Nothing prepared me for all the good things that came with birthday week. I have Abraham to thank for pulling it all together. We had work a deadline and had spent a full day and night working inside our hotel room at Coolabah, in Sihanoukville, but we knew we were leaving to either Koh Rong or Koh Rong Samloem the next day–the islands were the reason we headed south of Phnom Penh in the first place. It was already about 6pm and we’d not picked out accommodations let alone which island, but thanks to blogs and tripadvisor, we chose to go with Koh Rong Samloem and Lazy Beach. Abraham ran out to Lazy Beach’s booking office which luckily was just down the street on Serendipity Beach Road, and both of us were fully hoping they’d have bungalows left in such short notice. He scored!
The next day was sunny and hot and at noon, we headed to the pier to wait for our boat. What arrived was a little blue boat. I mean, a small blue boat. I noticed life jackets on board but no one told us to put them on. Two Italian children sat up in front of the boat, jumping around while their father cheered them on in italian. The ocean was the opposite of calm that day and half the time I was afraid they’d go overboard, but after about an hour, I wasn’t thinking about the two boys, because all I could do was silently pray and hope that I kept it together. Nothing worked and I hurled. Over and over, until we got to shore. Chris–one of the partners of Lazy Beach–was waiting at the beach with his dog. He introduced himself to everyone, led us to the main lobby area, where we were given lime juices and after some not so formal information, Gemma gave us keys to bungalow No.15.
Within an hour of getting my bearings, I knew it was all worth it. It was a beautiful private beach with the cleanest, squeakiest sand (and it actually squeaked as you walked!), see-through water, and loads of jungle behind the bungalows.
The boat trip experience was ridiculously rough, but as Abraham and I sat and swayed in our hammocks that first afternoon, we were both giddy with happiness. I knew it was exactly where I wanted to be.
So grateful that Lazy Beach, bungalow No.15 will be home for the next few days.
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