The dramatic landscape of Dartmoor National Park, Devon

This year, I spent the long Easter weekend in Dartmoor National Park in Devon. I had heard a lot about Devon from friends, so I just booked the accommodation and car, and was all set to go. I did not do any research on what to expect or do there, just trusting so many reviews I had heard about the place.

And very soon I was mind-blown by what I experienced. With no plan in mind, everything happened as it did, and it was perfect! The landscape and the feeling you get from being there is out of this world. I loved my stay there and Devon has now been added to my favourite destinations list in the UK 😊. 

My itinerary on the trip was quite simple:

Day 1: Drive to Dartmoor National Park from London; stop at Castle Drogo and walk to Fingle Gorge; stop at Lustleigh village; dinner at Warren House Inn; drive till Buckland Abbey; stay at Cider House
Day 2: Explore Buckland Abbey; 'Red' walk in the Abbey grounds; dinner in Buckland Monachorum village at Drake Manor inn
Day 3: Drive to Widecombe in the Moor (a market village); trek part of the Two Moors Way trail; dinner in Milton Coombe village, at Who Would Have Thought It inn
Day 4: Drive to Postbridge village; walk up Bellever Tor; drive back to London


Day 1: London -> Castle Drogo -> Fingle Gorge -> Lustleigh -> Warren House -> Buckland Abbey Inn -> Cider House

On the Friday morning, I left quite early from London and started the drive towards Dartmoor. I took the M4 up to Bristol and then the M5 route towards Devon, mostly driving on the motorway. Even though it should have taken me 4 hours, it actually took me about 6 hours. But the drive by itself was enjoyable, especially as soon as you leave London when it very quickly turns into the lush green and open countryside.

It was Easter weekend, so spring was just starting out and the weather was getting better but not there yet. But the plants were almost there - there was a lot of bright green on both sides as soon as I left the city. The grass was fluorescent green and the trees in all hues from light to dark green. There were also lot of yellow flowers all along the route, almost like the sarson ke khet in India 😉. And I crossed so many of those countryside views of houses built next to streams and surrounded by mountains that the long drive did not feel too boring.

The roads as expected on a long weekend were all full of cars. Everyone was driving fast, in fact above the speed limit too, at 80km/hr. Initially at least it was all moving, but as soon as I got out of the city, there were loads of traffic jams as everyone was off somewhere. It was also very difficult to drive and cruise control as the traffic was never very predictable. The weather had started out sunny but turned cold, cloudy and overcast soon after. But the interesting views outside made the drive pleasant and refreshing. 

Dartmoor views

My first stop within Dartmoor National Park was closer to the North East side entrance near Exeter, at the Castle Drogo. The drive towards the Castle was my first experience of driving in Dartmoor and how tough it could be. The road to the Castle was so narrow and there were hedges of up to 10 feet on both sides, that I had to be very very slow and careful in driving. Driving in the Park is definitely not for the faint hearted. It also made me realize that its not a good idea to drive in the Park at night, with the narrow roads and the high hedges on both sides!

The Castle was not actually an old castle, in fact it was a modern version of a castle built by a rich businessman. So I missed going inside and instead, went for a short 2 hour trek towards Finkle Gorge. The path goes down from the Castle towards Finkle Bridge, with views of the hills on the other side, all the way down to the Teign river and then comes back up to the castle through a roundabout route. It was a fun trek with pleasant views of the gorge below.

Inn on River Teign

While going down, I walked on one side of the hills, with wide-angle views of the hills across, and the river calmly flowing down below. The trees there did not have too many leaves, still dry from the winters but the grass was already very green. At the bottom of the trek, there was a picturesque inn located right next to the river where a lot of people had driven directly and were having a nice afternoon tea. It had got a bit dark too by this time, so I turned around to go back towards the Castle, taking a roundabout route.

Woods on the walk

The way back was along the river for some time, and then turned left up the mountain to come back to where my car was parked. On the way, there was an old turbine house on the right, and an old bridge to cross the river. I also walked around a very pretty house on the way, which I still remember vividly. It was an old farmhouse in white, with a thatched hay roof and a bright garden with multicoloured flowers already blooming - one of the most cost and picturesque homes I saw in the Park.

Anyways after this pleasant trek, I left the Castle around 4 and then started driving towards Buckland Abbey, which was all across the Dartmoor park. It was a long and enjoyable drive. There are loads of fascinating villages in the area, and driving through them was a pleasure.

I stopped at one of the villages, Lustleigh, but found it quite empty. It didn’t feel as fascinating as some of the other villages I had driven through, and there were too many cars parked on the road too. It looks like all the tourists leave quite early and so by the evening, there was no one left walking around! I tried to have dinner at the local pub - Cleaves but turned out it was all booked out! That was quite a big surprise for me, to have no place for dinner in this small village in the middle of nowhere 😏. But that is UK on a long weekend for you!

Sheep on the moors

The drive as I had mentioned was through such narrow paths and villages, that it required a lot of concentration all the time. And on both sides would be either wild landscape, moors or farms with sheep (with black faces!), horses and other animals. And I also for the first time (after reading in countless English classics about moors) realised what moors really are - vast and empty hills, till wherever the eye can see, with only a little bit of grass growing on them! Now the descriptions from Great Expectations and Tess of D’urbevilles make sense. Even though in spring it was all quite bright, I can imagine the moors becoming very depressing during the dark and gloomy days of winter.

Moors from the Warren House Inn

While driving towards Buckland Abbey, I drove past an inn in the middle of nowhere, on top of a hill, called the Warren House Inn. It felt so quaint, a single small building located right in the middle of the moors that I had to stop there to explore it, and maybe even have dinner 😊. And then I slowly realised it has such an old history, that it was worth stopping at. It was built in 1850s and even though it is far away from civilisation, people have been coming here regularly, even in the winters and snow time. It has so many stories about it, of the fire there burning continuously since the 1850s, of being cut off for 12 weeks due to snow, of being the loneliest inn on the moor and so on… In fact, there is even a book written about it. You can read some of its history on its website - the Warren House Inn.

After having dinner at the loneliest inn in the moors, I drove towards my bnb near Buckland Abbey - the Cider House. It was located near the town of Yelverton which is outside of the moors. It was a lovely little town too but I never got a chance to explore it.

View outside the Cider House

I reached my accommodation while it was still light. The Abbey was closed by then, and the Cider House turned out to be a lovely little old stone house located in the gardens of the Abbey. The view outside of the Abbey gardens was striking and I kept looking outside from my room for most of the evening. The hosts were very very friendly and helpful and shared a lot of details about the areas around. After the long day of driving and walks, I called it an early evening and slept off soon enough.

Day 2: Buckland Abbey -> Tea at Grange restaurant ->’Red’ walk in the Abbey grounds -> Buckland Monachorum village, Drake Manor inn

The next day, I woke up a bit late and decided not to drive back to Dartmoor but spend the day exploring the Abbey and its grounds. The weather kept shifting from warm to cold and rainy, so it was a good idea to keep it relaxed. The first thing I figured out that day was that this abbey was Buckland, and not Buckfast which I had been calling it till then 😝. The Buckfast Abbey is also located in Dartmoor but on the Eastern side of the park and was a much older and bigger Abbey.

