Cambodia: idyllic island retreats, bustling markets and tranquil temples

[geovalin]

If Robinson Crusoe had decided to build a luxury resort, it might well have looked like Song Saa. Situated on a four-hectare island off the southwest coast of Cambodia, it is an extraordinary little corner of paradise. Arriving by speedboat, after a 40-minute journey from Sihanoukville on the mainland, your first view is of a row of silvery driftwood villas. Perched on stilts above the water, they look authentically native, but are kitted out with all mod cons, not to mention private plunge pools and four-poster beds with high-thread-count linen. The resort also offers jungle villas with their own rainforest garden at the back and views over the bay out front. Standing under a shell-encrusted outdoor shower, you can watch the wooden fishing boats chugging by and imagine you are living in your very own luxe treehouse.

Each morning guests wake up to find a message rolled up in twine, rather than in a bottle, tied to the front door, with suggestions for the day ahead. An early morning yoga session perhaps, followed by kayaking among the mangrove swamps of Koh Rong, or a tour of the local village and an introduction to the Song Saa Foundation’s conservation programme, which was set up by Song Saa owners Rory and Melita Hunter to protect the local marine environment. Lunch might be barracuda sashimi or red curried crab by the pool, before a massage in the spa or snorkelling along the coral reef — although brushing past ctenophora jellyfish (which are harmless but slimy) might put some people off.

A Song Saa villa

Tempting as it is to wallow in this luxury, Cambodia has so much to offer it’s worth travelling around. The bustling capital Phnom Penh is a must. Any trip should include a visit to the Killing Fields memorial at Choeung Ek on the outskirts. The legacy of Pol Pot’s genocide lingers — it’s rare to see a middle-aged (let alone old) person in Cambodia — yet there’s a palpable new energy and sense of optimism among the population. The young tour guides — some local students — are full of enthusiasm for their hometown. After being collected from your hotel, you ride in your own pedal-powered palanquin around the city, ending at the huge Central Market. Built in 1937 and restored five years ago, this is where the textile and fake-gemstone sellers compete for your dollars, next to stalls piled high with crunchy, protein-rich insects, seafood and exotic fruit. People are crammed cheek by jowl at counters, eating bowls of traditional noodle soup. The scent of fish, spices, lemongrass and coconut, of hot and sour and sweet, all mingle together.

From Phnom Penh you can fly to Siem Reap, 320km north of the capital, to see some of the great temples of the Angkorian civilisation. Help in planning your itinerary and navigating the crowds is essential, so do invest in a copy of Andrew Booth’s The Angkor Guidebook. To see the celebrated Angkor Wat bathed in moonlight with almost no one else around is well worth the 4.30am start.

Equally rewarding is the forest temple of Beng Mealea, an hour’s drive from Siem Reap, where the only sounds you hear are the mynah birds, high up in the spung trees. The ancient walls, which date back to the 12th century, are covered by strangler fig trees and you can clamber over tumbledown stone slabs, some half-buried, their carved details worn not quite smooth by almost a century of neglect. Another highlight is the small 10th-century temple at Banteay Srei, where flowers and mythical creatures are carved into almost every inch of the rose-gold sandstone structure.

You could spend weeks temple-hopping, but there’s much else to enjoy, too. A sunset gondola ride across the enormous moat that encloses the ruined temple at Ta Prohm is magical; a helicopter trip offering aerial views of Angkor allows you to observe the original city layout and its modern irrigation system; you can ride bicycles through paddy fields and temple ruins; or visit the deeply affecting Landmine Museum. The food — be it hot pancakes at a market stall or the most delicate fish amok at the countryside Villa Chandara — is consistently fresh and moreish. There’s no shortage of luxury hotels in Siem Reap, from the sleek but cosy boutique Shinta Mani (which has the most courteous staff ever) to the Amansara (set in a magnificent 1960s building, once occupied by King Norodom Sihanouk). Wherever you stay, a pool for a cooling lunchtime dip is essential; Cambodia is a hot destination in every sense.

Katie Law is enchanted by Cambodia

read more http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/cambodia-idyllic-island-retreats-bustling-markets-and-tranquil-temples-a3220001.html

[phuketrichard]

nice ad

but this is BULL

....it’s rare to see a middle-aged (let alone old) person in Cambodia —

[laolover88]

You might have added 40,000 baht a night and Up?!