Why you need to visit the Cambodian islands right now
The Cambodian Islands are changing, fast!
Here's why you need to drop everything and visit this paradise now, before it's too late!
Ever travelled to a tropical island and wondered what it was like to visit say, 20 years ago?
How would it have looked without the hordes of tourists, the high rise developments, the glitzy bars, the McDonalds or KFC, the free wi-fi signs on every corner and the beach which no longer resembles a beach?
Sigh. What amazing tropical daydreams they would have been.
Psst; we’ll let you on a secret.
Though they’re a rare breed these days, islands completely unaffected by mass tourism do still exist.
Yep, islands that resemble the ones you’ve been dreaming about; so beautiful, so pristine and so utterly perfect that your jaw will drop in awe when you witness them for the first time.
Where are they, you ask? These islands are situated off the coast Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. But - and we don’t want to ruin your day here guys - the sad news is that you need to visit quickly as some of what's here today on the tourism landscape will be gone tomorrow.
The Cambodian islands have been discovered, not just by backpackers, but by global development companies and their time is limited before things change, for the absolute worst.
WHY YOU NEED TO VISIT THE CAMBODIAN ISLANDS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
We recently visited Koh Ta Kiev, a small undeveloped island off the coast of Sihanoukville, for 10 days of Island life.
Our motivation was simple; get away from it all. You see, Koh Ta Kiev, along with many Cambodian islands, has no electricity, no phone reception and no mod cons; nothing at all really.
We arrived by boat from Sihanoukville (here’s a great guide on where to stay in Sihanoukville), instantly enchanted by this beacon of awesomeness just 30mins from the hustle and bustle party vibe of that stretch of mainland.
Siren-like calls of cicadas summoned us through the dense jungle to our treehouse bungalow, and after settling in we headed straight for a swim in the turquoise waters of the aptly named ‘Long Beach’ (it’s the longest on the Island). Had we entered the real life version of Alex Garland’s acclaimed “The Beach”? It seemed so.
Our routine each day was simple; wake up with sunrise, swim, eat, read, relax, nap, go for another swim and join the small group of other travellers for dinner each night. Everyone we met seemed to live by a similar beat. The island motto was to do less each day than we did on the previous, and we lived by it religiously.
One day, fearing we’d become human sloths, we decided to explore the island, hiking through the jungle to the beaches on the south eastside. Ten minutes into our hike we came across a massive clearing in the jungle straight through the heart of the island.
We couldn’t believe our eyes. Who would do this to our island home? And why?
Upon returning to our accommodation, we sought out the owner of Ten103 Bungalows, Joel who’s lived on Koh Ta Kiev for 8 years now, and asked him what the hell was going on.
His simple reply stung, “it’s the French, the Chinese and the Russians, they’ve bought them all”. We couldn’t help but stew on this fact; had they really bought all the islands in Cambodia? And what would this mean for places as perfect as Koh Ta Kiev?
The more questions we asked the more we didn’t like what we heard. It turns out that Koh Ta Kiev has been purchased on 99-year leases by French, Chinese and Russian companies who are planning to build a bridge to the mainland and develop the island into a resort. Not just any resort, but one complete with golf courses, casinos and condos. Devastating.
We wondered if this was the case on all the Islands, such as Koh Rong, Koh Rong Samloem, Koh Russei and others.
Sure enough, it is. In 2008, the Cambodian Government realised what assets they had in their midst, and decided to divide up their pristine coastline to local and foreign investors - granting these 99 year leases like they were going out of fashion.
cambodia inspiration | 30 photos that will make you want to visit
Corporations like Cambodia’s own Royal Group cashed in and purchased large land concessions. Their 20 year plan for the largest (and some say most beautiful) of the islands, Koh Rong have already been drawn up and groundbreaking commenced in late 2015.
Once completed, the island will resemble Thailand’s Ko Samui, a former pristine island arguably ruined by large-scale development. Airport, golf courses, casinos, Condo’s, bars; you name it, they’ll have it.
One only needs to look at the mainland ‘resorts’ of Sihanoukville, or the islands of Koh Puos to understand that this change and development is not cool.
Dubbed the “Indochina Riviera”; the islands are just an hour flight from Singapore and close to mainland China - their number 1 asset, in the eyes of developers.