Buckland Abbey

After figuring this out, I walked towards the Abbey which was located right next to Cider House. The Abbey and its grounds have enough to keep you occupied for some time. There were loads of people there, spending the day in and around the compound. It started out as a sunny day and the Abbey and its grounds looked captivating from the outside. It had a large estate, with a barn, a flower garden and a kitchen garden all located right next to it and open to explore. The gardens had been planted with colourful flowers which were just blooming at that time. And its grounds had many different walks within the estate.

It had a long history too - of about 800 years old. It was built by monks but then bought by Francis Drake who converted it into his home. Francis Drake belonged to the nearby Devon town of Plymouth and is a well known historical figure in English history. He rose from a local boy, sailed around the earth and defeated (and looted) many Spanish armadas to bring riches and gifts for the Queen.

Inside the Buckland Abbey kitchen

There are loads of stories and legends about him and the house had now been converted into a museum dedicated to Francis Drake and his stories from the Elizabethan age. It also includes displays of his ship and how it would have worked to take him around the world, of how a kitchen and dining room from Elizabethan times would have worked (a la Downton Abbey) and some displays of Francis Drake’s belongings. I did find the Abbey a bit overhyped, but given it was free entrance, did not mind it much.

On the Red walk

There were some cafes and restaurants within the Abbey, so I had tea at the Grange restaurant. After a quick stop there, I went for one of the walks in the grounds, the red one. It was a circular walk in the woods with stunning views of the hills across the valley, of the farms and grasslands across, sheep grazing in their closed areas and a river flowing deep in the valley below. This area was located between two rivers, the river Tavy and the river Tamar, one of which I could see on the walk. I also took one of the best photos of the trip on this walk itself.

Blooming bluebells on the walk

I did not encounter too many people on my walk, and it was very calming and peaceful to walk through the woods. I also came across some of the bluebells filled areas with the first set of flowers just blooming. When I came back, I checked online and in summer, this area gets covered with the blue flowers everywhere you see - in fact I could already imagine how amazing it would look once they all bloom fully.

More of the views from the walk

And then I walked through the Cider House gardens, coming back to Cider House and enjoying the setting sun from the living room. It felt like a totally relaxed countryside evening, living like the English do 😊.

The village of Buckland Monachorum

For dinner, I walked to the nearest village which was about 20 minutes away - Buckland Monachorum. The village was small and quite cute in itself, with its very own church and history and of course a pub (as every village in the UK does!). The church was called the St Andrews Church and dated back to the 1200s. The Church had a posting about Israel and how what was happening to them was wrong. Reading that, I realised that the world beyond the educated cities is always a very different world.

Drake Manor Inn

I then walked to the local pub, the Drake Manor Inn but the restaurant was all booked, and so I had to eat at the bar! The whole ambience was very cosy and there were lot of the local residents there already at 630 pm, eating and chatting away loudly! I had a dinner of chicken wings with onion bhaji and mango chutney! I was quite impressed by the combination, and that too finding Indian food components is a middle-of-nowhere pub like this! The food was average though, but the ambience totally fun. And funnily enough, the book I was reading at that time also included parts of Buckfast Abbey in it, what a coincidence:).

Narrow walk to Buckland Monachorum

The walk back home was through the same narrow hedged roads which are so typical of the Park. Even walking through them felt claustrophobic, I still can’t imagine how two cars would drive and cross regularly in so sparse a space. Also there was no phone signal in this area, either in the pub or the walk back. That 20 mins walk back made me feel I had come back to a different time altogether. Walking from one village to another through narrow lanes, with no phone or GPS to guide you - I am sure there would be such descriptions in countless old classics.

On the way, the sky turned into different hues of pink and red. There were many white and yellow flowers on the side grass. I also caught a view of the abbey compound in a ‘new light’, a group of grand buildings in the middle of the grounds, twinkling away. This is how it must have been 100s of years ago, right?

The view of the garden outside

While walking back to the Cider House, I also could see a far off village next to a lake with twinkling lights. I never figured out what village that was but it looked mesmerising from so far off. Back at the Cider house by 9 pm it felt early and late at same time! Early because it was just 9 pm and by city time, that was always too early to have finished dinner. But all around, the lights had shut down and everyone had gone to sleep. And so in keeping with my environs, I also called it an early night.

Day 3: Widecombe in the Moor (a market village) -> Two Moors Way trail -> Milton Coombe village, Who Would Have Thought It inn

My third day in the park turned out to be much more active and satisfying than the previous day. And I think it was also the day I fell in love with Dartmoor. There are many picturesque villages in the Park where you can go to explore them, buy wares at the local stores, eat at the local inn and go for walks around. There were loads of museums and similar activities to do around too. I however chose to go for one of the trails and be as close to nature as possible.

The prison at Princetown

After a heavy breakfast, I left for the moorland in the morning and drove to the village of Widecombe in the Moor. My neighbours at the Cider House had gone there the previous day and were raving about it, so I thought might as well go and checkout the place. The drive till there was through the moorlands, crossing villages and farms on the way. Quite close to entering the park is the town of Princetown which has a huge stone prison. A prison doesn’t sound a very happy place but if you are in prison, I don’t think there would be more picturesque places to stay!

A random stop on the way

The drive till the village had stunning vistas at every turn and you could stop anywhere and have a walk or a picnic. It is desolate bare moorland sometimes, and sometimes green. Streams somewhere and small little villages elsewhere. But very dramatic at every turn. And there were loads of wild ponies running in the wild everywhere. Its a very difficult thing to explain, the views you see and feelings you experience when being close to nature so raw and wild. And the drives in Dartmoor were as much fun as the stops themselves.

The village of Widecombe

The last stretch to Widecombe was through a very narrow road. There were so many cars on the road and I kept getting stuck in the narrow roads, with everyone trying to figure out how to get out! Once in the village, it was nice to walk around. There were a couple of stone houses, and a St Pancras church in the main area. I then walked down to the Rumblestone inn next to the river, which was about 5 mins away. It was a nice place to sit but it was too crowded with the tourists. So I walked back to the village centre and then started to walk up the trail to the Two Moors Way.

You first have to walk towards the next village and then take a detour up the hill, and keep walking till it meets the Two Moors Way which is a multi-day trail across the park. The views once up there were breathtaking - of green meadows with ponies; of deep valleys and undulating hills; of moorland dotted with houses and so all. And then the trail keeps going on all up and down the hills, from one to another and so on.

View on the Two Moors trail

There are many small landmarks on the way as you keep walking. And there were loads of people with maps who I encountered on the way too. There was a stone beacon (called Hamels Down) and then a barrow and then cross - all made of stone and standing strong on top of the hills. As I walked on, I also encountered many tors, which are dramatic stone structures built naturally on the very top of the hills. And then I reached an iron age settlement, which apparently are very common in Dartmoor. This one was called the Grimespound, and had rocks arranged in multiple wall structures all around.

Typical moorland

The whole vegetation kept changing from one to another - from green fields to nothing at all. All around you is so desolate, with just shrubs and bogs all around, with strong winds, till wherever you can see. No civilisation, just raw nature. The weather also had suddenly turned cold and overcast. It felt so alone, so dramatic, so lost! It almost became misty and desolate. Almost scary! This felt so much like the books I had read of the moors. I almost started feeling as if I had come to a different century altogether, in one of those books. And at one point it also got a bit tough to find my way. I think I was lost, even with a map in my hand! All the grass and the hills looked all the same… Thankfully there were a few other people I met and we kept on walking to find our way.

