Beer on a Boat

After one false start booking a tour to the islands around Sihanoukville, the weather cooperated and we headed off to Victory beach on a tuk tuk to meet our boat. We were the first people to arrive so while we waited for the boat to get to the dock we wandered around the beach and up and down the pier.

More people started to arrive at the dock and then we saw our boat come around the corner. Once aboard we were treated to coffee, tea, donuts and banana bread and then set off with our 21 fellow passengers to check out the rest of the ship. It had 3 decks, a sun deck on the top, a bar deck on the mid level and the kitchen with dining area on the low level. Robert, the owner, was very proud of the boat that he built and for good reason. It was very comfortable with lounging areas and relaxing seating on every floor.

Ryan and I grabbed two seats facing the back and drank our coffees as we started on our way to the first island. After we had finished our coffees and admired the view for a little while we headed to the bar and Ryan had his first draft beer on a boat ever. We toasted with the owner and hung out at the bar chatting with him until we arrived at our first destination.

The island was lush, untouched and gorgeous. Ryan and I dove into the water and enjoyed swimming around in the open ocean. Ryan originally had fins and a mask when he first jumped in but the fins were more hindrance than helpful and there was not much to see with the mask unless you went far away from the boat. Too much silt and sand had been churned up and visibility was not that great. After a very nice swim we climbed back aboard, showered off the salt water and headed back up to the bar. On our way to the next island we chatted some more with the owner and met an Australian woman who was currently working as a biologist in Vietnam.

On the way to the second island we had an amazing buffet lunch that was prepared on the boat. By the time we had finished lunch and had some fruit for dessert we had made it to our second destination. We saw Robert and his dog Lucy head into the water and swim to shore. After that a couple more people jumped in the water and headed to shore and we decided to do the same. It didn't look like that far of a swim but once we got into the water it seemed much further than we originally thought. We made it to the beach without a problem and wandered around until we saw Robert and Lucy come back from a path through the jungle. He pointed the way to us and off we went into the jungle in our bare feet.

The air was much cooler in the midst of all of the trees and the path that we walked down was covered in leaf litter and the occasional giant millipede or trail of ants. We had to make sure we didn't step on anything so we walked very carefully until the path turned sandy again. The path through the forest had lead us to the other side of the island. It was completely deserted except for a small group of wood huts. The beach was stunning but the most amazing thing was that the sand squeaked under our feet. We jumped into the water and played in the waves for a while before heading back to the path through to the other side of the island where we swam back out to the boat.

On the way back to Victory beach to catch our tuk tuk and head to the hotel, we laid out on the sun deck and relaxed while watching the water and the islands drift past us. We had such a great day that we have decided to do it again!