Day 112 – Koh Rong Samloem
Night time Kayaking with Plankton
Since we came to Sunset Beach on Koh Rong Samloem to relax, that is exactly what we did. We sat on hammocks near the beach under the shade of trees reading books. The weather and view was amazing. The beach is quiet and the water is so calm. The one thing we needed was some internet (none of the hotels seem to have a WiFi connection on this side of the island), to apply for Vietnam Visas.
Sleeping Trees Tipi 
After a tip from a Chinese tourist we met, we walked down to Robinsons Bungalows for a drink and some internet. We were disappointed, as the South African staff at the bar, were super rude, which sucked, as we were booked to stay there tomorrow. On top of that, there was no internet. After our experience at the bar, we would definitely have cancelled our booking if we could have found another accommodation.
Robinson Bungalow
In search of internet, we decided to make the hike back through the centre of the island, to where the pier had dropped us off. We were pleased to find the hike took less than 30 minutes without our bags. Once on Sunrise Beach, we found a restaurant called Orchid Resort, that had an internet connection.
We had lunch before using the painfully slow internet. Around 2 hours later, the owner told us that he would be closing the restaurant, but we could stay there. We were grateful, but we didn’t realise that he would turn off the internet. The internet connection was so bad, that in the 2 hours we had not been able to apply for one application! We decided we would just get it done on the main land instead of going through the pain again.
Rough seas on the Pier Side of the Island
After our failed skirmish, we headed back to Sunset Beach. Once there we went to the dive shop and booked a tour, for some night-time kayaking to see plankton. We were concerned about swimming in the open water, and the lady said it is super relaxing with only light swimming. We made the mistake of believing her. We also managed to convince our new Chinese friend and his Canadian friend to come with us. After sunset, we all arrived at the dive shop eager to go kayaking.
This was my first time kayaking so I really had no idea what to expect. We first went out maybe 20 metres from the shore and took turns diving into the water and then getting back onto the kayak. Most of the others were able to easily get back on, but it was a struggle for me. In my attempt to get on, I overturned the tandem kayak and bought my wife into the water. Once she got back on, I was able to get on too. Definitely need to work on my upper body strength.
The guide then took us further out into the water and he didn’t really wait for us. By the time we reached him, we were exhausted. And then we were handed snorkelling masks and told to dive into the water. Once in the water we could see the plankton light up a fluorescent green all around, which was very cool. Then I put my head into the water and started breathing in water from the mask. It may have not been set on my face properly or not a good mask, but the water in my mouth and fact that the water was pitch black made me freak out.
Luckily my wife saw me struggling and she called the guide who had kayaked away. Once he arrived, we got back onto the kayak. A few other people got onto the kayaks a little later on, but most of the people, were able to swim the entire time (respect). After the plankton, we then got back onto the kayaks and went towards the cliff face to a “mystery” part of the tour. The guide then clapped and fire flies along the cliff face lit up, which was nice but by this stage, I was exhausted and just wanted the tour to end.
Mercifully we were back on ground, and surprisingly still alive. Despite the lack of safety standards the tour would have been okay if we were decent swimmers, snorkelers and kayakers. I was below average in all of these, but I do believe a life jackets would have been a game changer.
We then left the dive shop and while walking along the beach a wave came in and we saw a single glowing plankton. We went into the water and were able to enjoy the green plankton in the safety of knee deep water!!! After a while we headed back to grab something to eat and celebrate life.