The views from the trail

Finally the Sun also came out and I started going down towards what felt like civilisation - the village of Ashworthy. And when I saw the Ashworthy Manor, it felt better at once. I soon reached the meadows with the sheep and the ponies and slowly came out from the moor world to the normal world. Once there, I started walking towards the village of Widecombe, when a lady driving on that road asked me if I wanted a lift. I took it anyways, and she was travelling with her son and daughter who had got lost on the same trail as me 😜. We shared our lost stories on the way and they finally dropped me to my car in the village parking lot.

The whole walk was about 3 hours and I totally loved it. It was a bit tough, a bit easy; a bit fun and a bit scary! While coming back it felt amazing! I think it was this moment when I realised how much I had enjoyed being in Dartmoor. I think Devon is now my second favourite place in UK, after Scotland. It's a perfect place for a weekend out, go for a few walks, cycle, enjoy the countryside and enjoy its majestic and dramatic views. I hope to come here again soon, and many more times…

After the trek, I started driving back towards Cider House and stopped on the way at the village of Postbridge as it appeared so magnetic. It was right on the road back, next to a small stream flowing peacefully with yellow flowers dotting its bank. I stopped there for a bit, deciding to come there again the next day.

Sheep on the way

The drives in the Park were all so very interesting. With spectacular views at every turn, narrow roads to maneovur and nature to enjoy. I saw a lot of people cycling rather than driving which seems fun and more adventurous. The Speed limit in the park was only 40 kmph (also called the Moor Care driving within the Park) which was quite rigorously implemented and for good measure. And there were many farms on the way too, in between the bare moors.

Even though the day had been decently sunny and warm, by 6 or so, it had got very cold and you don’t want to be out anymore! It would have been a bit better if I had gloves. The day had already been so long but still, by the time I came back to Cider House, it was still light. This time I decided to go to the village on the other side of the Abbey for dinner - Milton Combe. And the pub’s name was Who Would Have Thought It. This pub had opened very recently, was again next to the village church and was full with people chatting and catching up with their neighbours. I had a nice dinner and again went off to sleep at an early countryside hour.

Day 4: Postbridge village -> Bellever Tor -> London

On my last day in Devon, I had planned to visit the English Riviera - the villages of Torquay, Brixham, Babbacombe and Paignton - which are located on the sea in Devon and apparently worth visiting. However, I was so impressed with Dartmoor, that I wanted to spend some more time in the Park itself. I changed my itinerary and drove back into the Park to do some more trails before I leave. And since I had to drive back to London, I kept it a light day too.

This time, I drove a bit through the town of Yelverton and found it quite flat, with ponies, sheep and golfing next to streams. It was quite in contrast to its more undulating Park. It might be a good place to come and stay too. Anyways once in the Park. I randomly stopped at a place just to walk up to one of the Tors (there are loads of them everyone in the Park).

A wild Dartmoor pony

On the way there was a wild pony who started moving towards me. To be honest I would have run away from him but one of the families nearby walked towards it and started patting its neck! So even I tried the same and found it very cool, but I must say, I was very much scared of doing that. The ponies here are wild and walk around in the open, but are still quite friendly with strangers and let them pet them! I found this quite interesting and tried it even when coming back from the Tor, The walk up was nice and short. While going up, I noticed the beautiful bluebell flowers just coming out as spring was arriving. But I also realised, it gets cold and windy very quickly, the moment you are out on the Moor, away from the comfort of the car.

The Bellever trail

There were many other villages to visit in Devon, Moretonhampstead, Tavistock, Bovey Tracey, Chagford, Okehampton and so on. But I decided to keep it simple and drove to the Postbridge village of the previous day. And then went for a small trek to the Bellever Tor.

On top of the Tor, with Haldiram:)

There was a very pretty path leading up to the tor. It was a 2.5 miles walk through green woods, with coniferous trees and lots of moss and lichens all around. And then I came to a clear path leading up the Bellever Tor, with ponies lazily grazing on the sides. Once up the tor, it felt like quite a stark landscape. Huge straight rocks, shaped by centuries of winds, standing guard atop hilltops, like sentinels of the woods. There is something very mystical about these structures which I am sure has been mentioned in some or the other literature over the years.

Woods on the way back

Coming back was like a relaxed walk in the park, and I passed through the Bellever village and then a dense forest. The forest was lovely, and I think not natural. Then I ran into a river which had trout and people were fishing. On this trail too, I lost my directions but then got onto the right but longer path. And then again, I took a lift for the walk back to the road. It took me about 2.5 hours to go round this trail and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I also then figured out that Dartmoor is part of of the Duchy of Cornwall, so it is owned by Prince Charles and you need to buy a license if you want to fish in any of its rivers 😇.

Typical moorland

After finishing this trek, it was time to head back to London. I started driving back and almost felt bad leaving the place. I found it similar but then very different than a lot of the places I have visited in the UK. As I have said many times in this blog article already, I found it a very dramatic and stark landscape, something interesting and scary at the same time.

The Park was very convenient to navigate and explore. There were loads of signs of villages, enough parking spaces for cars and overall well setup. A definite place to come back again.

I had recently read a story on why Cornwall became a separate country - when the Romans took over the UK, they were unable to get through Dartmoor. And so the original inhabitants of UK, the Picts crossed Dartmoor, went over to Cornwall and stayed there forever. That is one of the reasons why they like to consider themselves a separate country and don’t like the English at all. And now having been to Dartmoor, I can see why the Romans may not have been able to cross it. It can be so strong, so desolate at times, that crossing it is not for the fainthearted!

The drive back to London was fine, I encountered a bit of traffic but not too much. This time I drove through small roads through Andover. It was beautiful to drive through the sunny and green countryside. And this time there was actually a lot of sarson on the way. The drive took 5 hours, though returning the car once within London took a further 1 hour 😂. And so it was, my trip to Dartmoor, till the next time am back in Devon…

Accommodation

Cider House is amazing. Its one of the best places I have stayed, in terms of rooms, decor, location, service, everything! The rooms in Cider House are few but very well done up. Even the rooms I was in actually were 3 separate rooms with a beautiful window to enjoy the views outside. And the common living room was so cosily setup, again with impressive views of the garden outside. It was so well done up that you don’t feel like spoiling anything, in the room or the common areas:). The hosts were very friendly, it was easy to walk up the nearby villages for dinner and a great place to stay if you didn’t want to go out. A definite recommend.

Map

A day in Surrey AONB

There are loads of cute little places very near London where you can easily go for a day of picnic. This summer we went for a day to Surrey and visited a couple of places there - trek up Leith Hills, walk down the scenic village of Shere and stop in the Lavender fields. It felt like a very different day altogether, so close and yet so far from London life.

We started with a drive to Leith Hill from London. It was a short drive from the city and we were there in no time.  The roads were very busy with traffic at this time of the year, given it was summer. The drive took us through green areas of Surrey AONB (Area of Natural Beauty - I still find this name funny!) with roads covered by trees on both sides and dotted with small little villages with a mandatory church and lot of huge stone houses, some residential and some holiday homes!

