The chanting that started at 4am continued for 4 hours. We couldn’t get back to sleep and headed for meditation at 5:45. Emma managed to get back to sleep (during the 1 hour meditation) but the discomfort in my curled knees kept me awake, which from meditation point of view was good, as the idea is mediation is focussed attention not ‘relaxation’ as many people believe. Discomfort is an excellent object to focus your attention on.
Bags packed we ate dragon fruit and papaya for breakfast, Em had her nescafe and we said goodbye to the rest of the group and our hosts as Mr Tom and his Tuk Tuk picked us up at 8:30. The ride took us from the quiet rural world back into the jaws of the city beast. Absolute carnage on the roads I can’t believe we didn’t see one accident. Crazy scenes with millions of mopeds it was like being in a chase scene out of a Hollywood blockbuster.
Mr Tom dropped us at the bus depot which was very organised, I suppose they have to be in a city like this. Em was happy that she could aquire a proper coffee, Coconut cafe now being her favourite (iced coffee with coconut cream and water). Our minibus arrived on time and left on time, our seats were at the front with the driver (seats 1 and 2) giving us good views, big legroom and the first wafts of the air con, good choice Em!. We had a 3 hour journey with the first hour taken up by getting out of the city, crazy traffic but minibus dominates moped and tuk tuk so we just set a straight line and let everyone else get out of our way. Today is a bit of a transport pick and mix including a ferry, the last of which sails at 3 pm. It was now 1330 and we did not have much time by way of contingency…..everything had to go smoothly to make the ferry and so far it had, this however did not settle my anxiety but I was holding on to hope.
As we pulled into the new city we saw an opportunity to get off early (at a point closer to the port than the bus station) so we took it, jumped out, grabbed our bags and waved goodbye to the cheery bus driver (everyone is cheery here, life would be happier for everyone if it was the same back home). We flagged down a Tuk Tuk whose driver couldn’t understand a word we said, Em shower him the map on her phone, he types the price onto his phone (10,000 riel 4000 is one dollar, they operate a duel currency here of dollar and riel, you can pay in either but you only get riel in return, which you cannot exchange outside of Cambodia). We jumped in and were dropped off at the port. Em had scoped which ferry office to use, we found the one, stepped in, paid 50 dollar (return) and were told to go to pier 3 quickly where there was a boat just about to leave. We jogged and jumped onboard and moments later were flying out of the port on a speedboat with 70 passengers bound for various islands ours being Koh Rong.
We arrived at a small wooden pontoon and jumped off with a few other passengers, made friends with someone who appeared to be the boss man of the island and could arrange anything for us, we said we would come back to him and walked along the beach to find lunch. White sand, coconut palms and crystal waters fronted by bars and restaurants. We ordered a fresh cocunut to slake our thirst which was delicious and took advantage of veggie burger and fries (home cut chips!). After lunch we popped in to a stall to get some wine and some tiger balm for my mozzie bites (as recommended by Jake) then went to visit boss man to negotiate a Tuk Tuk to lonely beach which was the other side of the island. We were presented with 2 weathered plastic chairs to sit on whilst we waited for the tuk tuk. We were soon bouncing down a track cratered with ridiculous pot holes with our driver and his young son, sat on his lap. We drove through sand pits and up and down steep muddy tracks, at one point I thought we were going to tip over, super sketchy. The ride was about an hour long and a real life wacky races. Eventually we came to a drop that the driver stopped at, precariously balanced at the top he was obviously concerned we might not make it, we were concerned we would die. He was still contemplating it when we jumped out quickly before he decided to give it a go and said we would walk the rest. We paid him the 20 bucks for the boss man, a tip for him and some notes for his son who bowed gratefully.
We started walking and descending, that slope was precarious enough on foot, several flip flops laid half buried in the mud like spongy tombstones. We turned a corner onto a plank bridge, congratulating each other on bailing the tuk tuk at the right time and walked up the dirt track passed water buffalo on into the forest. At this point a very loud mechanical noise like the buzzing of a large electrical substation started erupting from the trees. It reminded me of the TV show ‘Lost’ with an alien noise in a jungle environment. It was so loud and unusual it was freaking me out but Em said she could hardly hear it. We later learnt it is made by a beetle pushing air through holes in its cephalon. Its volume put cicadas to shame.
We carried on lugging our rucksacks along the forest track in the heat with sweat running down our heads, dripping off our noses. I spotted a large white mushroom in the jungle but was forbidden to go and meet it by Em, who was concerned about what else I might meet. Eventually we broke out of the undergrowth onto a long white beach bordered by palm trees and hammocks, white sand and crystal waters.
We followed the signs to reception which was a Robinson Crusoe style beach bar constructed out of palms and driftwood and held together by natural rope and some structural hammocks. It was ace, off grid, solar power no wifi. The owner, a real life Robinson Crusoe greeted us and booked us in and showed us the various systems for how life worked at lonely beach. He then took us to our hut which was all wood, on stilts with a perfect rustic vibe. Night was falling and the mozzies were starting to be pests as he showed us the traditional Khmer bathroom fitted with an untraditional western toilet throne. There was a large tank of water and a metal bowl, the shower worked by filling the bowl with water and pouring it over your head, the ‘toilet paper’ worked by filling the bowl with water and washing your bits, the flush worked by filling the bowl with water and pouring it into the toilet, the wash hand basin worked by filling the bowl with water and pouring it into a cocunut shell with a small hole in the bottom allowing a little stream of water out to wash your hands in. The hut had wooden shutters that could be opened including at the head of the bed which opened right up giving views of the very near beach. Outside there was a verandah with a bench and a hammock.
The sun was setting over a nearby headland so we got changed and skipped into the Luke warm sea, to wash the travel sweat and grime away. We had made it to our desert island and we’re now marooned for 4 days.