Koh Ta Kiev

The relaxed side of Cambodia was about to get even more relaxed as we got ready to depart for Koh Ta Kiev Island off the coast of Cambodia.

The only way to get to the islands is through Sihanoukville, about a 2 hour drive from Kampot. We organised a bus (the only bus company) for 8:00am as we had to catch the boat to the beach where we were staying at 11:40am. After booking we found out that the bus company had terrible reviews, mainly in regards to timeliness. We were told because of road conditions that there might be an hour or more delay so when we left the depot at 8:40am the chance of us missing the boat became greater by the minute. We were ‘lucky?’ That we had one of those crazy bus drivers like the ones who we saw in the minivan who sped us to Sihanoukville for us to be dropped at the boat dock at exactly 11:40am. Turns out one of the staff hadn’t finished buying supplies so the boat wasn’t leaving until 12:00pm anyway. Time for a sprite.

We had made it to Crusoe camp on Koh Ta Kiev. The island is small and very undeveloped meaning no electricity or running water. We were prepared for this and were looking forward to relaxing for three days in our beach front bungalow with no wifi or cell signal. The beach was absolutely beautiful and the campsite had a mixture of tents and bungalows as well as a bar and a restaurant that cooked some exceptional food. During the day we relaxed in the hammocks, swam, ate and played cards.

However, as night fell, the island became less relaxing and our cute bungalow turned into a “house of horrors” (quote Matt).

Below details the nightly events inside our bungalow.

Night one: Sounds we have never heard before from unknown animals kept us awake as did the heat. Our bungalow had walls so no breeze could get in. We were soon to learn this was the least of our worries.

Night two: We returned from dinner to find a small rat (possibly large jungle mouse) relaxing in our hut by the window and as Matt hates rats I had to be brave and poke it with a stick to get it to move. We seemed to think it stayed inside during the night as there was torrential rain, thunder and lightning. Hot and sweaty again we were looking forward to the sun coming up so we could swim.

Night three: The worst yet. We returned from dinner to find three large rats (could not be mistaken for large jungle mice) in the roof of our hut. Too high to poke with the stick we went back to the common area to play cards for an hour to tire ourselves out so when we returned we would fall straight asleep. Little did we know, no sleep would happen this night.

Back at the bungalow I shone the torch up to see FIVE enormous rats in our roof. I stomped on the ground and two ran out leaving us with three. After an hour of attempting to deal with this we gave up and hopped into bed under our mosquito net, listening to the rats cackle at us. This combined with the extreme heat became too much. We left the room with our sleeping bag liners and the bedding and headed to the common area to sleep on the loungers. After half an hour here, Matt threw up* and some more rats joined us so we headed back to the bungalow very tired and stressed at around 3am. I think we got about an hours sleep. Thankful for the sun rising we couldn’t wait for the boat to take us back to the mainland at 9:00am ready to catch the next boat to the next island we were visiting.

*Matt wasn’t sick due to fear of the rats, in the morning we found out several other people were up vomiting in the night, must have been some bug in the air as we ate the same meal for dinner.

Beautiful beach

Amazing sunsets

Great food – crispy fish subs and duck eggs poached in tomatoes!

Jungle walk

Elephant rock lookout

Camp + our bungalow 👹

Ko Rong Sanloem

Extremely tired we caught a speed boat to the next island – Ko Rong Sanloem.

This island is a lot larger and much more developed than Ko Ta Kiev. We were happy to check into our very comfortable guest house with wifi and electricity and have a nap for a couple of hours before heading out to explore.

The beach here is just as beautiful as Ko Ta Kiev, there are just more people and dogs present. There are many restaurants catering to westerners with many vegan and vegetarian options with a strong Lebanese presence.

We have really enjoyed catching up on sleep and enjoying the beach. The water is really clear and the locals are starting to realise the impact of plastic waste. Lots of restaurants only offer reusable straws and there are water refill stations to refill drink bottles.

Although the basic island lifestyle is very relaxing and beautiful we have noticed we have had to be much more vigilant in regards to our health compared to anywhere else. Sanitation is poor and there is a constant risk of severe sunburn (even under trees 🔥🏝) and disease carrying mosquitos. After six days as castaways we are ready to catch our flight to Siem Reap tonight (22nd March) to explore Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples for the next five days.

We would absolutely return to Ko Rong Sanloem. It would be nice to do a week here and explore the other bays and parts of the island.