Apr 25 2008
Sihanoukville – Port Town and Beach Resort
There are plenty of things to do in Sihanoukville. You can go to the zoo, you can go to the Ream National Park, you can do water sports like scuba diving and snorkeling, you can go island-hopping, you can party all night in one of the frequent beach parties, you can visit Buddhist temples, you can go shopping for fresh seafood, and so much more. But for me, Sihanoukville is simply a place where I can unwind… get myself on my lazy butt, lie down on a beach cot in my bathing suit with a good book and an ice cold fresh coconut juice, my Alphasmart Neo on hand, my Honey snoring peacefully beside me, the gentle sound of the waves lullabying me, and the cool breeze refreshing me, in a long deserted beach with white sands and the sun shimmering on the sleek calm bright blue sheet of water. Hmmm… with all my issues about wearing a bathing suit (see this post and this post), I wonder why I love doing this.
(Note: You have to understand though that I am that kind of traveler – the lazy one. If I were to go to Paris, I wouldn’t climb up the Eiffel Tower. Instead, I would find a nice French al fresco cafe with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower and nurse my coffee and my bitter sweet piece of dark chocolate for a whole afternoon while people watching, writing, and reading the papers. Hmmm… I wonder when I could do that.)
Nonetheless, I will tell you what Sihanoukville is all about. First, a little history. More than fifty years ago, when the French Indochina was dissolved and its countries started gaining independence, Cambodia was deprived of a maritime port. So in 1955, the Cambodians built a new port at the province of Kompong Som at the southern coast of the country. This port town was named Sihanoukville in 1964 after King Norodom Sihanouk, the ruling king at the time. Soon enough, this town boomed into a leading beach resort for tourists and foreign expatriates who live in Phnom Penh. These foreigners (perhaps finding difficulty pronouncing the new name), lovingly called it Snookyville or simply Snooky. Here’s a view of the port:
When I go back to the Philippines in a few months (yey!), from Phnom Penh, this is where our shipment will be delivered for onward shipping to Manila. But of course, this port wasn’t built just for the sake of my household effects. 
The port is also the center for the import of petroleum and for the export of garments and shoes made in Cambodian factories and destined for the European and American markets.
I just want to note here that during the three hour drive from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, not only do we navigate the roads with cars, taxis, buses, motos, and others (see this post), but we also have to deftly try to overtake the numerous container vans (driving VERRRY slowly) all plying their route to this port town delivering their cargo from the capital of Phnom Penh.
But anyway, after peace reigned in Cambodia in 1997, this port town developed into a booming tourist beach resort with a handful of beaches set on the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Myself, I’ve been to three beaches here in Sihanoukville.
The first time we went here was in 2003 and we went to Serendipity Beach. I couldn’t give you a photo because I didn’t own a digital camera at the time but I remember that I described this beach to my family like this… like Boracay with the powdery white sands and the topless European women, but without the commercialism.
Anyway, this is the only beach in Sihanoukville where the bungalows and guest houses are right on the sand. I remember that we stayed in a guesthouse that was only worth about $8. It’s okay… if you’re the type of person who considers lodgings as just a place to sleep in and if you don’t mind the frayed towels as you spend most of the time outside anyway. Myself, I want to be happy and comfortable in my lodging place with clean fresh towels, room service, warm duvets, cable TV, etc. so I usually save up for a swankier hotel.
So the next time we went to Sihanoukville, we went to the new upscale Sokha Beach Resort, set amidst 23.5 hectares of beautifully landscaped beachfront and garden (read about it here). It has first class amenities, great restaurants (one right on the beach), its own swimming pool with a bar inside it, water sports… and the best part? It has its own 1.5 kilometer pristine white sandy beach. In a word… heaven!
How could a poor government employee like me afford this kind of luxury? Chunky corporate discounts, that’s how. But with inflation gripping the world like wild fire, even our corporate discount in Sokha is now unaffordable. So when we went back to Sihanoukville early this year, we went to Occheuteal Beach, which is probably the most popular beach there and as public as public beaches go (see this post). It offers the full spectrum of beach venues from mid-range hotels and budget guesthouses, beachfront seafood restaurants, and all-night party bars and bungalows right on the sand. With beggars and vendors pestering me every minute to buy everything from t-shirts and seashells to pedicures and islands, and the rubbish all around and the smell of cow manure behind me, I was quite miserable there. And don’t even get me started with the cardboard tasting breakfast and our stuffy room full of mosquitoes. The only thing I loved were the beach front bars and restaurants which offered fresh from the ocean seafood.
So when we went to Sihanoukville for the Khmer New Year, we didn’t go to Occheuteal. But we did drive through it as it is a favorite place among locals on weekends and holidays. As Khmer New Year is one of the most popular holidays of the year, the locals were here in droves. You can see how they came here in this post. Anyway, we took photos of the parking lots behind the beach where they were eating their lunch in any available space they could find. We also heard from some people that because of the masses of people in Occheuteal during the Khmer New Year, the beach became quite dirty, even turning the water brown (don’t know if this is true).
So it was a good thing that we didn’t stay in Occheuteal during the Khmer New Year. Instead, we stayed in a hotel as swanky as Sokha, also with its own private beach, but at a much cheaper price (almost half) – the Independence Hotel. You can see the Independence Beach here and part of the hotel – the white building on the top of the mountain, and its beachfront restaurant..
Aaaaah…. that’s more like it. Next… the Independence Hotel and the Independence Beach.
