Koh Rong’s Long Beach: One of the best beaches I have visited

New York times puts it in the ‘Top 5 Beaches in the world’ list. I do not hesitate to say that it is one of the top beaches that I have been to. It has a long beach stretch, lovely waters safe for swimming, it is remote and hence very few people turn up here and it is in absolute pristine condition. This beach is the Long Beach of Koh Rong Island in South Cambodia.


This beach is so long that even if there are 150 people (which is generally a high number for this beach), you have enough beach area to ensure that the other people look like small dots in your vision. The hard beach floor, but soft on the foot, ensures that walking on it barefoot is like walking in heaven. The white sands are very pleasing to the eye and the shallow turquoise waters are perfect for swimming and floating. If you like to get a tan while reading your favorite book and not be bothered by anyone, then this is the place you have to be at. Since no local lives on this side of the island, there is no tourist infrastructure here and that means that you cannot get anything to eat or drink. Hence, if you do plan to spend the day here, it is advisable to carry enough water and food to survive the day. It would also be a good idea to carry a with you.


To reach the long beach, there are 2 options. One, you can do the 45 minute slightly adventurous hike from the bungalows on Koh Rong Island. This hike crosses tropical forests and then follows a steep decline that leads into the beach. The second option is to take the boat from the Koh Rong boat jetty to the Long Beach. A typical charge per person for such a trip is USD 4. Since the long beach waters are pretty shallow, the boat will drop anchor quite far away and you will have to wade through waist deep water to reach the beach.


Since the beach is a west facing beach, one of its best views is during sunset. Try not to miss it. The Long  beach here, like most of the beaches on Koh Rong Island is notorious for its sand flies, whose bites can be very irritating. Ensure that you spray yourself liberally with insect repellant that has a high DEET percentage. This is one place you should not miss on your next holiday to Cambodia. More so if you like tropical beach holidays.

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Beware of the Sand Flies of Koh Rong

Sand Flies!! What are they? I knew nothing about them before I entered Cambodia. Now and unfortunately after getting bitten by them, I seem to know quite a bit about them. I think it would be better if other tourists become aware of them before they head to the beaches of Cambodia.

The sand flies are found on the pristine and more secluded beaches of Cambodia and can be seen in huge numbers at the Otres Beach in Sihanoukville and most of the beaches on Koh Rong and Koh Kong. These sand flies are very small white creatures that suck blood from us just like a mosquito and the beauty is that no one notices them when they bite you. You become aware of the bites when you wake up to a bad itch the next morning. The best way to not get bitten is by spraying yourself liberally (head to toe) with the highest DEET insect repellant. In most of the cases this works.

If you do get bitten, don’t scratch for whatever reason. It will only infect the wounds. The sand flies of Cambodia carry a lot of toxins and release it into our body while biting. While for many people, the sand fly bites remain as itchy sores, for some unlucky ones like me, the body develops a reaction to it and the wound swells and becomes red. If you have this, then you need to visit a doctor, get yourself inspected. In all probability, the doctor will clean your wounds, give you a dose of anti-histamines, a course of antibiotics and an ointment to dry your wounds quickly.

The sand fly bites stay longer than a mosquito bite. If you are lucky, it will stay only for a week. If not, 10 to 15 days. According to wikipedia, only the female sand flies bite you as they need our blood to synthesize their eggs.

Keep in mind that the beaches of Koh Rong and Koh Kong have some of the best and cleanest beaches in the world. Hence, the sand fly should not stop you from going there. You should just stay prepared. Spray yourself nicely with insect repellant and enjoy the tropical sun on these beautiful islands of Koh Rong, Koh Rong Samolem and Koh Kong.

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Ko Lanta: Of less tourists, beauty and a true tropical island atmosphere

If you are arrive at Ko Lanta after visiting the other islands in Thailand, you will immediately notice the relatively lesser number of tourists here in spite of it being a fairly big island. And the other thing you will notice is that all the locals here are followers of Islam and even look different from the rest of Thailand.


Ko Lanta is a island that is located in the Krabi province of Thailand and has a deep south influence owing to its proximity to Malaysia.And since it gets lesser number of tourists and is part of a national park, much of it is left untouched and still retains all the natural beauty of a tropical island.


People who come to Ko Lanta more often than not end up extending their trip. Such is the easy chilled-out life here. Personally, my initial plans were to stay here for 3 days, but I ended up staying 10 days and felt like I could stay more.


The best attribute about this island is that most of the people speak better English than the rest of Thailand and this is because they have a good English based education system that they use to teach their kids.


The island used to be totally untouched in the past, but developments have been taking place quite rapidly, though not as bad as the rest of Thailand. All the basic necessities are there, like good food, ATMs, hospital, clinic, Wi-Fi, continuous electricity, good roads and more. But, in spite of this development, one can easily find their space and get lost in it.


