Koh Rong? Koh Right!

It's official, we've found paradise. 

Before coming to Cambodia I had no idea that the South coast is lined with clusters of tiny tropical islands. Fortunately, nobody else seems to know either and so the likes of Koh Rong are still very much deserted. 

Koh Rong is home to a small community of locals who have built guesthouses and beach bars to accommodate the handful of travellers who've discovered the island. They're as kind and welcoming as the Cambodians we've met on the mainland and seem pleased to share their secret paradise with us. 

The tiny village (if you can call it that) is still very under-developed. There's no roads or even pathways and the only electricity is powered from a generator which runs at limited times throughout the day. Needless to say the bungalows and guest rooms are very basic but what more do you need when they back onto the most heavenly beaches in South East Asia? The crystal clear water on your doorstep more than makes up for the lack of running water inside. 

The atmosphere on the island is one of pure relaxation. There's little to do but enjoy your surroundings and whilst we soaked up the sun in our bikinis, locals prefer to wander around in matching set pyjamas - something which we found hilarious but heart warming. I suppose they find it funny that we ever bother to get all dressed up. 

Another thing that surprised me was their incredibly trusting nature. There's very little money circulating on the island and so on numerous occasions we went to pay for something but couldn't because they didn't have the correct change to give us in return. Instead they'd scribble down a makeshift IOU and trust that we'd come back to settle it at a later date. It was comforting to realise that these people don't even know the meaning of dishonesty, let alone have it in them to exercise it. 

Koh Rong is so perfect that we could easily have spent weeks here just lapping up the beautiful view. In fact part of me was actually glad that we'd already booked and paid for our bus to Siem Reap or we may just never have left!