Beaches of Southeast Cambodia - Part I

Hello all! We are nearing the end of our stay in Cambodia and will be trying to post more pictures of the various places that we have visited and more activities at the hospital. We have much still to document so we will do the best that we can, maybe finishing after we get back to the states.

So, we are going to report on the beaches that we have visited and a little on the wildlife that we captured in pictures. We have covered several beach areas in southeast Cambodia (see map below). The first beach area that we visited is at the Ream National Park near Sihanoukville – see http://www.sihanoukville-cambodia.com/about-sihanoukville/ream.html for more information. 

The park encompasses 21,000 hectares of coastal area including sandy beaches, mangrove forests, the Prek Tuk Sap estuary, off-shore coral reefs and two islands (Koh Thmei and Koh Ses). Macaques, sun bear, dolphins, and over 155 species of birds and other animals may be seen in the park. We saw cranes and several birds of prey including what we thought were some type of eagle (Cambodia is home to several species). The park is marked on the map on the bottom left (map from National Geographic Society).

Here is the entrance to our guesthouse in Ream.

Here is pool shark Michelle playing our friend Amy (a SKMH volunteer from Romania). Frequent power outages made playing interesting. The owner of the guesthouse finally ran his generator to keep the power up.

Here we are at the pavilion that extends into the Gulf of Thailand behind the Ream Beach guesthouse. The rooms were tiny but cozy. There wasn’t any hot water or A/C, but our room faced the beach and with the wall fan running was comfortable (it is the center one, bottom floor). We also met the giant house gecko that was over a foot long that scared Tod out of his shoes when they met face-to-face in our room. We didn’t have the camera at the ready. Michelle stayed in the bathroom while Tod chased it out of the room.

Here is the view from our pavilion looking west towards the park entrance. This is a “postcard” picture. This beach area was one of the most clean and beautiful that we have seen while in Cambodia.

What a handsome bunch! Tod, Bob and Amy. Tod is obviously the second-tallest person in Cambodia… 

Here are two love birds in the little beach area behind the guesthouse.

This is one of our favorite pictures (that Michelle shot) of the spiny sea urchins that attached themselves to the pavilion support structure. When we swam we had to be sure to stay away from the dock and pavilion supports because YOU DON’T WANT TO GET CLOSE TO THESE CREATURES! You can see how beautiful and clear the water is and easily see the schools of small fish swimming around the urchins.

Amy making a friend at the ranger station. The poor little guy was tied up on this rock pile.

Here we are going up the Prek Tuk Sap estuary (also known as the Salt River we were told because of its brackish nature). Michelle takes great pictures.

One example of the beautiful scenery we saw the entire trip from Ream to the coast down the river.

Here is the beach where we landed in the boat. It was covered in shells everywhere as we walked it – very lovely.

Here was a surprise part of the trip where we had to hike through part of the forest to get to a new location where the boat was docked. Michelle had tweaked an ankle just a few days before, so she had a tough time, and it was very hot and humid. Tod kept a watch out for snakes and rabid bovines (well not really). But we made it without incident over several kilometers.

Next up: Sihanoukville and Kep…