khmer environment, so instead we opted for a delicious seafood BBQ restaurant next door to the hotel, which served up really good grilled barracuda and snapper. (I've since learned that barracuda are over-fished here, so I'll not be enjoying that any more...glad I didn't know that when I ordered.)

We took one more day in “snookville” (as the ex-pats call it), to spend a little time on the beach. We walked an hour out of town to get to a beautiful, calm, nearly-deserted stretch of beach – and it was well worth it. We also spent some good time chatting over drinks with Marc, our Belgian host, and Captain Don, a surly, rugged old American who's been living there for 10 years. Don gave us his views on the the city's and the country's development, corruption, etc. We even ventured out to the beach bars for a full moon party, but after just one beer, the noise and annoying crowds of 20-something partyers got to us. Guess we're getting old.

So Snookville wasn't a complete wash. I'm glad that we went, but I'm also glad that we left after just a few days. Now I wonder what to expect from southern Thailand, which is likely to be Snookville amplified 10 times...

Talor: Sihanouk Ville was kinda what I was expecting... touristy with over-crowded beaches. And we happened to arrive on a Khmer holiday weekend so it was extra packed with people. But we did manage to find moments of peace and quiet and places to relax.

While Erik went diving, I had a run in the morning, my first in nearly three weeks, and man did I feel it the next day! Then I spent a really nice quiet afternoon at the Starfish Project's Bakery and Cafe. The Starfish Project is an NGO that provides social services and assistance to disadvantaged and disabled Cambodians. It was great chatting with Ra Tun, who has been working there for a year. Prior to that, he fished for a living and never had time or money to study. In fact, whenever he would pass by the university, he would cry because he was jealous of the other kids who could go to school. Now he goes to the university, his education paid for by the NGO, and is happy to be studying English. He hopes to someday follow in his employers footsteps and create an organization to help other people... so cool!

The next day, we walked to Otres Beach, about an hour away. Even just a 15-minute walk away from the ever-packed Serenity Beach, and it gets less crowded. A 30-minute walk and you see more cows than people. It was sad though to see so much garbage strewn everywhere. But after about an hour, we crossed a bridge then walked over a hill and when we came down on the other side, we were rewarded by a nice stretch of beach that was clean and nearly deserted. We parked ourselves under a tree for a little shade/a little sun and chilled out listening to the gentle lapping waves. About an hour later, a lady came by with a mini-bbq selling fresh cooked squid on a stick. We ate without even getting up!

That evening, we went to Victory Hill, the former backpacker area that has now turned into more of a girlie bar scene. But they say it's the best place to see the sunset. At the Bungalow Village, a quiet guest house/bar/restaurant on a hill, we sat on comfortable mats in their lovely garden and had drinks watching the sunset... aaahh, life is good!

More photos...

Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia