New Year's on a Primitive Island...Not Quite Times Square.

30 December 2014 - 3 January 2015

During this trip I have been making hotel reservations one or two days before we get there.  This is mostly due to the fact that we usually don't know where we are going next, plus, it keep us flexible to stay longer at one place if we like it.  This strategy has been working out fine until now, around New Year's Eve.

We decided to go to Sihanoukville, a beach town, but accommodations are now hard to find.  During the web search I came across a new resort that recently opened and still has beds available.  Yes...I said beds...not rooms.  This place has a two-story bamboo structure with 6 bunkbeds on the ground floor and 4 queen-size beds on the top floor.  A queen--size bed costs $10 and is equipped with a mosquito net.  Oh...did I mention that this resort is located on primitive island, a 1.5 hour boat ride from Sihanoukville, and has power only between 6:00 - 10:00 PM.

We decided to think about it for a day before booking the bed.  Meanwhile I had a thought that if we are going towards the Gulf of Thailand then maybe there is a live-aboard boat we can get on for a couple of days and one night.  After a web search I found a 2-day, 1-night snorkeling trip that leaves out of Sihanoukville on 4 January...perfect.

Now we just have to book 1 night in Sihanoukville , then the bed for 3 nights, followed by 1 night in Sihanoukville, then board the boat for 1 night, then finally one more night in Sihanoukville before heading into northern Cambodia towards the Laos border.  WOW...this is the most advanced planning I have done so far.

So, the morning of 30 December we board a minivan from Kep to Sihanoukville for the 4-hour journey.  Oh...I forgot to mention...while hanging out at the pool at Le Kep Bungalows we talked with a guy from Australia (Andrew) and mentioned our plan on going to the primitive island in Sihanoukville.  He said it sounded great and decided to join us.  We got to Sihanoukville around 2:00 PM and checked into Sihanoukville room for $45 USD.  The room was far from worth the money, but when we walk down to the private beach, we now knew what we were paying for: 

Our sun bed for the day.

Sunset over the Gulf of Thailand from our sub bed.

The next morning, New Years Eve, we made our way to Otres Beach, just over 3 miles away, to catch the boat to the island Koh Ta Kiev.  At 11:30 AM we board the "Green Fairy" and made it to The Last Point Resort by 1:00 PM.

Aboard the "Green Fairy"

Pulling up to Last Point Resort, Koh Ta Kiev

By 4:00 PM, after a swim, I was living the island life:

At 9:00 PM New Years Eve a bonfire was built on the beach, by 10:00 PM both Tim and I gave up and went to bed...you know we are getting old when we can't hang till midnight!  However, we did promise that we would be awake for New Years in the US at noon tomorrow.  Even though we went to sleep, we were woken by pretty good fireworks at midnight.

The next day we ate, drank beer, swam in the Gulf, and did more hammock swinging and then walked the 5 minutes to "Naked Beach" to watch the sunset....and what a sunset!

When the sun went down is where it really got incredible:

The next day's sunrise, as viewed from our bed, was just as spectacular:

How do we view a sunrise from our bed?  Well...here is our bed (the one on the right with the pink netting):

And where it is located...top right corner facing east:

Notice the steep steps that had to be negotiated at night to use the bathroom.

The next day, 2 January 2015, we wondered to the other side of the island where there is a few more resorts along with a absinthe distillary.  Here we sampled the forbidden drink with extreme levels of thujone levels.  Thujone is what gives absinthe its supposed hallucinogenic properties and is illegal in the U.S.  Although Tim had a double shot of absinthe...we were supposed to share, but I couldn't drink the stuff...he said he didn't feel (or hallucinate) anything.  Maybe you have to drink the whole bottle?

The ritual for preparing absinthe before drinking.

Tim waiting for the hallucinations to begin...they never did.

The next day we woke up, had breakfast, and boarded the boat back to the mainland.  For a place that took us 2 days to book because we weren't sure, it sure was hard to leave.  However, knowing that we would be boarding a boat the next day for a 2-day, 1-night snorkeling trip made leaving much easier.

By the way...here are some more pictures of Last Point Resort:

Bathroom and shower (the one with the blue barrel on top) huts.

Local residence. Not pictured are the dogs, chickens, and roosters that also run around the property.

Restaurant / Bar

Last view as we pull away.