Happy New Year 2010 from SihanoukVille, Cambodia.

New Year's Eve 2009 in SihanoukVille, Cambodia on the beach was great!.
About 12,000 people filled the beaches and islands of SihanoukVille for an all night party.

From the top of SihanoukVille Mountain, you could see literally hundreds of thousands of fireworks, bursting in the air. (although most were very small).  The temperature was a chilling 28 degrees (that's somewhere in the 80's for Americans)

Every hotel room in town was filled up (many at triple price for those without reservations), and beds right on the beach were going for $15.

Many new places opened in SihanoukVille, in time for the new year.

* The Wall, restaurant and night club opened on Ocheteaul Beach.  With and upstairs rock 'n roll bar open all day, and a downstairs nightclub open only at night.

* Angelo's Restaurant  re-re-re-opened on Ocheteaul Beach, and is better than ever.

* Chez Fred on Victory Hill, also know as Fred's House, opened with fine French Cuisine.

* Wok Bar opened downtown, and with Tom and Bopha as your hosts, serves fine French and other cuisine.

* Aqua Resort, a 20 room hotel with a swimming pool opened near Ocheteaul Beach.

* Brown Sugar Thai Restaurant also opened right on Ocheteaul Beach

* CamboDive - Chez Claude's new creation opened an International Diving School

* Golden Spa opened up on Serendipity Beach Road


* Happy Dayz - a Bob Marley tribute bar, opened up on Victory Hill

* Juicy Ru's Juicery - another venture by Ru opened up in Utopia Plaza

* La Reserve - a resort with a swimming pool, and fine French Cuisine, opened on Victory Hill

* Le Papillon d'Or - a boutique hotel, opened up on Victory Hill

* Les Rougets - a French, Thai, Lao restaurant opened up downtown

* Snooky Beach Guesthouse opened up on Ocheteaul Beach

* Martini Pub opened up near the Golden Lion Circle

* Master Suki Soup opened up it's latest branch in Cambodia around the Golden Lion Circle

* Mo Mo's - a chill out, absynthe, hookhah smoking lounge opened at Utopia Plaza

* Moon Shack opened it's 4th B.B.Q. restaurant on Ocheteaul Beach

* Motel 7 opened up on Ocheteaul Beach

* Paradise Sport Bar opened up near Ocheteaul Beach

* Pizzana - our first fast food in SihanoukVille opened up downtown

* T'zot Genot restaurant opened on Ocheteaul Beach

What's going to happen in SihanoukVille in 2010 is anyone's guess.  There's a number of new hotels under construction, including a 1,000 room beach resort.  The airport may (or may not) open on a permanent basis.  The marina is nearing completion, and the bridge to the island formerly known as Snake Island is a least halfway done.

Several new residential housing developments are going up in and around town.  And a city within a city is sprining up behind Sokha Beach.

SihanoukVille's neighbor towns are also booming.  Koh Kong was apparently voted as one of the top 10 travel destinations by the Lonely Planet guidebook.  Kampot's riverside is brimming with new bungalows and restaurants.  Bokor Mountain is getting a 3 year facelift, starting with a new road to the peak of the mountain.  And sleepy Kep is still sleepy, but growning at about 40% a year bungalow/restaurant-wise.

Where it will stop, nobody knows.....

See You Soon!

Ola - We Miss You!

This week, one of our friends in SihanoukVille, Cambodia, Ola Jordansson, passed away.
We miss him already.



Here are some pictures going back 5 years.

Pictures of Ola Jordansson

Winter 2009 in SihanoukVille, Cambodia

Winter has arrived in SihanoukVille, Cambodia at last.

Everybody's favorite time of year.

Only problem, is that the next 4 months seem to go by in a few weeks.

Starting the first week of November, the yearly rains stopped right away, and SihanoukVille's hotels and beaches filled right up.

There's lots of new hotels, mini-resorts and activities in town this year.

Some new openings from The Sihanoukville Advertiser and other sources

* Ali Kebab has joined Wayne at Escape Gourmet
* Thida's Inn is now Ocean Walk Inn
* Beach Bungalows opened on Otres Beach
* Boom Boom Room became Rogue
* Pretemama Motor Yacht is doing island tours from Cloud 9
* A new diving college opened, CamboDive, part of the Chez Claude empire
* Stray Dog Adventures is branching out from dirt bike tours, to all kinds of adventure tours
* Araska Finnish restaurant opened in a newer, nicer location
* Les Rougets, a French restaurant opened next to Snooky's Restaurant
* Honey Bunny Bar, a late night place, opened downtown
* The Villa reopened on Karaoke street
* GST opened up GST III right on Serendipity Beach

and SihanoukVille's neighbors, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong have also seen some changes.

Koh Kong was listed as one of the worlds' top 10 destinations by The Lonely Planet. (haven't seen the book yet, just newspaper articles from all over the world). There's a lot of mountain / eco / jungle tours there now, and lots of accommodations in the jungle and on rivers for tourists.

The road from Thailand, in Koh Kong, to Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville has been completed, so many more people are going to visit.

Kampot and Kep have seen phenomenal growth in the last year, with Kampot hosing several riverside lodges, and Kep building up on the ocean and in the hillsides, while still keeping 99% of the jungle. (maybe 98%).

Cruise ships are starting to come back for the season. And many condos, resorts, and hotels are being built. (still no golf course). Many existing hotels are adding swimming pools as well.

A new night market opened up around the Golden Lions Circle. Otres Beach has been filling up more than ever this season.

Everyone's having a great time in SihanoukVille!