When we arrive on Koh Rong Samloen, the sun is shining and the turquoise green water sparkles and sloshes lazily over powdery white sand under our feet. It is almost unrealistically beautiful and paradise-like here! Unfortunately, Claudio is not feeling well at all, he has caught the travel bug (pun intended!) and so he is dragging himself rather poorly along the beach. When it becomes impossible to continue because the backpack is heavy, the fever is high, and the sand is so soft, Elena continues alone and eventually picks up Claudio from the hotel with a fishing boat. Somehow we manage and arrive at a very quiet section of the already wonderfully peaceful beach on the island. Here, small bungalow huts are located directly on the dream beach, they cost a bit more, but it's worth it. Claudio recovers quite well after the first day, but still we keep our days calm. Actually, our time on the island consists of stand-up paddling on the almost mirror-smooth sea, lounging on the beautiful beach and observing the sea - and a bit of swimming. We see that our hotel offers a tour to see bioluminescent plankton and we ask the hotel owner about it. He tells us that bioluminescent plankton used to be visible directly on this beach, but now there is too much light on the beach, so they simply drive around the next bend to see the glowing. So we set out ourselves with the stand-up paddles and ride into the darkness - quite exciting, but also very peaceful. And indeed, after a few meters where it gets a bit darker, we see that our paddles in the clear water create not only air bubbles, but also a faint blue glow. The bioluminescent plankton does not glow as brightly as in some photos, but the bioluminescence is perceptible. Beautiful and mystical. Occasionally, some bioluminescent plankton even lands as blue dots on our boards - but the plankton only glows when it is in motion. After this dream island, we continue to Koh Kong, or rather to the Tatai region, to the Tatai River. Here we stay in a floating bungalow in an eco-resort, where we are the only guests! And it is very beautiful here too, in the morning the sun shines through curtains blowing in the wind onto our bed and it glistens on the river. Depending on the season, the river carries either fresh or saltwater, now it is rather salty and very warm. Speaking of warmth, or rather heat: it is hot! We are sweating! A lot! In Cambodia and Thailand, the dry season is slowly coming to an end and the rainy season will soon begin, and temperatures often climb above 35 degrees. That means: drink a lot, swim, and shower. On the Tatai River, in the evening we see another example of bioluminescence: fireflies! Just like in the Philippines, they sit in the trees along the river and put on a true fireworks display. Or they fly in the darkness of the night right in front of our noses and the starry sky as we sit on our "bungalow terrace". After our river stay, we cross the border between Cambodia and Thailand by land - on the Cambodian side it is rather long and complicated, in Thailand it suddenly becomes fast and easy. And off we go on clean, good roads towards Trat and then to the island of Ko Chang. Sawasdee! Now it is time again for: the best massages in the world (Thai massages), the most delicious curries in the world (Thai curries), and for: enjoying the sea breeze one last time. And then our very last stop awaits us: Bangkok (for the third time on the trip!), where we will experience the Songkran Festival, the Thai New Year. That means: we have celebrated/experienced the following New Year celebrations: Western New Year in January (Chiang Mai), Chinese New Year in February (Manila), Balinese Nyepi New Year (on Java, rather passively experienced) in March, and Thai New Year (which, by the way, coincides with Khmer New Year in Cambodia and Lao New Year) in April. If that doesn't bring luck!
