The idea that I might ever stay on a
private island has always seemed remote. I'm not friends with Richard
Branson or Philip Green, and my holiday budget usually stretches no
further than a tent on the Isle of Sheppey.
So when invited to spend a few days on Song Saa, Cambodia's first private island resort, I jumped at it.
A world away: Song Saa has added a note of private luxury to Cambodia's coast
Only later did questions begin
to nag about those two words 'private' and 'island'. You would be
confined to a tiny area, there would be no strolling to the local
village or cycling through nearby scenery. You'd share a space the size
of a couple of football fields with strangers, and I'd even heard of
someone who found the place so peaceful, he suffered terrible nightmares
every night.
I had a few
days to ponder this before arriving at Song Saa, because the trip
included a short tour of some sites around Siem Reap - notably temples
in and around the Angkor complex.
Much
has been written describing Angkor Wat, so I shall merely add that of
the three temples I visited - Bayon, Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm - the last
was my favourite.
As I expected, Bayon and
Angkor Wat were old, big, creepy, crowded, but unlike most Angkorian
temples, Ta Prohm is still much in the condition in which it was found.
And
therein lies its charm, as a monument to the grandeur of decay. Vast
silk-cotton tree roots spring from the stone ruins, strangler figs wind
themselves round those same trees.
The
trunks and the piles of jumbled stones are porous like sponges, while
the cobwebs and beehives, butterflies and stick insects seem to speak in
the language of the animistic religions around which these shrines were
built a thousand years ago.
Everything is falling - the trees,
the temples, the very ground seems to subside as you walk. Scenes from
Tomb Raider were filmed here, and you can see why - it is like being
caught in the middle of an eerie, living process more than a place.
I also visited the floating village
of Mechrey. Glowingly healthy seven-year-old girls row themselves to
their (floating) school along a river in which the villagers swim, wash,
drink and use as a loo.
Stop the clocks: Along with fine accommodation, Song Saa can boast its own time zone
The boats are nearly capsized
by tourist barges. The school has no playground, only the river. Even
the village pigs float. It is a bizarre place that flies defiantly in
the face of every health and safety regulation known to man. As such, it
is both instructive, and a delight.
When
I arrived at Song Saa, the first thing that impressed was the idea
that, since the property is so close to the equator, the owners have
created their own time zone, moving the clocks forward an hour so you
get a longer day. Simple, clever.
So
there it was - the beach, the palm trees, the clear water, the coral
reef. So what was the payoff for being on a private island? Leaving that
question aside for a moment, I confess to being won over as soon as I
entered my room - the most beautiful I've ever stayed in.
The
dry stone wall was ochre, toffee, grey-coloured. The view from the
white cotton-draped bed was ocean and sky. There was complete privacy,
(the rear area is flanked by 15ft walls). The thatched ceiling was 25ft
high, as if to provide a portal to ocean, sky and air.
There
was a small private beach and plunge pool. The room service menu alone
urges you to stay within the four walls. Dishes such as Tom Yum with
frogs' legs, a Bowl of Birds (Tamarind and Honey Roasted Quails) and
banana blossom salad replace the usual club sandwich.
No surprise the chefs here have cooked for the Beckhams and Wills and Kate.
This
was not a place to do, but to be. Your mind stretches and yawns. It
rained. I sat in my plunge pool, submerged my head to eye level and
watched the sprouting tiny columns and bubbles of water that each
raindrop threw up when it hits the surface, dancing.
A day ago, it would have just been plain old rain. Now it was a water sculpture.
A
few trips are offered - we took a boat to the local village, and
picnicked at Five-Mile Beach, which is exactly what it says. A nearby
island temple is a dream spot for weddings. The hotel owners run
ecoprojects and have established a square-kilometre-big marine
sanctuary.
But the island
is sufficient unto itself. Unusually for a five-star hotel, two local
Buddhist monks come over from the mainland to bless the guests and the
island. We made offerings of rice while they chanted melodiously. The
ceremony's mystique was only marginally undermined by the monks pulling
on cans of Diet Coke throughout the proceedings.
It
does make a difference, psychologically, to know you are sealed off
from the rest of existence, and the 60, largely uninhabited, atolls
around you add to the sense of isolation.
Hallowed history: The temples of Angkor - including the Bayon Temple - are a true world wonder
I spent an hour snorkelling in
these waters, hoping to see a sea horse, my favourite marine animal, but
they are rare. More common are the spiny anemones that lurk in the
coral, their single eye surrounded by an aura of pinprick blue lights.
It's hard not to worry about pronging yourself with one of these,
especially when the water distorts perspective so much.
On
the island it is worth pushing through the lush, thick vegetation to
get to Meditation Beach, a coastline of rocks painted in oxide reds,
purples, ochres and greens.
Soft
sandstones shattered to the touch and slate lay in tidy layers. Every
step you took sent creatures skittering and fin-flapping. Dozens of
anxious crabs scattered schools of darting fish.
Utterly alone, I sat on the rock furthest out in the ocean meditating that a private island wasn't so bad after all.
Travel Facts
Cazenove + Loyd (020 7384 2332, www.cazloyd.com) offers seven nights of culture and beach in Cambodia from £3,245pp.
This
price includes three nights B&B in Siem Reap, staying at La
Residence d'Angkor and four nights full-board at Song Saa Private Island
Resort, plus return flights with British Airways, internal flights and
transfers.
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