Otres Beach 2, Sihanoukville, Cambodia

After over after over a month, it felt so good to be back on the ocean! 

I took the night bus from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, which was a bit like a coffin bed on wheels. My friend I was travelling with actually contracted salmonella during the ride and had to go to the hospital. Let's just say it wasn't the best ride...

The city itself didn't really do much for me, and I had been warned not to stay at the nearest beach to the city called Seredipity - it's just a huge party place. Much too much like Pattaya for me ;) 

I hightailed it to the farthest beach called Otres beach 2, about a half hour walk down the beach from Otres 1. I know, such creative names. 

I stayed in the dorm at Footprints, which is about a two minute walk from the white sand beach. The vibe is super chilled out, and there's even a small gym under the dorm room...which was slightly confusing when you get woken up by someone kickboxing the heck out of a swinging bag. 

Everyone would chill around and watch movies and play with the most adorable puppies of all time. So pudgy and healthy looking. There's nothing quite like snuggling with a wee puppy while watching a movie. Loves it! 

An American girl that I've been traveling with for a while, Caila, and I moved to a bungalow the second night on the beach just across from Footprints. Only $10 for a double bed. Not too shabby. 

We mostly just chilled on the beach and are good food, although we made the trek down the beach to Otres 1 one afternoon for a yoga class in a thatched hut. It started raining like crazy right as we arrived and it made for the most amazing ambiance for class. There's nothing quite like resting in shavasana with the sound of rain pelting down on a thatched roof. 

Pure bliss. 

I went to the Otres market with a couple of Canadian girls. Def not what I imagined. I've been to my fair share of night markets in south east Asia, but this one had a huge stage in the middle with food and bar stands surrounding it, all catering to a predominantly western crowd. There were German sausages, Mexican veggie wraps and desserts. A nice change from my regular fried rice ;) 

There was live music and even a fire show. The vibe was super chilled out, a great place to pass the time, lean back and listen to some solid folk music, and even dance around a bit by the end. 

Overall, I had a great time at Otres beach. It's the perfect place to just chill out, swim in the ocean, and maybe partake in some of the physical activities - from boxing to yoga - and join the nighttime festivities. 

Lok lak, my fave Khmer dish - meat medley with some veggies and a fried egg with a side of rice. Obvi.