Well, as if I hadn’t been on enough beaches in Oz, I headed out of Phnom Penh on a 4 hour drive to Sihanoukville, destination Lazy Beach (LB).
LB is a secluded resort on Koh Rong Sanloem Island in the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Rong is 20 ks out from Sihanoukville, off the west coast of Cambodia. A 2 hour trip on a boat, much like the one below, gets you there through open ocean – seasick passengers going out and coming back. Probably 12-15 passengers each way.
On the trip out we had a heavy following sea. When a big wave caught up to us, the ‘captain’ would throttle back on the engine and let the wave roll past below. As the wave rolled under, the boat would heave, roll and tilt way over to port and I thought more than once “OK Jerry, this thing’s going to roll over”. Life jackets were belted to the ceiling of the cabin. If the boat turned turtle, there would be no chance, in the panic, for passengers to grab a jacket and they could be caught in the rigging as the boat rolled. I had my escape plan worked out just in case! What a worry wort, eh? It’s a boy scout thing – “be prepared”.
(a boat like this takes you to Koh Rong Sanloem, photo courtesy of Lazy Beach Resort’s website)
The owners and managers of LB go all the way to keep the resort in a pristine state. Just about totally unspoiled, the resort sits in a classic crystal clear half-moon bay, bordered by a white sand beach and a backdrop of green Cambodian jungle. The beach is often empty and you’d be hard pressed to find even a cigarette butt in the sand.
I think I must have been too busy with the pressing matters of the day at LB to get my camera out. You know, sleeping in, laying on the beach reading, swimming, drinking beer, eating and generally just goofing off consumes a lot of time. But, here are a few pics to give you the idea of the place, along with a link to their website (down below).
The cabins are well spaced for privacy and sited right on the beach. There are only about a dozen cabins in total. You can fall out of bed in the morning, pull on a bathing suit (or not, as the beach is likely empty), stagger down to the ocean and fall in – my ideal start to the day!
The cabin windows don’t have screens, so bugs that live outside live inside too. Mosquito nets hang over the beds, but I picked up plenty of bites all the same – the only downside to the resort. The many pluses more than made up for the bugs.
If you’re squeamish, skip this paragraph. There are signs posted in the toilets asking you not to put toilet paper or any unnatural ‘products’ in the toilets – Cambodian toilets can’t cope. There’s a little device affectionately called the “bum gun” – sprays water. You guessed it – hose yourself down with the gun, then pat/wipe dry and place the soggy paper in a plastic bag. When in Rome ….
Look at the menu – amazing food and drinks at an even better price. The staff were excellent. Mostly young Aussie guys who worked in their bathing suits all day and sat behind the bar on stools facing the customers on the other side of the bar. No money changed hands. Every transaction was hand-written in a notebook and you just settled up the morning you boarded your boat back to the mainland or got back to shore – it’s that relaxed.
I’d go back there in a heart beat. BTW, it was about $50 a night for a cabin.
durhamgj east 
Wow, that sounds like a hair raising boat ride Dad! LB sounds like a beautiful spot. I came across the same sort of toilet system in Greece, no toilet paper could be flushed but no ‘bum guns’ were on offer!
Love N, J & A xxx
Yikes! One of the biggest, most important parts of everyone’s day – the toilet!! Ha, ha
Jerry Durham (Cell: +66 91 018 0362)
The Japanese have toilets called Toto and they take care of everything! Glad to have your blogs back. love nancy