Outside of town, Otres is the quietest beach in town. Several small beach stands with food and umbrellas are available. There's no public electricity here yet, so many places use a generator when necessary. Also, sailboat and kayak rentals and windsurfing.
(Otres Beach is more relaxed and quiet than the other main beaches)
Otres Beach Sihanoukville
Well, it’s been awhile, but I just ran across another completely misinformed article about Sihanoukville in a major newspaper. This time it was the San Francisco Chronicle’s SF Gate. The title, Cambodia’s coast is hidden treasure, sounded promising, but the author felt knowledgeable enough to comment on Sihanoukville when he didn’t even bother to visit it. The article was about Kampot.
While there was some truth to his statement that Sihanoukville is a “chaotic beach party town,” it’s just one small section of the city that fits that description and he was completely unaware of how radically this town has changed just in the past two years.
Beach in front of Oochc
I only mention the article because it just happened to come to me today, after I spent a blissful morning at Otres Beach. It takes all of 10 minutes to get there from Ochheuteal Beach, but as you can see, it’s another world. In the past, there wasn’t much there in the way of amenities, but that’s all changed. There are perhaps a dozen bungalow-style guesthouses, some of them very nicely appointed, and dozens of restaurants. There is also a long strip of completely undeveloped beach.
Entrance to Oochc
My morning started with a cup of coffee and a chat with Dave, the Australian owner of “Oochc”, which boasts the distinction of being the “First Bar on Otres Beach.” That’s the first bar you come to on the beach, not the first established bar on the beach. Oochc is made for backpackers and has a semi-psychedelic atmosphere. Dave shows movies Monday nights and has DJs on “Psy-ville Saturdays” and “DrumF.U” Tuesday nights.
Cruising at Otres Beach
From there, I moved on down the beach, stopping first near this “home on wheels” in the middle of the long empty stretch. The guy outside playing with his juggling bowling pin looked so serene, I didn’t want to disturb him, but I parked close enough to be within earshot of the old acoustic Bob Dylan CD he was playing. It was the perfect music for the setting and set the tone for the rest of my morning.
Cinderella's at Otres
After about 15 minutes of just wandering around snapping photos, I proceeded to the very end of Otres Beach where Reiner, the owner of the lovely Cinderella Golden Lodge on Mithona Road on the Serendipity strip, has his funkier but absurdly mellow Cinderella Dive Resort & Beach Bungalows. It’s my ambition in life to stay there for a few nights, to get away from the family and recharge my batteries. Today I settled for a swim nearby and a blissful hour walking in the ankle deep water that extends for about 10 metres before getting slowly deeper.
The inland route to Otres Beach
There are two ways to get to Otres Beach. If you hire a tuk-tuk or take a taxi, you go the inland route, down a bumpy dirt road. If you go by bicycle or motorbike, you can follow the coast. After crossing the bridge at the end of Ochheuteal Beach, you go up to the grounds of the wonderful Queen Hill Resort (sorry, I don’t have a booking link) and then down a steep hill. You’ll notice a green fence at the end of an empty stretch of beach (save for Queen Hill’s great beachfront bar/restaurant. That marks the end of the land that is owned by Queenco and one day will become a mega-resort. The fence has an opening, though and you pop out on the other side right in front of Oochc.
I could jabber on forever about how mellow Otres Beach is, but I think my photos tell the story better than I can.
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