The Best of Cambodia & Laos

162
SOUTHERN CAMBODIA
8
SIHANOUKVILLE
Incident” in 1975 when American marines battled the Khmer Rouge to regain control
of a captured ship and its crew—the last American fight of the Indochina wars in which
the U.S. Marine Corps suffered high casualties.
The Dive Shop (road to Serendipity Beach near the Golden Lions; & 012/161-5517;
www.diveshopcambodia.com) is a PADI Dive Center offering courses on Introductory
Discover Scuba, PADI Open Water, Advanced Open Water, and Rescue and Dive Master.
Other options include fun dives, overnight trips, and custom tours.
EcoSea Dive (225 Ekareach near Ochheuteal Beach and the Golden Lions; & 012/
654-104; www.ecoseadive.com) is a dive center offering authorized PADI and SSI Dive
Courses. EcoSea provides daily fun dives and $10 snorkeling on their custom dive boat.
They also have beachside accommodations for divers and snorkelers on Koh Rung
Samloem.
Scuba Nation PADI 5 Star Dive Center (Mohachai Guesthouse on Serendipity
Beach Rd.; & 012/604-680; www.divecambodia.com) is Cambodia’s first PADI five-star
National Geographic Dive Center, offering daily trips and live-aboards to the islands,
plus PADI dive courses in English and other languages. All dives include food, PADI
diver insurance, and the only custom-made dive boats in Cambodia.
Fishing & Boat Trips
There are lots of angling opportunities in the waters around Sihanoukville. The best
fishing is in the dry season when the weather is fair. A variety of game species swim in
the local waters, including the much-prized barracuda. If you want to take a day trip, you
can get a tourist boat right off of the beach, or you can arrange it through your guesthouse
or a tour operator. Prices start at $6 to $10. The standard tour will take you to one
to three islands for snorkeling, swimming, and lunch. The Fisherman’s Den Sports Bar
(downtown, alongside the Star Mart; & 034/933-997) offers fishing and other kinds of
boat trips on a 16m (54-ft.) Western-style fishing boat with shower, toilet, wet bar, and
all necessary equipment. The skipper is a very experienced professional fisherman from
New Zealand.
Ream National Park
Sihanouk National Park is more commonly called Ream National Park, for the district
in which it is located. It was established in 1993. It encompasses a large portion of the
coastal area, including sandy beaches, mangrove forests, the Prek Tuk Sap Estuary, offshore
coral reefs, and two islands (Koh Thmei and Koh Seh). It is also the habitat of
elusive creatures such as macaques, sun bears, dolphins, mouse deer, pangolin, and over
a hundred species of birds; and some say that it is also home to a tiger although there are
no proven sightings. Guesthouses and tour operators in Sihanoukville offer a number of
different tours of the park including jungle trekking and riverboat trips along the Prek
Tuk River through the jungle and mangroves and on to the sea. The river trip is the most
popular tour and is also the most likely to yield sightings of wildlife. Most tours are less
than a half-day. The nearby Kbal Chhay waterfalls are spectacular and refreshing in wet
season, although in dry season they virtually cease to exist. It is a good place for a picnic.
Tours may be arranged through a tour operator directly through the Park at the Park
Office (located 23km/20 miles north of Sihanoukville, 500m/1,640 ft. off Rte. 4 on
Airport Rd., opposite the entrance to the airport; & 012/875-096 or 215-759). The
park office is open daily from 7am to 5pm.