I was born in the south of France, in a pier. We moved to Paris when I was really young but my father and grand mother where still in Sete so we were spending every holidays there. My parents had a tradition: renting a kayak for one day and cruising along a river. I was not the best ever (I mean that I excelled doing zig zag, I was not really into going straight you know…) but I thought that renting a kayak with a guy who has been a kayak guide will be really fun. And it was. Mostly because I spent the first ten minutes working out and the rest of the day pretending I was taking pictures and having cramps in the arms. 

The original plan was to take a pajama, some money, a bottle of water and do the turn of the island in two days. We were supposed to stay somewhere on the other side of Koh Rong but after two hours, we were both exhausted and decided to rest In Sok San Beach. Man… I rated this beach as one of my favorite place in South East Asia so far. There is NOTHING except Beauty. White crispy sand borded by the jungle, clear and warm water. We sat in the shadow, enjoying the view, next to a little camp where three Turkish guys were living. They were supposed to stay few days but they were living there for more than twelve days. Every now and then they were going to the fisherman village to buy some water, food and contact their family to send them the weekly “I’m still alive” message. 

I still can’t figure out how you decide one day to cut off everything and live on a desert beach for a bit. Is it like a meditation retreat or more a way to live like in a shell and close your eyes on your problems? My friend Kim did a silent retreat for seven days in a monastery and explained that it was an amazing experience. But I can’t forget all the stories of the people telling me that it has been a nightmare for them. Does an island can you drive you crazy? What is it to live exactly the same things everyday and see the same things? I guess it’s the “normal” life for a lot of people back home, waking up every morning, going to work, coming back home, feel like trapped and stuck but I’m sure you can have the same feeling even if you live in a paradisiac place… At least these guys decided to live like that and had the chance to be where they wanted.

We left in the morning with no map and had no idea that Koh Rong was so big. We wisely choose to stay in the fisherman village for the night and simply come back the next morning. I felt like we were real explorators when we landed on the sand and that everybody asked us where we came from, how it was to do what we just did and I saw in their eyes that we were a bit the heroes of the day…

People staying there had two choices to arrive: taxi boat or a big trek in the jungle from the other side of the island, from the main pier. That’s when we saw this cute guy rolling his luggage on the beach.

Period.

Who the hell is traveling on a desert island with this kind of luggage? Am I being a pretentious stupid backpacker if I say that it was the most funny thing we saw? Of course, there is no just one way of traveling and carrying a backpack twice your seize is maybe not for everybody but please, guys, make an effort… NO ROLLING LUGGAGE ON THE BEACH!

Remember that I said that I was a pussy and that I just can’t jump from somewhere high? Well… I pushed my limits again. I am not another person, I just discover new things about what I can do and what I’m able to achieve. It is really cool to suddenly realise that what people told me for years about myself was actually not the truth. I am a bit adventurous in the end…

And yep, I jumped like a frog. I am French, that’s just my style!