Day 115 – Koh Rong Samloem to Phnom Penh
Today was our last day on the island paradise, Koh Rong Samloem. After packing and checking out of Robinson Bungalows, we had to hike thorough the island for one last time. The walk from Sunset Beach to the more busy Sunrise Beach was difficult due to our bags.
Once on Sunrise beach, we walked to the pier, and had a few people approach us about getting bus tickets to the capital. We refused as the prices sounded high (which they were).
At the pier, the attendant we saw yesterday was a lot more friendly, and he informed us, that the sea was rough, so the boat will be delayed. The boat arrived an hour late, and became packed with tourists leaving the island. The boat journey took longer and we could definitely feel that the sea was rougher than when we arrived. The boat picked up more people at Koh Rong, before we all went to Sihanoukville.
Once we arrived at the pier in Sihanoukville we bought bus tickets from one of the several Bus companies on the pier. We would only have to wait 10 minutes before the pick up time. During these 10 minutes my wife went and bought some take away lunch as I watched over the bags. Our driver arrived 10 minutes late to pick us up but he was very keen to make up time. We were quickly rushed into a van that took off at an alarming pace. The van even clipped the door of a parked car on the road, but kept going.
We were then dropped off at another bus station and told to wait here. Once here, an amazing brand new bus arrived. We got on with smiles on our faces. I recommend the Bayon VIP bus company if you have a choice, which costs $10 USD / $14.22 AUD per person (these were the tickets we bought from the pier in Sihanoukville).
We had dinner along the way at a bus stop, before arriving in the capital. Since we hadn’t booked anywhere yet, we decided to try our luck at our previous hostel, Cool Wrong. Once we got there, we were welcomed back into the last two beds available in the mixed dorm, which were not right next to each other, but we didn’t mind. It was nice to have a solid bed instead of a tent, but I did miss that beautiful sunset on the beach.