Package tourists will be able to fly in and out with ease and the development will cater almost exclusively for the nouveau riche of Asia.
thou shalt relax! our cambodia island commandments
As hard as it is to admit, it does kind of make sense for these pieces of paradise to be developed; tourism dollars contribute over 28% of Cambodia’s annual GDP currently and if Cambodia is to build economic prosperity to similar to neighbouring countries Thailand and Vietnam, tourism is an obvious sector for growth.
Indeed, in 2015 the Sihanoukville/ Kampot area saw a 15% increase in tourist arrivals.
And just as we’re probably guilty of impacting the islands ourselves while we follow an ever-trodden path to find paradise, who are we to begrudge developing nations like Cambodia the opportunity economic prosperity?
It’s just a real shame that the major loser here is the laidback atmosphere and lush surroundings of the islands as they are now.
After watching the sunset over from our quiet, secluded paradise Koh Ta Kiev, we made our way into the pristine waters of long beach to watch the nightly magic of the bioluminescent plankton. We stopped, looked back at the thick jungle and pondered how different the skyline of our island home would look like in 20 years time.
It’s pretty simple guys; if you want to enjoy these islands in their current pristine state - the state which made our jaws drop when arriving on Koh Ta Kiev - you have no choice but to get here.
Now.
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ACCOMMODATION IN CAMBODIA
Accommodation to suit any budget can be found in Cambodia, from luxury hotels right through to dorms in budget backpackers.
HOTELS
We recommend using Booking.com to find the best deal on your Cambodia hotel accommodation
HOSTELS
Cambodia is a firm favourite on the backpacker trail through south east Asia, and for that reason, great hostel accommodation can be found throughout the country.
BOOK | Check Hostelworld for available hostels in Cambodia now
AIRBNB
Airbnb is definitely growing in popularity in Cambodia, so we’d recommend checking them out for any hidden gems.
BOOK | Use our Airbnb code to get £25 off your next booking!
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TRAVEL INSURANCE
Whatever you do, don’t travel through Cambodia without travel insurance.
Whether it be a sprained ankle hiking in the jungles (or worse), stomach issues (we had many in Cambodia!), theft, or lost baggage, things can go wrong in Cambodia, and insurance is your only way of mitigating the issues!
BUY | Click here to get the best travel insurance deals with World Nomads
READ | Our ultimate guide to travel insurance
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CAMBODIA BACKPACKING ESSENTIALS
Travelling through Cambodia comes with a unique set of needs.
To help you have a comfortable, happy journey, we recommend bringing the following items with you:
Reusable water bottle | THE BEST INVESTMENT WE’VE EVER MADE! We use the Grayl water purification bottles, which allows us to fill up from any water source, anywhere in the world (including train taps!).
Biodegradable Wet Wipes | Keep clean without destroying the planet!
Hand sanitiser | not something we’d actually recommend normally, but in Cambodia it can be a bloody great investment.
A spork | to cut down on unnecessary plastic usage at meal times
Power bank | power does drop out… often! Don’t get caught out without power for your devices buy purchasing this power bank
READ | check out our eco-friendly packing guide to travel through Cambodia consciously and comfortably
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TRAVEL BETTER WITH THESE ESSENTIAL POSTS
KILLING FIELDS AND S21 | Our guide to the sombre Killing Fields and S21 museum
CHI PHAT ECO-TOURISM | Visiting Chi Phat, Cambodia’s incredible eco-tourism project
PHNOM PENH | A quickguide to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh
AIRBNB GUIDE | Our essential guide to getting the best out of Airbnb
TRAVEL INSURANCE | Don’t leave home without travel insurance (seriously, don’t!). Click here to get the best deals with World Nomads, our trusted travel insurance provider
PHOTOGRAPHY | Love our photography? Wondering what gear we use to get all of our photos around the world?
Click here to view our detailed photography gear guide, as well as our top travel photography tips!
RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL | Responsible travel is important. REALLY IMPORTANT.
Learn our top responsible travel tips to help you, your family and friends travel more consciously around the globe
ECO FRIENDLY PACKING ESSENTIALS | Don’t leave home without our favourite eco-friendly travel essentials
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This post originally appeared on the Geckos Tales blog.