London from Leith Hill

Our first stop was Leith hill. There were multiple parkings to choose from and then walk up the hill. And there were loads of round trails around too. We stopped at one of the closest stops, and walked up to the peak. It was a short walk of about 80 steps. And from the top, you can get a view of both London (London Eye and some Canary Whard buildings) and the English Channel on the other side! And maybe France too on a clear day 😊.

Tower on Leith Hill

There was a tower on top of the hill where you could go up and look around. And a cafe for the so many people around there on picnics. The view all around was of green English woods. You could even see the Leith House where Charles Darwin used to come and spend his summers. We spent some time sitting in the sun and eating some snacks.

Shere

Then we drove to a village nearby - Shere. I had been there before but this time we spent some time there exploring the village. We walked next to the village stream, the church, ate icecream and explored some of the interesting stuff being sold in the small shops. The stuff was different but not worth buying. Somehow prices outside London are also almost the same prices as London and never cheaper, wonder why!

Shere

Lavender Fields

Our last stop of the day in Surrey was the Lavender Farm in Banstea which was also close to Surrey. I have been there before, but it was fun to be there again. The purple lavender flowers extend till far, and you can buy a lot of lavender stuff from the shop. A nice place to go for the day. And as usual there were loads of crowds there, taking photoshoots in the purple fields. There is even a red telephone booth installed in the fields for exactly that purpose!

After some shopping there, we called it a day and came back to London. We did not have enough time, but there are loads of other such small places to visit in the area, some of which are Box Hill, Guildford and Newlands Corner - all close to Leith Hill. It was easy to come back quickly from there, and I have now noted Surrey for potential close day trips from London!

Sailing in the Isle of Wight

After 5 years of living in London and not visiting the Isle of Wight even once, this year I made it there twice! For the first trip, I finally joined the annual office sailing weekend we have in Isle of Wight every year - a full day of sailing and enjoying the sea (I had planned to join every year and cancelled every time at the last minute!). And the second trip was for a day, taking rib boats out to the Isle, having a nice lazy lunch at a seafood restaurant and then coming back to London the same day.

Sailing trip to Seaview

Getting to Isle of Wight is a bit of a relay run. The island is located in the south of England and quite close to London. So you first have to take a train to one of the harbour towns, from where multiple ferries link the island to the mainland. And then of course, once on the island, you need to take a cab to reach the village you would be staying in.  

We first took a train on a Friday from Waterloo to Portsmouth. It was about 1.5 hours through the British countryside. At Portsmouth, we just missed the ferry to Ryde which leaves every 1 hour. So we had to wait in town and walked to the nearest pub while waiting for the ferry.

Picture perfect at the Portsmouth harbour

Just outside the ferry pier, you can see the harbour and the boats moored in the water. We also saw a very fascinating sunset right behind a boat, with sunlight reflecting on the water on the shore. I found this view very magnetic, with all the colours in the sky, the clouds and a boat in front which may not have looked as fascinating as it did in the colours that day.

At Portsmouth there was also an Emirates tower very near the pier which might have had a restaurant on top and was towering against the sea. I found it quite out of place at that location, given the non city feel all around. Anyways after a quick wait, we took the Wightlink ferry from Ryde which takes about 20 mins to get to the island.

Random view from Isle of Wight

You can stand either on the rooftop or sit inside the ferry during the ride. And if you stand on the top, even though a bit windy, you can enjoy the twinkling lights both of the English mainland as well as the Isle coming up on the other side of the sea. Also by this time, there is something in the air that already makes you feel you are in a different place now.

And once on the island, there is already a feeling of being far away from London in the countryside with a fresh breeze reiterating that feeling. You can still see the highrises and the twinkling lights of the mainland across the sea but the quiet calm on the other side beckons you.

We then took a cab from the pier to our village of Seaview which was about 15 mins drive from the pier. It was a very small village with barely 30-40 houses. We first went to the Old fort pub where we were to have dinner. But they had shut down the kitchen by 10 pm! We begged a bit and finally they gave us some vegetarian korma to eat which was honestly quite average. But at least we got to eat something, as there was nothing else open in the village at that time! The weather had also got a bit cold by then but some people sat outside next to the beach for some time, enjoying the feeling of being in the open.

We were staying at one of the airbnb houses nearby, so I walked there as it was close to the pub. There was a row of holiday homes, all with views of the sea in front and we had one of those. While walking there, it was nice to be in the open, with the breeze blowing, the lights around twinkling and the stars providing light to everything around. And waking up in the bnb in the morning was an absolute joy. The view outside of a lazy pace of life was a nice way to wake up after the crazy pace of life in London.

Our sailing event was within the village itself. There was a yacht club there because of which the sea in front was dotted with boats. There were two sailing groups, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I went in the afternoon and it was crazy. The weather had worsened for the day and it had suddenly got cold and cloudy, not the best way to go into the water, eh?

We did two sailing races with about 10 or so sailboats in each race. We were only 4 in each of the boats, along with a captain (thankfully!). And it was quite an experience! The captain was mostly sailing the boat and at times shouting at us giving instructions for us to turn left and sometimes turn right. Sailing the boat was quite simple but complicated at the same time, letting some of the ropes go, and pulling the other one tight enough against the wind! And doing it all while avoiding your own as well as the others’ head.

Water was splashing on us the whole time. And we were wet very soon enough. Of course once we were wet, there was no more wetter we could be 😊. It was quite cold actually. But we were so busy exercising that it did not feel as much. And thankfully the captain knew what he was doing, so we avoided too much water, as well as falling into the water, which could have been a real possibility!

I learnt a lot about sailing, though I don’t think I would remember as much. But it was definitely an experience to remember. At times there is a lot of activity and when you are along the wind, you can just sit back and chill. While on the water, we also saw two forts in the middle of the water! They were built during the France war and have now been converted into hotels.

Anyways we came second in one of the races which was exhilarating. And then it was time to go back to the Island. Surprisingly, by then even the water had become warm, after being splashed the whole day in cold water! And we also noticed that the tide had come up at least 1.5 mtrs in the time we were out sailing!

Duver beach road

Once back home, after a long hot shower and getting the cold out of the bones, I went for a short walk around the island, along the coast road and the Duver beach. It looked like most of the houses there were holiday homes. And the beach was rocky with some sand somewhere and a lot of boats everywhere. You can also see England across the narrow sea - I could spot two big towns with highrises, but the sea almost seems to separate the two worlds. The island feels like from a different world all together, while England and London feel from another world. 

Boats moored in the sea

We had dinner at the yacht club and it was quite an experience. To stand on the terrace looking out at the sea, with the boats moored out afar. And then to have dinner in the open air, with the waves crashing on the coast. After some time, the sun also came out for 20 mins and the boats in the sea all turned golden - what an enchanting sight that was. And then slowly, some of the lights in the fort turned on. It was as if time came to a standstill on the island...

Isle of Wight from the ferry

After dinner the day was over. And I was coming back early the next morning from the same ferry. In the morning I figured out that there were no ubers on the island. And the phone signal was also bad. So we had to actually “call” a cab company to send a cab to take us to the ferry pier. During the cab ride, we also saw more of the island - with its small villages, stone houses and steeple churches along the road. And all the roads were empty on the Sunday, including the ferry back! I think there is more to explore on the island, maybe some other time.

