Koh Rung Samloem.

Saracen bays southern half. It is divided in two by a hill tongue. The bays opening is to the west, giving the whole bay a heart shaped appearance. Perfect for a romantic couple?

How the sunshine plays with the sandy bottom-below one meter of 30 degrees warm water.

Outside Sihanoukville there are a handfull of Islands-tropical paradises with all one need -green jungle. White beaches, turquoise and green water whose temperature never get too much below 30 degrees. And on several of the islands-easy access to cold beer!!

I choose Koh Rung Samloem as my getaway. Not to be mixed with nearby Koh Rung which is larger and much heavier visited.

The fast boat conveniently leave from a pier in the main tourist ghetto in Shianoukville. When it leaves, that is. I am not impressed with the level of planning to make it work-it is way to Cambodian for the western price asked for. Nor am I too impressed with the seamanship. Small details, you probably need to have some expertise in boat handling yourself to see it- and not enough to make me feel unsafe. But I question their ability to handle"a situation"-or getting their vessel safely to a pier in weather rougher than absolutely optimal conditions.

The speedboat arrives in Saracen Bay. Usually twice a day-in the morning and in the afternoon. The mid day service was suspended when i was there. And you may be stuck waiting for an extra hour if they decide on a detour to Koh Rung first. But of course you will get no information about that in advance. After all, you have already paid so who cares......

I went to Saracen Bay, with its five kilometer long beach. Part of it spotlessly clean, part of it-not so. I stayed a couple of nights at The Beach Island resort, one of the places the closest to the pier. There they have a dormitory. Ideal for people on a budget. Two people share a double mattress-with mosquito net- for 5 dollars each. I was asked 7,5 dollars-down to 6 for the privilege. It is a nice place to stay-just don't try to get ANYTHING done trough the people at the lodge. I question their ability to manage to get a bucket of sand filled at the water edge......I tried to organise guided jungle trekking and kayaking. They messed it up. They didn't have control of my payments either-that worked-or could have worked-to my advantage, though. I could have left-and maybe stayed a day extra without having paid my bed.

My first afternoon  was spent in the water, being cooled down by cold cans of beer. Next morning i went hiking in the jungle, which has a big biodiversity. But it is dense, and while i heard a lot going on in the forest, and high above in the canopies, i saw very little. A brief glimpse of a hornbill that was all. But hiking in a jungle is still a rewarding experience-all the sounds, all the smells. The vast world of green itself. all the shapes of the plants, and the natural sculptures made by trees climbing eachother.

Red wood in Green ville.

At the end of the trip, i had a bit of luck, though. A slow movement on the ground turned out to be a perfectly camouflaged small snake. It obviously knew i was there, having crossed the path just beside me. But it didn't care. Slowly it was advancing, like it was on the trail of something. Moving a bit, smelling the air, looking around. Then moving a bit again. Great.

My little snake doing her or his thing.

Some colour among all the green. 

 The good thing with a long sandy beach lined with warm water-one can walk barefoot for kilometers. And there are several places to stop for a cold beer.

A crab monitors me carefully.

A star pattern made by small creatures living  buried in the sand.

Locals out fishing the shallows with a large net.

Very home made vessels.

Beach beauty.

At the end of the beach is a Small patch of mangrove. Its a nest of entangled roots. I call this photo: "Public Administration".

A jellyfish caught in the mangrove.

It is referred to as a waterfall. A tiny one though. But a pretty piece of landscape. Several small rivers penetrates the beach, creating deep trenches. The way of beating them: walk the water well outside the river mouth as it will be deeper there-the stream forms a pool.

One of several colonial era grafittis in the river.

The forest edge.

The old lighthouse. A good turning point for a hike trough the forest.

A colonial era road leading to the lighthouse. It starts near the mouth of the river in the far southern end of the beach. Not at the "waterfall"shown above. It is midway between the river and the mangrove patch.