We started by visiting an island called Koh Rong in Cambodia. We stayed at Lonely Beach, which is an a remote part of the island where you can escape the world for a while. The beach was stunning unspoilt by nature, with beautiful sunsets and a sea sparkling at night with fluorescent plankton. We would often find ourselves totally alone relaxing in the hammocks on the beach, in the cosy restaurant or chilling by the shore. Here you can unwind from noisy and busy city life.
We decided to extend our stay on the island and did some day trips to go snorkelling and check out the neighbouring reef. We also walked through the jungle to a local village where Nick got a Cambodian hair cut. The most memorable experience was swimming at night in a sea full of fluorescent plankton, and we have never seen anything like it. Doing tai chi movements in the water leading to plankton glowing fluorescent blue is breath taking.
We would return to Lonely Beach in Koh Rong without a doubt, it has the best beach we have ever seen. After a week it was time to take the boat back to the airport and fly to Siem Reap to see our second wonder of the world on this trip – Angkor Wat. We decided to do a sunrise tour of Angkor Wat.
We witnessed the strength of Mother Nature first hand at the temple of Ta Prohm. This temple was where Tomb Raider was filmed and has been left in its original state, vines and roots twist though the complex breaking apart solid rock as the trees roots rise through the air.
Another impressive temple of Angkor to us was Angkor Tom. Two rows of imposing status of 54 Gods and 54 Demons leading up to the temple. We spent one day of exploring the temples and after 12 hours we had our fill and were officially ‘templed out’.
We had one more day in in Siem Reap and decided to visit Phnom Kulen National Park. It is considered by the Khmers to be the most sacred mountain in Cambodia. The best part was the waterfalls – a must-see sight! We plunged into the cold refreshing water after exploring the temples round the area. Phnom Kulen is home to the largest reclining Buddha statue in Cambodia, where it was chiselled out of the mountain in the 16th century and is a considered to be sacred spot.
We had a great time in Cambodia, from switching off and enjoying the gorgeous beach in Koh Rong to visiting Angkor Wat and cooling off in one of the best waterfalls we have ever seen.