After this very short weekend out, I was back in London very soon but the trip felt so refreshing, with the sea, the open spaces, the fresh air and the sailing. A must-do again...

Rib boats trip

In the rib boats

And there I was, going to Isle of Wight again! This time it was a very short day trip with office colleagues. We first took an early morning train to Lymington marina from Waterloo station. We all ended up missing the train, so we took the next one and then took rib boats from there. Rib boats are huge inflatable boats which can go on very high speeds and do different kind of tricks. Thankfully the weather this day was amazing - it was sunny and warm, so more fun to be close to water!

Lymington pier

First we did a bit of high speed boating in our boats. We got on the boats from Lymington pier which had many other yachts docked there. Our captain first took us towards the famous Needles of Isle of Wight - huge rock structures which are quite popular.

Needles of Isle of Wight

And then he did a few very tight turns on the water which was scary but fun at the same time. The boats went quite fast and the wind could easily have blown us over. The captain did a few short turns when the boat almost felt like it would topple over. We kept egging him on to try some more 😜.

View from the Hut

After a few hours like this, they dropped us off at the restaurant called the Hut. We had to take another small boat to get there. The restaurant is a popular place for seafood, and had am amazing ambience around. Sitting outside on the restaurant terrace, with an impressive sea view, people sailing in the water, and you relaxing with a nice meal. What better way can there be to spend a nice Sunday? 😊

Anyways we had a long lunch and then it was time to take our small boats back to the rib boats. The tide had gone up, so we had to wade a bit through the water to take the boats to take us to our rib boats.

Boating in the Isle

Boating in the Isle

Our captain was quite excited to see that we were not scared of trying new tricks, so he did a few more maneuvers and then it was time to go back. We again boarded the train from Lymington and were back in London by evening. The whole day felt longer than it was, given so many things we did. High speed boating, lazy lunch and enjoying the best of English weather… And its so easy to get to Isle of Wight, I hope I end up going there more than I have done till now.

A glimpse of Zagreb, Croatia

I recently visited the city of Zagreb in Croatia for a day of work. Zagreb isnt the most touristy or preferred part of a tourist's itinerary in Croatia - the beaches and Dubrovnik (of Game of Thrones fame) are. But I enjoyed exploring the little bit f Zagreb I saw - the experience of visiting a new place was and is still always enjoyable for me 😊.

The airport felt quite small and efficient. And they have Uber in Zagreb, so Croatian travel already felt very safe and easy to me! While driving towards the office, I passed by a lot of green and forested areas. And a lot of suburban and rural areas which were sparsely populated. Most of them had the typical red/orange roofs which have been shown in Game of Thrones in so many frames. There were also some small mountains nearby, including surrounding Zagreb on the other side.

The whole place had some kind of a warm feeling about it, a feeling of calm and satisfaction which is very difficult to explain. Its the feeling I generally get when I visit developing countries. Where things are not perfect, but they are always warm 😊.

Most of my day was spent inside the office. It was a great idea too as the weather had already gotten cold. I got some time to explore the city in the evening for dinner and then for an hour or so in the morning before taking my flight.

National Theatre

In the evening, I walked towards the old town which was about 10 mins from my hotel. It was like any other European town. Cobbled streets, cafes and restaurants and some grand buildings dotting the centre. The central city was quite empty which was surprising but given that it was a surpisingly cold evening in October, it might have been due to that.

Zagreb Cathedral

I walked past the National theatre, through the shops and cafes, up some stairs and towards the cathedral. They all looked yellow in the night lighting and pretty too but I was too cold to appreciate them fully 😜. I quickly walked past them, looking for a nice restaurant to eat. I was surprised though that some of the shops were open, even at 9 pm. I walked into a few which seemed to have interesting (and am sure cheap) stuff. But as I said, it was late and I was looking for a restaurant, so I did not explore much.

I finally found an Italian restaurant nearby, called Boban which surprisingly had a table available. It had an outside casual dining area and an inside fine dining area which was quieter. The food there was tasty and I had a nice dinner before going back to the hotel and working.

The red roofs of Zagreb

The next day the weather was gorgeous, just when I was ready to leave! It was sunny and 23 degrees! I ended up waking up late as I had worked late the previous night, but I did enjoy the skyline from my hotel room. The houses again had the sloping red/orange roofs, and I got a glimpse of a pre-cursor to Dubrovnik, perhaps.

Alleyway to Upper Town

I then walked to the old town again and it looked so much more brighter and colourful than the dreary night before. People were chilling outside, sitting in cafes and eating breakfast. And the city seemed so much better and welcoming in daylight 😊. This time, I walked up to the upper town through a narrow alley, enjoying the view and feeling like being back in old Europe.

St Marks Church

I walked to one of the touristy spots, the St Marks Church. It was a normal European church except the tiled roof which I found very unique. It had big colourful tiles engraved with the Croatian coat of arms. And the sun being out made it almost shine. I walked around that area for a bit, the upper town again was all cobbled and full of the typical grand buildings of old Europe.

Anyways then it was time for me to go to the airport, again admiring the rural countryside through the drive. It was a nice city break for me, mostly work but I liked what I did see of the town. Zagreb felt like a nice little European town, and the old town was fascinating, worth exploring more. I wish the weather had been better on the first day though rather than the second!

A day in Rome

I recently visited Rome for a day on work. And even though I was inside the office for most of the time, I tried to catch whatever experiences I could during the short time I had to be out. I have been to Rome only once before, about 10 years ago. And I still loved being there, experiencing a city not just from a different century or millenium, but even more than that. Its from the BC years!

Landing at Rome airport

The first view I remember is from the airplane. The airport is a bit far from the city, and next to the sea (I never realised that Rome was near the sea!). I could see the beautiful coastline laced by blue and green hues of water. And the mountains far away and beautifully coloured houses down below, shining in the winter sun. It was a nice welcome to a beautiful city 😊.

The city was about an hour drive from the airport and you continue to see the mountains far away as you drive in. Driving to the city center of Rome is like driving to a different era. You pass by the forum and old churches and walls, and remains of the glory of the Romans. There are so many old buildings everywhere, that even a normal taxi ride ends up taking you through a different world. There is so much history in every turn, it reminded me of how I had been fascinated by the city 10 years ago. And nothing much has changed, in me or the city 😊.

There are old historic buildings everywhere, and the sun and tourists around make the atmosphere even more vibrant. I had a full day of work but while driving back to the airport, I asked the taxi driver to pass by some of the sights of the city (so that I did not feel that I wasted the opportunity!).

Fontana de Trevi

The driver felt bad for me that I was leaving the city without doing any touristy stuff, and so he started telling me trivia about the places we were driving through. We drove through the Via Veneto which is one of the most posh and elegant streets of Rome. Apparently, the street had journalist offices calla pappa razzo which lent its name to the paparazzi. And the pizza margarita which was invented by a chef in Naples gave its colour to the national flag! (I wasn't able to independently check these tales on Wiki, but so what 😝)

The Colosseum

We drove through the National street, the republic square, the Vittorio Emanuele monument (which looked as grand to me today as 10 years ago) and so on. I also stopped at the Fontana de Trevi and the Colosseum for a couple of minutes. The Fountain was full of tourists but I managed to take a photo without any! Even with the crowds, there was a feeling of peace and calm there, maybe because of all the water flowing through... And the Colosseum was calm and quiet as usual, shining in the moonlight.

