Sihanoukville

We were looking forward to a nice, relaxing time in Sihanoukville spent sunbathing and frolicking in the sun on the beach. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, as the weather for our entire visit was overcast and rainy. Despite this we still managed to have a great time at our lovely hotel with its swimming pool, pool table and long happy hours at the bar.

Each night that we stayed in Sihanoukville, we were treated to the most awesome storms we have ever experienced. Torrential rain hammering against our windows, huge flashes of lightening and massive cracks of thunder that managed to startle us out of our sleep at 4am. These dramatic nightly shows were great fun, although quite frightening at first!

A great day was spent on a boat tour of Ream National Park. We cruised down the Prek Toeuk Sap estuary in a traditional long boat with just four other passengers and our tour guide. Luckily we had the best weather on this day, so were able to enjoy the wildlife and scenery. The banks of the river were lined with mangrove forests, and we saw eagles swooping overhead and kingfishers and storks fishing in the long grasses. When we arrived at our destination, the boat suddenly became stuck on the sand, so we had to wade to the beach from the middle of the river (which was about four times the width of the Thames). The walk seemed to take forever as we attempted to avoid the sharp oyster shells underfoot, and constantly got stuck in the sticky clay sand. All good fun though!

Once on the beach we went on a short trek through the jungle to an uninhabited beach. We saw all sorts of wildlife including huge colonies of ants and giant millipedes. A friendly dog lead the way to the beach, where he proceeded to clumsily hunt for crabs buried in the sand. We spent the return journey eating a meal of barbecued barracuda on the boat, and doing some more bird watching.

Next stop...Vietnam!