Well this will be quick. I had 4 days on the island. I did very little because I didn’t have to.
I was shown to the arched chalet just behind reception. Beautifully decorated and very cosy, I unpacked, not something I get the luxury of doing all the time. A shower, shave and application of sun lotion before making my way to the bar, ordering a Captain Morgan and coke. Then I sat on the table on the beach. It was very hot and the drink floated down with chunks of ice.
Swimming is such a faff, but it needed doing. So hat, glasses, phone, T shirt and sandals piled on the chair, I strolled into the water. It was crystal clear with tiny translucent fish darting about. The water as warm as a bath lapped around my ankles as I made my way in. The firm yellow sand smooth and perfectly visible, didn’t get any less visible the more I walked. I had gone quite some way but still the water was only shin deep. My back was burning in the heat of the early afternoon sun and I knew I wasn’t able to get factor fifty to every part. Each step I took I bent my knees a little more, like some comedic fake stairwell into the depths. By the time my ankles hit my backside I was still fully torso exposed. Nothing for it, just fall backwards into the water. It was bliss.
Later in the afternoon I walked along the beach in the direction of the waterfall, knowing full well there’d be no water. Sadly, off of the main beach there was the inevitable heaps of plastic collecting on the shore.
The evening brought with it a cool onshore breeze and delightful food at the resteraunt.
That night, after the bar closed, I discovered there was Netflix in the chalets and on recommendation I binge watched The Gentleman series.
Day two was much a repeat of day one and day three as per two. Obviously there were other restaurants to test. I also met up with Ken and Patty from Queensland, Australia. They have been holidaying in Vietnam and Cambodia and we had visited many of the same venues. They were great fun to spend time with. Having shook hands with Ken we had a good laugh at how we both clamped each others hands in a vice like grip. No limp lettuce shakes here.
My final day was just the same but the Netflix had changed to F1 drive to survive by this time and Ken &Patty had gone, headed to Phnom Penh and a flight home. On my last night the staff put on a fire show. It was all fun and laughs as the guys tried new tricks, dropping the fire batons and each other on occasion.
And just like that in the blink of an eye the morning came and time to say goodbye to the staff and board the ferry back
It had been absolutely the best choice to come here and just take some time to relax without having to book the next night’s hotel, plan a route, research what to see and all the other things that go with being on the move constantly.
With the island still visible off the back of the ferry, the mainland was coming into sight. The skeletal high rise buildings, that you can see through, to the hills behind and a cityscape you hope will benefit the locals and not just the investors.
Earth, Wind and Tyres 