Technorati tags: Cambodia
Cambodian countryside
Khmer New Year
Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville port
beach
Occheuteal beach
beach
Sokha beach
- Cambodia’s Beach Get-Away
- Independence Hotel in Sihanoukville – Where Jacqueline Kennedy Stayed
- Back to Sihanoukville
- On the Road to Sihanoukville for the Khmer New Year
- On Wearing a Bathing Suit
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cambodian beaches, eh? i love secluded beaches…yung ako lang tao…i will visit one in a few days time
Sayang, the two times I went to visit you in Cambodia, I was not able to visit a beach.
Great writeup on this beautiful resort. Thanks for sharing this information!
backpacking philippines, yes, Cambodia is not only Angkor Wat and other temples. They have great beaches too.
Hey, have fun in your Blue Lagoon. 
Mommy, maybe you and Dad can come back.
Thanks Panaderos!
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I have quite some issues with beaches…. first my white skin doesn’t allow me to stay more than 5 minutes out of the shade. Secondly I am restless… after five minutes (30 minutes if there are beautiful girls) I am bored to death… I need to move on…
I can appreciate the beauty of beaches but if I can do nothing (and I am a bit too old to build sand castles) I literally get crazy!
But it is good we are all different or all those beautiful hotels would need to close shop.
So pristine the beaches thereat and Snooky is quite a quaint town to look at, with that view from afar, like everything is new. These beatiful pictures completely gave me a different view of Cambodia, one that i hadn’t had before. The Cambodian government should wise up and showcase these beautiful places to people around the world and eliminate that somehow negative image or concept of Cambodia as a wartorn country in strife and struggle.
All that crowd turning the water brown?? Baka libag na natanggal yun, hehe. Anyways, that’s one reason why never liked going to public beaches. I would rather pay a premium for a stay at a private resort for some quality time and to avoid them crowds. But that’s just me…
Uy… malapit na!
The photos speak well about this place’s beauty, I didn’t read the text….
Happy sunday and have a nice week ahead!
I know what you mean when you said you are a lazy traveler.
I’ve been to Paris several times but I’ve never gone up the Eiffel Tower.
Glad you had a nice relaxing time at the beach
interesting. it looks like Cebu’s Mactan island.
“These foreigners (perhaps finding difficulty pronouncing the new name), lovingly called it Snookyville or simply Snooky” >>> its new name sounds better indeed. hahaha…
Sidney, haha… yeah, you wrote that in one of your Siquijor posts.
I don’t see you as the type who would want to be idle. You’re too much on the move taking photos. 
I don’t know how the Europeans who go sunbathing could last though. Here in Sihanoukville, they’re the ones who usually stay under the sun while we Asians would stay under the shade. I’m often worried about them that they might have heat stroke or worse, skin cancer. These hotels are new and with the Angkor temples, they’re the ones which are supposed to bring the tourists to Cambodia.
Snglguy, naku, pareho tayo. Kaya nga nag-iipon kami para dun kami sa mas magandang hotel.
Pag mag-swimming kc sila, naka-damit… kaya siguro madaming libag. 
Lapit na nga. 
Hi G_mirage! I’m not really a photographer and I only use a digicam but I try.
Daphne, yeah… climbing up the Eiffel Tower is all hyped up anyway… too touristy, right?
Dong Ho, except for these two first class hotels which are very new, Sihanoukville is really a backpackers’ destination.
I think that Mactan Island is so much more modern. Oh… and Mactan doesn’t have natural white sands. They have excellent diving sites though. 
When I see this, I can’t wait to go home ! I love traveling (with my Nautamine/Bonamine) with me or else never mind what’s next ! Wow I love the view from the Port reminds me of Taal ! I miss our beaches in the Philippines
! Buti ka pa makakauwi na hu hu hu !
haze, oh… we’re the same… I also need my Bonamine.
And I also feel sick when it gets too hot or too cold. 
Yeah… can’t wait to go home. 
Nice beach and resort ! Much had been restored in Cambodia after that infamous reign of terror and that’s good for the people who are now looking forward to a much better future.
Looks like there’s not too much crowd like Pinas which could be a drag sometimes. I love it when there’s privacy you can enjoy
what a beautiful beach. ako din, i like it better when there are less people. i go to the beach to chill out and not to people watch.
BW, yes, with Sihanoukville’s tourist boom, Cambodia is fast recovering and looking to the future with much optimism.
Oh, did you see the crowd in one of the beaches! It was totally packed! And it was quite dirty too.
It’s in the private beaches which are just perfect. And the prices are not that bad at all.
dr_clairebear, you’d love this one… it’s almost empty, yet has all the comforts and luxuries you need. Perfect for sweet blissful idleness.
ako, i want the beach to be empty, kahit walang hotel or fresh new towels, basta me tubig at masarap ang food tapos mura, go ako dyan.
staying away from crowded beaches comes with the age na rin siguro, nagsawa na rin ako sa ingay.
What a lovely beach Toe, para ngang Boracay without the commercialism
Oh, lazy traveller… that’s me alright!
Zherwin, hehe… spoiled traveler kc ako… I want my airconditioned room after burning myself under the sun and room service and cable TV and fresh towels.
Ayan ang tumatanda talaga. 
Pining, ah puede pala tayong magbiyahe magkasama. We’ll both wake up late everyday and spend time just lazing around.
Oh my the travelogue (essay and pictures) are beautiful, Toe. Does the Pnomh Penh government realize how much you’re doing for tourism? See … i might go Bangkok in June and I am wondering how much a side trip to PP would cost me.
Annamanila, hey, it wouldn’t be too expensive… you really ought to come and visit me! Seriously!
hahahah! i can empathize with you, i’m a very lazy traveller too. the hubby and i didn’t climb eiffel when we were in paris; we just did exactly what you described. hehehe. i wasn’t going to shell out euros to kill myself on those stairs.