View from my first guesthouse in Otres beach - Everythang.

To finish off this segment of my travels, I wanted a beach. I needed a beach to relax and to contemplate and to do nothing.

So from Siem Reap I fled south to Sihanoukville and spent my time on Otres beach (TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet), about 5 km south of town. I chose Otres for its reputation of being extremely chilled and avoiding most of the relentless partying that Sihanoukville-proper is apparently known for.

Otres is still a backpacker beach. There are early signs that this is changing with new development (“Russians” one Norwegian backpacker noted solemnly at a swanky new bar that looked as if it were ripped out of a W Hotel and placed on the beach.) Yet for now the hostels are full of people paying $5 a night for a dorm bed with no reply to the question “when are you leaving?” Lots of them are there for weeks or months.

There are no big attractions to check off. Just miles of the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen, sun, warmth and time. The perfect combination to brew a solvent to make days simply melt away.

Should you need some extra help relaxing or getting going, you can easily find chemical aids. Like Siem Reap before it, Sihanoukville showed how much more tolerant of drugs Cambodia is than either Thailand or Indonesia. What would be a clandestine furtive ‘be cool’ toke in Bangkok is a completely open college-dorm-like clear-the-tables joint construction project followed by relaxed puffing on jumbo-sized spliffs at my Otres beach hostel. Wake’n’bake was common and as public as ordering coffee. Absinthe tours are a big draw; there are unregulated distilleries on various islands. My locker came equipped with a small packet of mysterious powder left by a previous guest.

It’s easy to see why young backpackers get stuck here. It was just about perfect for me to commune for one last spacious week with the hot tropical sun and the turquoise waters.

Tour Boats at Otres Beach
View of the tour boats from Otres Beach

View of the tour boats from Otres Beach

Otres Beach
View from the top of Blame Canada at Otres Beach

View from the top of Blame Canada at Otres Beach