“Hello Poor Island…..Hello Rich Island”

Palm Beach

We were dropped at the office in Sihanoukville for Palm Beach Bungalows and greeted by a big South African Man named Kevin, the owner. Luckily I had his business card as his booking system was all messed up, so he had to fit us in.

With the boat pickup an hour away we went to get some drinks and last minute supplies which included Shower Gel with Withening. In Cambodia 90% of everything includes Whitening agents. We hoped we wouldn’t reverse our tans!!

When we got back, Kevin was busy making homemade biltong so we waited out front. Soon enough our TukTuk arrived and we headed to the ship.

To get on our boat you had to jump off the pier and hope you made it. Karen decided that this wasn’t on and the two boat hands had to scurry off to find a boarding plank for her.

We would be the only two occupants on the boat for the trip there which was great as we had room to sleep on the benches.

Get me off this boat!

3.5 hours later we could make out our new home in the distance There were two Jettys that confronted us..

One was on a small island and had luxurious bungalows along the ocean front next to a grand looking wooden jetty with bar at the end. The resort propaganda describes it as having ” tropical reefs, amazing sunset views and white private sandy beach” with “boutique stores and gym” and meals prepared by Neil Wager who “has cooked for royalty and celebrities before” all for £1100 a night.

The other had a rickety jetty and was shared with families of fishermen and looked a little like the clan docks in Georgetown, Penang. It had basic bungalows with intermittent water and limited menu. Your cocktails were put together by a big Estonian called “The Beast”. This costs you $35 (meals not included).

Guess which one we stayed in?

After navigating the rickety pier we dropped our bags off at the bamboo shack. With electricity only running during the night and as darkness fell we made our way to the bar via the beach. John got clotheslined by the Volleyball net – looks like we would need our torches.

The next two days took on a familiar pattern.

We would spend the mornings in hammocks reading our books – there was no wifi at the resort. There wasn’t a Leave One Take One policy but after seeing the ‘Free’ Latest Edition Lonely Planet Vietnam we instantly swooped.

He’s behind you Mr. Krabs!

Afternoons were spent walking the beach or engaging in games. It soon became apparent that while Karen is good at cards, Darts and Connect4 – she needs more practice at SnakesNLadders and Volleyball.

So much for all those Sundays in the Cat And Canary!!

SnakesNLadders: Karen’s Kryptonite!

Night time was BBQ time or a burgerless burger.

Seafood BBQ

Luckily for us we were not the only residents. We met a nice couple from London Amy and James and a Danish girl Sophia and her London boyfriend Tom who swapped travel stories and gave us leads for future adventures.

Our time came to an end after 3 nights and we said goodbye to our beach hideaway to return to the real world and internet connectivity!!