Sihanoukville

Koh Rong Island is the kind of place that Hemingway might have discovered after his third rum cocktail or fourth divorce-wildly beautiful, shamelessly indulgent, and charmingly rough around the edges. Floating languidly off the Cambodian coast, it boasts beaches so white they'll make your Instagram followers seethe with envy, alongside coral reefs that look like a psychedelic Beatles album cover come alive. By day, you snorkel through glowing turquoise waters among angelfish that couldn't care less you're there; by night, Koh Rong shifts gears into an exuberant, barefoot carnival, where backpackers and seasoned wanderers swap stories under neon signs and disco-lit palm trees. The island first gained infamy as a hideaway where smugglers and pirates once hid their loot-now it's mostly Australian bartenders hiding from adulthood. Go early-before the midday sun fries your enthusiasm into lethargy-and carry sunscreen, insect repellent, cash (there aren't exactly ATMs flanking the coconut huts), and your least fancy flip-flops. Plan at least a month ahead to snag decent beachfront bungalows (priced from "unbelievably cheap" to "I could've bought a small car for this"), and budget roughly $40-60 a day to eat, drink, and dive like a slightly responsible pirate. But ultimately, whether you're plunging face-first into coral reefs or getting blissfully lost in a maze of beachfront bars, Koh Rong is fiercely, unapologetically worth it-even if only to brag later about that time you spent a week without shoes, Wi-Fi, or worries.