> > by Lynn & Steve Hill
The vast majority of Cambodia’s two million annual visitors make a personal pilgrimage to Angkor Wat and the surrounding temple complex, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the celebrated Seven Wonders of the World, on a multi-destination trip and fly in and out of Siem Reap. But Cambodia has much more to offer beyond the famous Tomb Raider temples.
The streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s quaint yet increasingly cosmopolitan capital city and the former ‘Paris of the East’, are packed with fantastic restaurants serving the best in international cuisine and innumerable cocktail bars in villas with leafy gardens or overlooking the Tonlé Sap River.Flex your haggling skills beneath the domed Art Deco roof of Psar Thmei (‘Central’ Market) or amongst the warren of stalls at Psar Toul Tom Poung (‘Russian’ market), stacked floor to ceiling with bargains galore on locally produced silks, textiles, handicrafts and antiques.
Street 240 is home to a wealth of chic little boutiques, cafes and art galleries; and the city’s well-run museums, contemporary art galleries, cultural centres, peaceful wats, and the majestic gilded Royal Palace provides a cultural fix for both locals and visitors.
Monks passing by to give blessings or collect alms, their burnt sienna umbrellas and saffron robes perfectly complementing the ochre colonial-era walls of the city, evoke a timeless image of Cambodia; and a trip along the south coast reveals yet another side to this captivating country.
Kep was the former Côte d’Azur of Southeast Asia and the holiday spot of choice for the Cambodian royals, wealthy Khmer and French colonials until the late 1960s when the Khmer Rouge began their ascent to power. Sihanoukville, constructed as a port town in the 1950s, sits in the centre of a peninsula that juts out into the warm waters of the gulf of Thailand and is bordered by several stretches of fine white sand that are differentiated from each other as much by shape and vibe as by the rocky headlands between. Both have beaches to rival those found anywhere else in the region.
Best for secluded romance
Koh Rong Archipelago. Ok, so it’s not so much one beach as a whole bunch of beaches, but after taking the two-hour boat ride from Sihanoukville you can explore the islands’ wealth of long, deserted beaches, separated by inland waterfalls and dense jungle, at your leisure.
On Koh Rong – the largest island – you’ll find a small fishing village and three idyllic, secluded beaches where white sand meets blue water. Koh Kon (‘Baby Island’) has rocky, coral encrusted outcrops on the north and west side.
Koh Rong Samloem has great sheltered beaches on the north side which give way to diverse diving and snorkelling sites to the west where you might come face to face with some of the island’s more colourful locals: cobia, puffer fish, scorpion fish, lion fish, parrotfish and yellow goatfish are regularly sighted offshore.
At present extremely basic bungalow accommodation is available on many of the islands, but in late 2011 the luxurious Song Saa (Khmer for “sweethearts”) private island resort of 25 rainforest, beach and over-water villas will open to provide an upscale retreat for vacationing couples and permit more leisurely exploration of the more far flung island beaches.
Best for party animals
Ochheuteal/ Serendipity Beach. Ochheuteal is arguably the most popular of Sihanoukville’s beaches if the regular no moon and half moon beach parties, shack-style seafood restaurants and music blaring from beachfront bars are anything to go by. The three-kilometre swathe of sand is crowned by Serendipity Beach at the northern end, belted by hotels and restaurants along the mid-section, and is bedecked with welcoming strings of luridly coloured lights, fire twirlers, and wicker chairs occupied by laid-back travellers keen to soak up the party vibe from sunset into the wee hours most nights.
Although it is definitely the place to come if you want to live it up with the younger crowd, Otres beach is more much scenic, more chilled and tends to be frequented by slightly more polished party-goers come cocktail hour.
Best for thrill-seekers
Otres Beach. Otres Beach extends south of Ochheuteal and is a little harder to get to: while motorbikes can cross between the two with ease, cars have to take a rough 2.3 kilometre road to access Otres’ lessdeveloped, more relaxed three-kilometre stretch of pearly white sand.
Although there are no big hotels, spas or restaurants – yet – the assortment of charming thatched bungalow accommodation, well-stocked bars and low-key restaurants serving fresh seafood and cuisine that’s a cut above the standard beach fare makes Otres the clear favourite for kicking back or getting active with water sports.
Otres Nautica has Lasers, Hobie cats and other vessels for hire, and the year round breezes mean you can windsurf or kite surf with your own gear, or borrow some from the guys at Hurricane Windsurfing.
Otres is arguably Sihanoukville’s most beautiful beach and a great place to round off an adrenaline-packed day nursing a well-blended cocktail as the sienna sun dips down behind hazy offshore islands.
Resort recommendations: Sokha Beach Resort or the Independence Hotel, both on Independence Beach. If you want to rise above it all, Pagoda Rocks is a fantastic little boutique resort perched on the rocks in the grounds of
pagoda. Great food and cocktails, and an infinity pool overlooking the port.
Chamkar Doung Beach (Ream Beach) This deserted, scenic horseshoeshaped bay doesn’t get much press because it’s a little further south than the other beaches cosseting Sihanoukville’s downtown area, but it’s a great place to spend a lazy day if you have access to a car.
There’s nothing here except a handful of lean-to beach shacks strung with hammocks overlooking the aquamarine waters and misty offshore islands. Enjoy a beer or a fresh coconut on ice, and a lunch of crab or whichever fish the family fishing boat happened to catch that morning.
Best for Robinson Crusoe
Rabbit Island, near Kep. Kep has seen a revival in recent years, and although the one-kilometre crescent of coarse sand at Kep Beach is nothing to write home about, it’s easy to catch a boat from the pier for the short five kilometre trip to nearby Rabbit Island, a small tropical island fringed by white sand beaches enclosing a hilly coconut palm interior.
The six-kilometre hiking trail around the island provides access to the islands’ various beaches. The track gets a little trickier to follow after the third beach, and you’ll have to hop over some branches and push past some bushes before the final rocky stretch opens out on the main beach, but Rabbit Island is well worth the jaunt.
Step off the boat onto the main beach and stay there all day, or explore to find a stretch of beach just to yourself. Very basic huts are available on Rabbit Island, but we recommend Knai Bang Chatt resort or the lovingly restored 1960s-style Villa Romonea – a fantastic example of New Khmer architecture.
While staying in Kep, you can also check out Kep National Park, 50 square kilometres of lush forest and hills, monkeys, hornbills, deer, plus mango and cashew plantations.
If your visit happens to fall on a national holiday, visit Bokor Mountain and the eerie deserted French colonial Bokor Hill Station ruins, now only open on these days. Enjoy delectable French cuisine in a colonial villa setting at The Boat House, and be sure to sample fresh crab fried in locally produced green or black pepper at the crab market.
Kampot pepper has long been prized in high-end French restaurants for its intense, light taste. If you get the chance, visit the plantations at Angkor Cheay near Phnom Voar for an insight into growing and processing pepper, and to pick up some Kampot pepper mills as a souvenir.