Konni & Matt - Perpetual Travellers: 05 May

Southeast Asia

Kingdom of Cambodia

Krong Koh Kong

Apex Resort +85516307919 info@apexkohkong.com

Modern double room, clean swimming pool, for only KHR 32,000.- or US$ 7.65 per night.

Friendly and helpful staff.

Click below for an interactive road map of the Apex Resort in Koh Kong, which we would highly recommend, and for directions

N 11° 36.69' E 102° 58.93'

Exploring the scruffy border town Koh Kong, learning that the town's frontier economy is dominated by smuggling, gambling and “chicken farming”, having a delicious welcome picnic on the riverfront (20 grilled king-size prawns for KHR 10,000.- or US$ 2.40) and setting up our first benchmarks for Cambodia, the Kingdom of Wonder: (i) one 330-ml can of Klang beer for KHR 1,700.- or US$ 0.40, (ii) one plate of seafood fried rice for KHR 5,000.- or US$ 1.20, and (iii) one cell-phone SIM card from Metfone for US$ 2.-.

Hiring Darith’s chauffeur-driven remorque-moto (a canopied trailer with oh-so-natural air-con hitched to a 125-cc Honda motorcycle, often referred to as túk-túk by foreigners), paying KHR 37,500.- or US$ 9.- for a nice and uneventful half-day sightseeing tour, and exploring the countryside around Koh Kong: (i) the rather tame Ta Tai Rapids in Koh Kong's hinterland, (ii) the numerous alluvial islands and millions of mangroves of the Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary in the estuary near Boeng Kayak, and (iii) the traditional Muslim village of Phum Buon (from the written guidelines for visitors: “Please do not hug and kiss in public and do not sleep with someone from the opposite sex unless it is your spouse...”).

Taking the air-con Virak-Buntham express bus from Koh Kong to Sihanoukville’s central bus station (220 km, 4 hours, US$ 6.- per person) and hiring thereafter a remorque-moto from the central bus station to the nice tropical getaway of Otres Beach (8 km, 1/2 hour, US$ 5.- for the ride), a southwest-facing, seemingly infinite strip of casuarinas and pearl-white sand with a few thatch-roofed beach bars, seafood shacks and beach bungalows.