The streets were all busy with tourists. And they were still cobbled, giving it an aura of the bygone era. Since it was winter, the day had started hot but by the evening, had got a bit chilly but still enjoyable.

The smoking room at the airport!

I was in the airport in no time. On the way, I passed by a few more old churches with histories of their own, old gates to the city and so on! There is just so much history in the city, its amazing. Closer to the airport, I also saw a building which was built much later in the shape of the Colosseum and had been converted into a high-end shopping mall. It looked quite impressive from far. At the airport, I was shocked to see a smoking room. And a long queue outside it too 😜. I have anecdotally heard that Italians smoke a lot but never seen an example of that. Anyways now I did!

Anyways by then, it was time for me to bid Rome goodbye. But I felt good that I had spent at least some time visiting its famous sites, and not ignored its history completely 😊.

A week in the Cambodian kingdom of wonder - Coconut beach and Phnom Penh

Continued from Part 1...

Day 4 - Siem Reap to Coconut beach, Sihanoukville

The day we had landed in Siem Reap, we had got an email from our next hotel, Coconut Beach Bungalows on Koh Rong island about a recent storm because of which ferries which would take us to the beach were not running regularly. They suggested booking alternate accommodation in case we were unable to reach the island. So I tried booking hotels in Sihanoukville itself but everything was booked out as it was New Years Eve that time. Since that did not work, we thought we would try our luck anyways and try to reach the bungalows somehow.

We did eventually do that, but it was quite an experience 😅. Even though everything had been planned well, it turned out to be a washout day and we spent almost the whole day in travel. I had booked a 7 am flight from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, so that we could make it to the 11am ferry to Coconut Island. But it all went very very differently...

Hai again dropped us at the Siem Reap airport in the morning in his airy and fresh tuk-tuk. The domestic airport was quite small and had only two gates, so all was convenient and quick in the morning. We were in Sihanoukville in an hour and took a taxi to the ferry stations.

The air already felt beach-ey and relaxed when we got out of the airport, with the humid winds and the palm leaves swaying around. There were lots of green areas on the drive towards the city. Once in the city, it felt like quite a big and bustling place. It is a major port in the area and had lot of high rises and stuff, very different from Siem Reap.

When we reached the ferry company (Buva Sea), they told us that there was an ongoing storm in the sea, because of which the ferries were not running normally and we could only take the 5 pm one - the last one for the day. There were at least 4-5 ferry companies around and we checked with all, but they all had the same answer.

Serendipity beach, Sihanoukville

This was quite a downer, but we bought the tickets anyways and went to Serendipity Beach to spend the rest of the day while waiting for the taxi. Our taxi driver conned us a bit and dropped us in front of a hotel on Serendipity Road which he said had an Indian restaurant but it didn’t. Anyways, we dropped our luggage at a travel agent's shop, and then walked around a bit in the area to pass time.

This road seemed to be the hub of tourist activity in the city. It was full of hotels, youth hostels, shops, restaurants, travel agents and and so on. We first had lunch at the only Indian restaurant we could find - the Kamasutra - and the food they served was very bad. Then we got a foot massage.

And we even tried to find a room for the 2-3 hours we had left, so we could sleep rather than stay outside. But there was not a single room available even though there were hundreds of guest rooms all around! Looks like all the tourists had descended on the beach to celebrate the New Year. In fact, even the king and PM of Cambodia were in town to celebrate the New Year 😝.

Serendipity beach, Sihanoukville

So we spent the remaining 2-3 hours on the beach itself. There were loads of restaurants there with outside beach chairs and food. It was nice to sit outside but a bit hot and humid as it was still afternoon. The beach was huge and extended forever. I went into the water a couple of times and it was good for swimming, very calm and clean. But I mostly sat outside in the sun, sleeping and lazing! While we were sitting there, the beach was being set up for the parties being held at night. It must have been an awesome New Years venue, with the music, the moon and the waves splashing in the background 😊.

After spending the whole day on the beach, we finally left in the 5 pm ferry which first goes to the more popular island and beach town - Koh Rong and then drops a few of the passengers to Coconut Beach on the other side of the island. By this time, even though the weather was hot, dark clouds had come out and it had started raining.

The ferry ride was in a huge speedboat and would generally have been very nice, though today it was quite crowded because of all the tourists going for the New Year party at Koh Rong. The sea was also quite choppy, which gave us a few scares, plus a few splashes! But all in all, the ride was uneventful.

The adventure of the day was not over though 😜. Once we reached Koh Rong, the captain of the boat told us that the boat will not go to Coconut Beach but instead will drop us at another village nearby. It was a bit disconcerting as it was getting dark by then, and we had a few heavy suitcases with us which were not that easy to lug around. Anyways, the captain felt confident that it was easy to manage, so we carried on.

We then landed at a village which was barely a village to be honest! It felt like a few small huts half on the water. And it felt scary and dark. The ferry was docked next to another boat which you had to go through to get to the jetty. So we (and all our luggage) had to jump over the other boat to get to land! And in the dark! By that time, I had lost my patience. But it still wasn’t over!!

The captain then said that our bungalows were a bit far, so we would be taken there on bikes! Thankfully, it turned out that they had a wagon with a trailer on which the luggage was taken to our bungalows. And for the passengers, they had 2 men on bikes who offered to take them to the beach!

One group of people left first, and then we waited for them to come back. During this time, somehow the data on the mobiles started working and when I checked on Google Maps, it seemed like the Coconut beach bungalows was only 10 mins walk away! (Weird that no one told us that and instead they were driving people on bikes to the hotel!). That seemed feasible and so all of us started walking towards the hotel, following Google Maps.

We walked on an unpaved road through the jungle, in the light of the phone flashlights. It felt like walking in the wild - the stars above, a cool breeze blowing on your face and sounds of insects all around you. It was an adventure of another kind 😁. The walk was more like 15 minutes, and the small paths were not very well marked either. So we took an early wrong turn, turned up at the beach and then walked all the way on the beach to reach our Bungalows.

There were a few other resorts and holiday homes on the beach that we crossed. And so, after a full day of being in transit, after waking up at 5 am, we were finally at our destination by 8 pm! But it was totally worth it, and we realised it at night itself. Even without daylight, Coconut Beach felt like a small little paradise by itself and we did not want to leave it once we were there.

The Bungalows were all on one side of a small hill, nestled in between the vegetation on the island and facing the sea. They were made of wood and had a nice windy balcony outside. They were basic but were furnished with everything you would need to be comfortable. The owners of the place were a guy called Robbie, his sister and father. They were all very jolly and made their guests feel at home.

Terrace restaurant at
Coconut Beach Bungalows

They had a lovely open air terrace restaurant which offered a nice variety of simple Khmer food. We were quite tired after the whole day of travel, so we had a nice tasty vegetarian dinner, cooked specially for us, and soon slept off. In fact, we slept with the doors and windows open to allow the wind and sound of waves to come inside. I think we even heard a gecko at night!

Except that it was New Years eve and Robbie woke us up before midnight to come down to the beach and celebrate! To be honest, since we were tired, we were in no mood to get out, but he came and called us twice and we finally did get out to the beach to celebrate. It was a short walk down to the beach, through the steps. And what a lovely beach it was, even at night!

