Asia’s Newest Beach Resort Sihanoukville Cambodia
In Cambodia, Angkor Wat is the main attraction for tourism today, and rightly called the crown jewel of Southeast Asia, the ’40 square kilometers’ temple complexes are famous all over the world, but now , more people visit the rest. Cambodia and word of mouth is that the rest of Cambodia is also worth a visit. Sihanoukville Beach Resort is fast becoming a vacation destination in its own right, with many islands and parks and things to do, from hiking and exploring, scuba diving and snorkeling and boating, waterfalls, jungle hikes and relaxing. in a hammock in a quiet park on the beach reading a good book. Culturally there are the markets, local wats and schools, where many come to donate time and money to educate children.
Sihanoukville has a 5-star resort on its own kilometer-long private beach. The pool could be classified as a small lake and is almost visible from space, with a bridge to its own little island. The hotel is only 2 years old and has a staff to guest ratio of 4/1. Comparable hotel prices in Southeast Asia would be substantially higher.
If you are a budget traveler, Sihanoukville is also your place, there are many rooms available with air conditioning, hot water, refrigerator and cable TV for $ 10 – $ 20 a night and if you want a place to stay for 6 months o Also, you can get a business visa at the border on demand and stay as long as you want, it costs around $ 1 per day for visa extensions, making the city attractive to retirees and semi-people. retired.
Backpackers also like Sihanoukville with some places offering cold 50 cent high beers and cheap food starting at $ .50. Some are also finding work as bar waiters and working in restaurants. Backpacker hostels start as low as free, yes, free, all you have to do is buy one of your meals at the lodge and the food price is still cheap at $ 1.50-2.50 per plate.
The conjecture from a local savvy expat is that there are more western-owned businesses per population in Sihanoukville than anywhere else in Asia. Many are arriving and starting guesthouses and hotels, small bed and breakfast places, restaurants and bars and small resorts, with some starting to appear on the islands off the coast. Do you want to rent your own fantasy island for a week, check out Magic Island?
Logistically, everything you’ll need is here, including reliable electricity, Internet, and Western restaurants, as well as a host of specialty Asian and European meals prepared with the tastes of Western travelers in mind, including Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese, French seafood. , Italian, German and Russian. , India, Sri Lanka and more to come. There are many English schools in Sihanoukville, so you can almost always find someone who speaks English when you need them.
Money used to be a problem as you had to go into banks to get cash and with 26 holidays on the Cambodian calendar you could run out of cash for a few days now there are ATMs in Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh, Battembong and Sihanoukville. You can change almost all currencies, including yen, euros, baht, kip, dong, and sing dollars. US dollars and the Cambodian riel are the two most widely used currencies.
Sihanoukville is getting easier with cheap international flights to Bangkok and really cheap regional flights to Phnom Penh. Flights to Sihanoukville are also very close to being a reality. Regularly scheduled buses from Phnom Penh will take you to Sihanoukville in 4 hours on an excellent US-built highway. They can also arrange taxis and vans for groups of people on the move, and an established over-water route from Bangkok to Trat to the Had Lek – Klang Yai border to Sihanoukville. You can even get here via cruise ships, as more are putting Sihanoukville on their itineraries.
The Cambodian islands in the Gulf of Thailand are mostly uninhabited; You will find isolated Spartan fishing villages with populations typically less than 100 people. One island, Koh Tang, has only 7 residents and it would take most of the day to hike, so if you’re looking for that desert island to get stranded, work on your coconut carving, and ship in a bottle, skills there. There are many here to choose from, bring your own hammock and Gal Friday or they can be purchased here in Sihanoukville.
The Cambodia of the past always seemed to bring back horrifying images of the past misfortunes that the Khmer suffered at the end of the Vietnam War. Even today, the genocide in Cambodia is still in the news, as the country has its court to hopefully leave events behind.
One of the few indirect benefits of recent past history was that Cambodia missed all the heavy industrialization experienced by the other countries in the region, notably Thailand and Vietnam; which means they missed the accompanying contamination. A United Nations study of waters in Asia, which included Cambodia, found only 3 areas of concern for ocean water quality near the coast, where, like Vietnam and Thailand, they had problem locations assigned, mainly by the industrial pollution and shrimp farms. Unfortunately, this may change as oil has been found in Cambodia and exploration well drilling has begun. So now is a good time to come.
As Cambodia moves into the future, it is obvious to most that the future in Cambodia is tourism. And for the Sihanoukville seaside resort in Cambodia, misquoting the tune “the future so bright, in Sihanoukville, you’re going to need shadows.”