A short post incoming! 

We took the speed boat over to Koh Rong Samloem, the smaller of the two main Cambodian islands. Our destination was party paradise – the Mad Monkey Hostel which was situated in its own bay, only reachable from the rest of the island by their own private boat. Oh and they didn’t have an ATM or WiFi. Basically we were headed off to be stranded in paradise! 

After waiting for the boat to our hostel for way longer than was comfortable in the heat, we were greeted with spectacular scenery and a free cold beer. The hostel was right on the beach, the water was crystal clear, the sand was white, they had a bar and restaurant, hammocks in the sea, and a pier bar where you could jump into the sea… it was totally idyllic. We were led to our room which was actually just a hut! It was a 10 bed ‘dorm’ next to the beach, with one side totally open, facing the sea. We were basically sleeping in the open-air in the jungle – so cool. Luckily we had mosquito nets!

Before we knew it we were swimming in the beautiful calm sea, and floating in hammocks in the ocean. Suddenly the weather turned dark and stormy so we got out, got showered and headed to the bar! A big night of drinking occurred, which resulted in a 2 day hangover. Fantastic. 

That night they put on a fire show on the beach, where the bar staff suddenly turned into fire wizards – throwing flames high into the air and somehow catching them without burning themselves to death. After the show we walked into the sea to see the spectacle that everyone talked about – the bioluminescent plankton! They were more subtle than I was expecting, but by gently moving your hands around under the water you could see sparkles everywhere. Chloe went out for a second look later than night, and said the stars were probably the most beautiful she’s ever seen – away from light pollution, we really were in the middle of nowhere! 

The next couple of days were not so good – we were both very hungover, possibly alcohol poisoned (oops), so we didn’t do much except sleep on bean bags in the shade. 

We came back to life again in time for Alpa and Rachel’s arrival on the island! Our last day was spent enjoying the sea, the pier bar, and soaking up all the sun we possibly could. 

Then before we knew it, we were back on the very rocky boat heading out of paradise and back to reality! As much as we try not to be on our phones too much on this trip, it was quite nice to be back on WiFi and in touch with everyone again! 

Annie x