Koh Sdach

The simple delights of staying on an unspoilt island

Koh Sdach means King's island. Legend has it that a king and his army took refuge here after batting with foreign invaders. Finding no source of invaders. Finding no source of fresh water, the king summoned the powers of the gods and a spring magically appeared. It can still be seen, near the dock.

Koh Sdach is a small island that lies in the Gulf of Thailand. As yet virtually "undiscovered"- you;ll find barely a mention in most guidebooks - it is also little known by Cambodians, so those travellers who arrive here receive a genuine welcome.

Even this part of mainland Cambodia is undeveloped, as it is divided from the rest of the country by the impenetrable jungle of the Cardamom Mountains.


The island's only settlement is clustered around the rickety wooden dock at which the boat between Sihanoukville and Koh Kong, the entry to Thailand, drops off goods and passengers.

Prior to the Pol Pot regime, only seven families lived here, but the village grew after liberation in 1979, and now a mixture of Khmers, Vietnamese and a few Thais live here.

About 70 per cent of the working population are fishermen, but the island seems to be run by a Thai, who owns the two other existing industries here, an ice plant and a sawmill, as well as shops and a guesthouse.

The buildings are mainly wooden, some on stilts over the water, and there are shops, pool parlours and little restaurants that turn into video houses at night. Footpaths meander between coconut palms and banana plantations, and on the far side of the hill that overlooks the town, the beaches are sandy and deserted, backed by lush, flowering vegetation, and trees laden with colourful tropical fruits.

If you are happy to interact almost entirely with the local population, try to visit soon - the government plans to make a marine reserve and resort here and this is the sort of place that could easily be turned into Cambodia's answer to Thailand's Ko Samet.

Travel Guidebooks in Cambodia