There was already a large group of tourists there by that time, who were staying on the beach in the various hotels. They were all dancing and partying, with music, a choreographer and a bonfire all setup with seats around to sit and relax. And at midnight, there were fireworks set out in the jetty in the sea to welcome in the new year, 2017.

The ambience on the beach was great - pleasant temperature, stars above in a clear sky and cool sea breeze flowing - the perfect way to usher in the new year😊. Everyone danced through the night I think as we could hear the music for very long. We however went back and crashed soon enough after our long day of travel!

Day 5 - Coconut beach

Coconut beach

The next day was a relaxed lazy day at the beach itself. And we finally got to see the beach in daylight. It was a small remote private beach, with no real road coming in. It was connected with the unpaved walking path to the small village we had come from the last night. And all it had was a few small resorts with 10 or so huts in each. It was almost like having your own very private space with white sand to bask in the sun, and turquoise green waters to go for a swim. And given the beach was located in an inland lagoon, the water was quite calm. There were no waves there, just crystal clear water to swim in!

Terrace restaurant at
Coconut Beach Bungalows

The beach had white sand, but a bit of leaves and sticks which had come in through the storm the previous night. Swimming was comfortable, with the sun being hot enough to make the waters warm but cool enough to make it enjoyable being in the water. So we spent the whole day lazily eating in the terrace restaurant, swimming or just lounging on the beach.

Huts on the beach

We also saw all the 4 ferries from Sihanoukville coming in on time that day. There was a pier right in front of the beach and it was so efficient to just land and go up the Bungalows. Alas, it didn’t happen for us the day before and it wasn’t going to happen the next day either!

Coconut beach at night

In the evening, we went out on a walk towards the interior of the island to see what it had to offer. It felt quite wild and isolated, with the typical tropical vegetation of dense and green trees, dotted with some plantations. It felt so isolated and from a different world. For an hour, we did not see anyone at all, just trees around and the sky above. While coming back, we also saw a few holiday home coming up on the beach, I think those would be a good investment for sure!

At night after dinner, we went out to see photoplanktons in the sea. There is an area right in front of the bungalore, where if you walk a few metres into the sea (all very shallow), you can see the water shine and sparkle! This comes from the photoplanktons which shine when there is movement around them. And there were some in the sand too! So while you are walking on the sand, as you step, the sand starts to shine! Its similar to what we had seen in Vieques in Puerto Rico many years ago, and it was nice to experience the same again. We didn’t take any pictures and so its tough to explain how it works. But its something definitely worth experiencing once!

View from the terrace

We had all our meals in the terrace restaurant, with a majestic view of the sea and beyond. The food was awesome as always, with vegetarian dishes cooked specially for us. We had another fireworks show on the ferry pier for the New Years, this time conducted by another resort on the beach. And at night we could also see the lights of Sihanoukville twinkling away far off, a nice view by itself. So all in all, a nice good day but not bracing us for what was coming the next!

Day 6 - Coconut beach to Phnom Penh

The next day also turned out to be a full day of travel for us, waking up at 6 am to leave Coconut beach and landing in Phnom Penh only by 10 pm at night! Though most of it did not have to be like that. We had decided to take the 3 pm ferry to Sihanouk and then take a 2 hour taxi from there till Phnom Penh. However, Robbie woke us up at 6 am in the morning with the news that there was a storm that day. And so the ferries were not running as usual.

Coconut beach

He said we should get up early and be ready to take an early morning ferry from the same village 20 mins away where we had landed the day before. So we woke up and got ready. However, when we asked him when the ferry would come, he said 12 am! So he had woken up everyone who was leaving that day to be ready at 7 for a ferry coming at 12! I think he was being overly cautious but ending up wasting a lot of time for everyone. Thankfully, we spent some time on the beach in the morning though that was giving Robbie a heart attack that we would be late for the ferry!

The floating village

We went to the village again riding the bikes from the resort. There were already some 20-30 people from the beach waiting there since the morning, sitting in the village in the sun, doing nothing but patiently waiting. We finally did get to see the village during the day, it was partially built on the water, almost like a a floating village.

Once we reached the village, another long wait started for all of us. First the ferry was delayed till 1230. After a few phone calls at 130, it turned out that the ferry wasn’t coming at all. So everyone decided to rent a typical wooden tailboat to take us to the mainland.

Our tailboat ride to the mainland

It looked like quite a unreliable one at that, and took us much longer to reach there. It was a good experience though, being out in the open sea in a wooden fishing boat! We also saw another floating village on the way, with houses very far away from anything. Anyways, this boat was dropping us at a pier different from the ferry one. We had booked a taxi to meet us there to take us to Phnom Penh but the taxi wasn’t there! Apparently, since we were late, the taxi had found someone who would pay more and left with them 😂.

Then we took a tuk-tuk to Serendipity beach and started looking for a way to get to Phnom Penh. There were loads of travel agents there who offered taxi services. And a couple of buses too. We spent about 2-3 hours looking for another taxi but it didn’t work out as easily as we expected.

For one, everything was quite disorganised here. So we had to go and check with each travel agent individually. Then there was nothing available given it was New Years. And if there was something, they were quoting 3x of the price for the ride! It was a bit stressful figuring out how to get to your next destination in a new country where things werent too well organised!

Anyways our patience paid off and we finally got one taxi driver to agree to share the ride with another of his passenger. He was waiting for his passenger to come on the ferry and we waited with him. The weather in the afternoon had been very humid and had made us all very irritable when trying to find the taxi. In the evening though it improved, the temperature became cooler and tempers also cooled down 😊. And when the other passenger came, we all took off for Phnom Penh, finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Interestingly enough, the other passenger (a French guy working in Vietname) had also been staying at Coconut Beach and had had a similar adventure while getting into and out of the Beach. He was also waiting with us at the village in the morning, but when the ferry had got cancelled, his hotel owner had agreed to drop him off on his bike at the other end of the island, at the Koh Rong beach. The only problem was that there wasn’t a full road till Koh Rong.

So the hotel owner had dropped him and his luggage a kilometre away from the beach! And he had to walk that last km, with his luggage, through the forest!! And his adventures hadn’t finished yet either, as his ferry from Koh Rong to Sihanouk stopped working midway in the sea and a new one from the beach had to come to get them! After hearing his stories, we did not feel as bad about our day anymore 😁.

On the 4 hours drive to Phnom Penh, we each complained about our trips and the issues. So it was an entertaining journey! The road was a single lane one and we couldn’t see anything outside as there was limited light. But the driving was safe and disciplined, unlike India for sure. Anyways very late at night, we reached our hotel - the Skyline Boutique Hotel which was located right in the middle of Phnom Penh.

Independence monument

During the drive in, Phnom Penh felt like an old and rundown city. At least the outer areas felt quite poor, and the buildings felt quite old and falling apart. But the area we were staying in felt quite posh and well-to-do. It had a lot of huge buildings and monuments around which we saw when coming in. And our hotel was quite nice too with a nice little kitchenette and balcony to sit outside. We checked in quickly and crashed soon enough after our long long day of travel flaps.

