Ou Chheuteal Beach — Attraction in Khaet Preah Sihanouk

It was the best of views. It was the worst of views.

This beach encapsulates the quandary of Sihanoukville. The beach is clean and beautiful and faces out on a glorious sea scene. Swimming is at your own risk and the beach is generally uncrowded and the sand is great. While "the best bay of the world" sign may be a bit overblown, it is undeniably a great beach and a lovely bay.

If you turn around, you are confronted by Sihanoukville, an ugly city of Chinese skyscrapers, many permanently unfinished. All along the beach, there are outlandishly expensive restaurants, all Chinese, and frequently unfriendly towards Khmer customers (or anyone who does not speak Chinese).

I lived in China for 6 years and there is a lot about China to love as well as to hate. Sihanoukville is like a distillation of the less favorable parts of China. Or put differently, it is a part of Cambodia minus the Khmer charm and friendliness.

And yet the beach is great.....

Pro Tip The only place to get somewhat reasonably priced food is in a food court on a side street off the main beach. They had some nice Turkish food there at relatively...

Not the place for backpackers anymore (nor the local Cambodians - it’s so sad ) What a beautiful beach with beautiful sunsets of an evening, but just don’t look behind. The beach front and town has no beach ’shacks or restaurants ’ offering Cambodian food and drinks, no sun loungers or chairs, definitely not the place it used to be. Beach front is full of some empty new buildings and some occupied Chinese restaurants with the same over priced menus. Beyond the beach front are dozens of unfinished tall buildings, mess annd rubbish everywhere. This is the place to be if you want to do a Casio Crawl with the rich Chinese . Such a shame but after being to several beaches in Thailand , it’s...

I’m so shocked. I was t expecting this. I thought it’s backpackers paradise. Well. It’s like aliens have envaded this place. Just telling you construction sites everywhere maybe not enough to wake you up. If I want to be more clear, People are living in a rubbish dump here. Toxic air and construction noise drilling your head all day...