Upon entering Cambodia, the aim to make a quick stop in the South to see the coast took us to Sihanoukville. However, after taking a brief look around we had the impression that it did not have much to offer, being extremely touristic and driven without any authenticity. Thus, we decided to move to Otress, a laid back beach that was 20 minutes East from our location.

Otress was beautiful! It is a long, wide beach with crystal blue transparent water, and has several tastefully decorated bungalow resorts with nice restaurants, bars, and lounge seating. The Cambodian art pieces including sculptures and carpets that some restaurants decorated their terraces with gave the beach an interesting and exotic blend. There we had plenty of time for swimming, relaxing and reading in dreamy swings hanging from the trees at the beachfront. We even managed to do stand up paddle surf -hereinafter “SUP” ; )-, although it was maybe not the best day since there was a strong current and it vas fairly wavy (two little important details that the unfriendly French guy from whom we rented the boards forgot to mention, Oh lala!)

Our days in Otress were over and we decided to head further North to the capitol of Cambodia. Once there, it would become more evident than ever that the recent bloody history of the country had nothing to do with laying down at beautiful beaches.