Day 7 - Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is not really a touristy city, it almost feels like a poorer cousin to Bangkok. We ended up doing a few of the touristy stuff but we could have avoided Phnom Penh completely and stayed at coconut beach longer. We hired a tuk-tuk for half a day to take us around the city and drive us to a couple of places. Our tuk-tuk driver did not know any English though which was quite a tough thing to overcome! But the tuk-tuk ride with the wind blowing in the whole time felt fun, especially given how hot it was.

Wat Phnom

We drove around a lot during the day and Phnom Penh felt like a bustling metropolis wherever we went. It was a mix of the old and the new, the rich and the poor, the well maintained and the run down. Our first stop was the Wat Phnom, a temple which lends its name to the city.

A temple in Phnom Penh

Then on the way to the Silk Island, we visited a local temple made of gold! It was a Buddhist temple but you could see the impression Hinduism has made in the country over the last centuries. A lot of the sculptures were based on images of Hindu gods - Hanuman, Ram, Sita and so on.

A temple in Phnom Penh

After that we went to the Silk Village which was a bit of a ride. We had to take a ferry across the Mekong river to get to the island, our tuk-tuk went onto the ferry. Once there, it felt like we had come a world away from Phnom Penh. The island felt quite rural, with green fields and fruit trees everywhere, and people living in wooden houses with stilts.

As you drive through the houses, you start noticing that each of them has a silk loom on the ground floor and is selling silk products. It felt like everyone here was making silk - no wonder the island got its name. We stopped at one of the houses and observed them weaving beautiful pieces. Except that the ones they were selling were all Chinese made 😝. So we didnt buy anything there and drove on. We did notice though that the women there were all watching hindi serials dubbed in Cambodian, while they were weaving 😂.

Silk cocoons

After the house visit, we went to the silk centre where they grow mulberry leaves, raise silk worms on the farm itself and make silk. There were also some women who used to stay there and weave. As part of the tour, they showed us how the silk worms are raised. I learnt so much about silk making from there which I did not know before. Apparently, you can get 100-300 metres of silk from one small cocoon! And it takes 20 of those thin threads to stick together to make one usable silk thread!! The individual silk threads all stick together and don’t break. The whole process of weaving one of the silk shawls on display takes about 40 days and you can weave that only by hand.

Beautiful silk handicraft from Silk island

There was also a story about how this silk farm and the island name came about. A guy from this island had married a rich girl and then opened this silk centre to give jobs to the women on the island. There are only 18 women who stay at the farm and weave silk. They work 8 hours a day and get only 80 usd a month. Everyone on the island weaves now. Some of them use the silk from the silk farm and the rest from outside. As silk making increases, the place started getting known as Silk Island. The products there were pretty and worth buying. And the silk farm also had a few other things to keep people busy - a small zoo with iguanas, fish and monkeys. And typical Cambodian straw huts, with a pool and picnic area for families who visit.

Another temple on Silk Island

After the silk farm, we also stopped at a local Buddhist temple which was magnificent. There were three of them next to each other, each gilded in gold, out in the open and so beautiful and calm. And completely empty! We spent some time there but it had got too hot to stay out by this morning. So we decided to call it a day and head back to the main city. After an Indian lunch, we came back to the hotel and slept for some time before going out in the evening. It is generally so hot in Cambodia, even in winter that taking an afternoon siesta is definitely the best way to be a tourist. We were planning to go to one of the local markets but they closed early, So we went out for a walk to my favourite part of the city - the riverfront!

View on the waterfront

We walked for about 10 mins from our hotel to the area around the Royal palace. It was on the riverfront and a nice place to walk around, taking in the cool river breeze. There were lots of people around there at that time, just sitting around in the open spaces, having picnics and generally strolling around. I also noticed a lot of young people out and about there. The river front was well maintained and seemed like the centre of all activity. There were loads of restaurants and shops there. And lot of beautiful lights on both sides. It was a nice place to walk, and the waterfront was definitely better than what we have in most Indian cities.

Random monument on the walk

While walking back to our hotel, we took a road with loads of monuments around all lighted up. There were some grand old houses on that street and a lot of activity. We also noticed lot of Cambodian Peoples Party boards everywhere. Overall the city seemed safe enough and vibrant to walk around and enjoy.

We had spent the day visiting non-typical sites in Phnom Penh. Most people generally visit the National museum and the Pot Pol killing fields but I was not keen to go there as it seemed like quite a dark place to go to. Most people do find the visits eye-opening though. Other places to visit are the Royal palace, the Genocide museum, the Silver pagoda and Cruise along the Mekong. We walked by the Royal Palace but I think its much less impressive than the one in Bangkok, so we decided to give it a pass.

Day 8 - Phnom Penh to Delhi

The last day of our trip was relaxed. We had a morning flight back to Delhi, so we again took a tuk-tuk to get to the airport. We saw the outskirts of the town finally in daylight and it felt rundown, unlike most of the central areas. We also figured out that the tuk-tuks which wait just outside of the hotel are all crooks. They generally ask for 2-3X the price. We stopped a tuk-tuk which was driving on the road to take us to the airport which was much cheaper. He did not speak a word of English though (again)! Again on the ride there, I noticed how much more disciplined the traffic there is, as compared to India... sigh...

Overall, within our Cambodian trip, I thought Angkor Wat is a must-do and outstanding. Coconut Beach was amazing if you could make there without travel chaos. And Phnom Penh was missable. But the whole experience of Cambodia was amazing! It felt like quite a nice, calm and comfortable country. Somewhere where you can truly relax and be at peace...

Accommodation

Skyline Boutique hotel, Phnom Penh: The boutique hotel was very close to all the important tourist places, and very well done up. We had got a room with a kitchenette. It had big rooms and was well stocked. The hotel had a very nice little pool outside to deal with the heat. And a nice breakfast place in the morning, where you could sit outside in the sun, surrounded by greenery while you eat your morning breakfast. A good place overall.

Our wooden bungalow

Coconut Beach Bungalows, Sihanoukville: The infrastructure at the Coconut Beach Bungalows was amazing. We loved the vibe of the wooden bungalows, nestled in the jungle. Each of them had an outdoor balcony with a view of the sea and ferry pier. And then there were tents set up closer to the beach, for people looking for more basic and cheaper accommodation. The food in their in-house restaurant was tasty. And the views outside outstanding! An outstanding place and a definite recommend.

People

Women sorting seafood in the village

Overall, Cambodia felt like a relatively poor country, but still there was a calmness and satisfaction everywhere which had a positive feeling. People were busy living their lives. Everyone was helpful though English was not that common. It was safe everywhere. People did not cheat. Women were safe. So overall a nice place to visit. The organisation and timeliness was lacking though, but I think thats common for any developing country.

Tips

1) Carry USD with you if you have any. Its the most commonly used currency in the country.
2) Keep extra time for things to not go as planned. A lot of things don’t work in a timely manner and you need patience to deal with that. Like our ferries from Sihanouk to Coconut Island not working on both the days we needed them 😆
3) You can take a boat across the SonLap lake which can get you from Angkor to Phnom Penh over 6-8 hours. I think its definitely worth a try
4) Phnom Penh is not really a top of list tourist town. Its easily avoidable.
5) Tuk-tuks are one of the different things of SE Asia. They are convenient, airy, comfortable and generally fun to ride:). You should definitely use them for all travel around the city
6) Cambodian massages being good is totally based on luck (unlike in Thailand). So be ready to be disappointed sometimes