Koh Russei

A day trip from Sihanoukville saw me ending up at Koh Russei, Bamboo Island. Koh Phi Phi it is not, with the less than pristine beaches, ramshackle beach bungalows that are an eyesore, with travellers that look like they forgot to go home - doesn't look anything like the Beach (the Leo Di Caprio show) by any means. The lack of amenities (one single beach shack, which, sadly wasn't operating) can normally be justified and outweighed easily by the sheer, breath taking beauty of such hidden, untouristed, serendipitous paradises, but sadly, this is not the case with Koh Russei. The main draw? It does offer some relaxation, but the beach was (over)crowded and it was more akin to a Vietnam War GI R&R beach than anything else.

Day trips to the island can be arranged through most guesthouses in S'ville (~8USD), if you have time to kill. Other activities include (actually are, or is) snorkelling at a few spots before stopping for lunch at Koh Russei itself. And my friend had this to say about snorkelling - She saw a fish. So we can deduce that the snorkelling most probable isn't great either. And for those who like to keep dry, (ie me), staying on the boat is relaxing, chatting with the other hydrophobes, but not a way you'd want to spend most of a morning/afternoon.

The saving grace was the really memorable picnic lunch of barracuda steak, baguette (again) and salad, the fillet of fish wrapped in aluminium foil and cooked right on the beach. Most Southeast Asian veterans who have included a stop at Russei probably remember this meal as one of the best in Southeast Asia. If nothing, a trip to Koh Russei is synonymous with the barracuda steak/burger - well apparently there is the burger variant too.

The picnic thing got to me though - felt like a whole package tour thing, you know, the everyone stick together and follow the leader, not really my, or any independent traveller's cup of tea. Give this a miss, Ream National Park, though expensive at 15 USD, is a far more rewarding trip for those who have a spare day in S'ville and are juxtaposing Ream with Russei (as most do).

I balked at the high cost, but pay peanuts, get monkeys (think NKF saga) is probably ironic here in that you actually get to see monkeys amongst other wildlife like eagles and even dolphins if you venture into the national park, also known as Preah Sihanouk National Park.