In terms of natural beauty, the entire west coast of the island is blessed with sandy and rocky beaches. The southern part of the island like Ban Kantiang Bay, Bamboo Bay and Waterfall Bay have better beaches. There is a natural park right at the end of the island where one can see the iconic lighthouse and the true tropical evergreen forests of the island.


On the eastern side of the island, the local islanders live and hence one can see a lot of rubber plantations and that is their main bread winner along with fishing. From the east coast one can also see the other islands that make up the Lanta archipelago. There are two to three view points that offer the visitor stunning views of these eastern islands.


There are many caves on the island that can be explored along with some tropical treks. Elephant trekking is also popular on the island. The waters off the island and near sites such as Koh Haa and Hin Dang and Hin Mueang are world class diving sites and have great corals. There are many places around the island for snorkeling too. Cave diving is also very possible from the island.


In terms of island structure, the northern end of Lanta Yai is Ban Saladan. This is where the pier, most of the dive shops and the best restaurants on the island are. The place is cheaper when compared to the south side of the island. Long Beach to the south of Ban Saladan is popular for its nightlife. Popular joints are Korner bar, Galaxy bar and Opium. Khlong Khong is a favorite with backpackers owing to its low cost structure and simple bamboo hut accommodation.


Ban Kantiang Bay, Waterfall bay and Bamboo bay on the southern side of the island are more pricey, but very beautiful. It is for those folks who like a luxury beach holiday. The national park is to the southern most end and one can stay here in some basic forest bungalows, but people mainly visit the national park on day trips. The eastern side of the island also has some basic accommodation and restaurants. This is preferred by people who want to understand the local culture and do not want to see another tourist.


Lanta Nai to the north is full of mangroves and forests and no tourist infrastructure is there, though tourists can explore the place on day trips. In terms of access, Ko Lanta is connected by boat from Krabi, Ko Phi Phi, Ko Lipe and Phuket and the mainland is also pretty close by if you want to go up north or south towards Malaysia.


I would definitely recommend spending your beach holiday at Ko Lanta. So many attributes of a tropical island still remain alive in it and its best attributes are its kind people and simply chilled out lifestyle. You will like it as it has something for all ages.

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Long Beach: The Rich Side of Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

There is a rich and poor side to all places in the world. The famous tourist destination of Ko Phi Phi in Thailand is no different. If you like to spend lavishly during your vacation and are planning to head to the tropical island of Ko Phi Phi in the upper Andaman coast of Thailand, then Long beach should be on your agenda.


There are 2 things special about Long Beach. One is its long and super wide beach that makes it a great place to spend your beach holiday. Second, it offers the best properties on the island and most of them come with a special ocean view.


The other important thing this place offers is privacy. Basically, it has all the ingredients of a great beach destination and is a good 20 minute walk away from the tourists of Ko Phi Phi. The restaurants are all beach facing and offer great opportunities to enjoy a cozy sunset while sipping on some local Thai brew.


And the menu is even more elaborate here, but the price is a bit steep. But, since you would not be here in the first place if it were not for the luxury, you should not feel the pinch. Everything is well taken care of on this stretch of the beach. Resorts have battery operated cars to ferry their guests and their baggage. Bars, shopping centers, pubs, easy chairs, emerald waters and more is available for the luxury oriented tourist on the long beach.


So if you are a luxury seeking traveler and planning a beach holiday for the New Year, you know where you need to go. Long Beach on Ko Phi Phi!!

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Sunset Moment from Ban Kantiang Bay, Ko Lanta, Thailand

When you are on a tropical island, it is a given that you will see beautiful sunrises and sunsets. But, that was not the case to be for me when I was at Ko Lanta, one of Thailand’s best beach destination. The reason was simple. The 9 days that I was at Ko Lanta, the days were more or less cloudy all throughout with heavy winds. And since most of the accommodation was on the west side of the island, I had to ride 15 kilometers in the early hours of the morning and I was simply not prepared to do that.


Hence, I had to chase my sunset moments. One evening, I was at the national park located at the southern most end of the island. Here, I felt that that evening might give me an outside chance at a decent sunset. Hence, I left the national park as the sun starting setting in the horizon. When I do sunsets, I have a certain thumb rule. The best sky, colors and the glow happens about 30 minutes after the sunset, give or take a few minutes. Thus, keeping this thumb rule in mind, I kept watching the sunset and rode north towards the beaches. But, since it was cloudy, my thumb rule fell short by 10 minutes and I had to make a mad dash to the nearest Ban Kantiang bay beach and this is where I got this sunset. Personally, I like it in spite of the clouds spoiling the colors from it. What is your opinion?

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