Otres Beach, Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Our seaside paradise at Sea Garden on Otres Beach, Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Our ride from Koh Chang to Sihanoukville was anything but simple. We took a minibus from our hostel, to the pier and the van got on the ferry with us. It then drove us to the Cambodian border. At the border, the Cambodian side refused to take US dollars (Cambodians most used currency) for the visa fee and insisted on Thai baht. We had to go back across into Thailand for change our USD to thai baht. I was pissed. We heard the fee was anywhere between 30-40 USD and this made our fee $49. It felt very much like an excuse for them to take more money. 

We got picked up in a pick up truck that dropped us off at a major highway intersection and we waited for a bus. They try and tell you that the ride is not paid for by the travel agency we booked through, but it is. 

We stopped at a roadside restaurant that had luke warm cooked food sitting out in big pots. My spidey sense was kicking in pretty good telling me not to eat anything there but we were starving and this was our only option. We had a fish stew and it was actually pretty good. 

We arrived at the Sihanoukville bus station which is out of town. They do this on purpose to force you to spend more on tuk tuks getting to your destination. We were swarmed by offers as we exited the bus but we walked outside the bus station to find a cheaper fare. We found a guy willing to take us to Otres Beach 1 for $8. The standard fare from Otres 1 to downtown Sihanoukville is $5. 

15 minutes later, we were at our accommodations, Mushroom Point. This was an aesthetically pleasing place with mushroom styled bungalows all in natural wood with straw roofs. The food here was also incredible with massive portions. We were staying in the only dorm they had which was a big circular room with circular beds above the restaurant. Each bed had a mosquito net and its own fan (which was great) but it was $10 a night when booked on hostelworld and we knew we could find cheaper and comparable accommodations. 

That first night we went out to a jungle rave that happens every Thursday night. We took a tuk tuk past Otres 2. Once we were at the river, there was a raft waiting by the shore. We hopped on it and our captain pulled us across a 40 meter wide river by pulling a taut rope connecting the two sides. We made it in before 11 so we didn't have to pay the $5 cover. 

Raves are not at all my scene but we were told we have to check it out. We were very early and not many people were there. There was a truck that they turned into a DJ booth, massive speakers, a bonfire, a bar and even a ferris wheel! We hung out there for a few hours, survived a downpour and headed out at 2 AM as it was starting to get crowded. There were people waiting to be shuttled towards the party as we were leaving. When I got back to our room, I caught a rat eating my emergency snickers bar that I had forgotten was still in my backpack. Gross. Otres Beach has a serious rat problem. I hat a rat brush up against my barefoot as I was eating dinner one night. Gross. 

That next day we did an island hopping tour for $12. We did some snorkeling and spent almost 3 hours at the long beach on Koh Ta Kiev. They served grilled chicken sandwiches on baguettes. We ate, swam and sat in the hammock. Life is good. 

After a couple of nights at Mushroom Point, space opened up across the road at Seagarden. This is the place I wanted to stay all along. It's a beautiful new property right on the beach with a $5 per bed dorm. I highly recommend this place. 

Alex and I rented bikes and headed into town to check it out and buy some sunscreen. In hindsight, our time of departure (almost noon) was a mistake. After visiting the market, Alex felt real sick with heat stroke. We had to take a tuk tuk home and strap the bikes into it. 

Otres Beach, Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Otres Beach sunset

Otres Beach was lined with Pine Trees

The food on Otres is very good, touristy, and expensive. Previously we had been budgeting $7 per day for food and meals at most places on otres are $4-7. However, not a Mom's Kitchen. Mom is the sweetest and cutest Cambodian woman originally from Kampot. She has a convenient store and serves breakfast and dinner that she cooks outside on both a gas stove and a grill. The food was great, cheap in small portions. I had the fried rice with vegetables at least once a day. Mom works hard to put her daughter in school, and her 2.5 year old son is always running around naked. Mom has the cheapest prices on the beach: 75 cents for a coconut, $1 for all shakes (get the banana). 

The next day, we rented a motorbike and went to the waterfalls. We were told it wouldn't be good because it's the dry season, but there was still a magnificent waterfall that was just short enough to still be able to stand under it (maybe 8 meters). That night, Alex wasn't feeling well, so I took Christina for a ride into town while I still had the bike. We had a beer at the Led Zephyr, bought some art and headed back. 

We thought this was the waterfall we had come to see. 

Until we found this massive waterfall

Typical gas station. 1 Liter bottles of bacardi full of gasoline. 

Angkor beer, Cambodia's best. I was surprised how much draft beer there was in Cambodia. 

Otres beach is a heaven. The water is clear, the beach is endless, the people are great and the atmosphere is fantastic. I could easily pass a few months here without a second thought. However, if you want to escape even further into paradise, I suggest checking out some of the islands. In hindsight I would have liked to spend more time on the islands and less in Otres. However, my last two days in Sihanoukville I did check out Koh Rong for a day and stayed a night in Koh Ta Kiev.

Next stop, the islands of Cambodia.