Song Saa

The name of the resort where we are staying is Song Saa. The only way to really appreciate how unbelievable it is is to browse through their website and see their beautiful photos. My iPhone 6 and lacking photography skills will not do this place justice. My eyeballs can hardly look at everything hard enough.

The owners are a husband and wife team from Australia who bought the two private islands and decided to create a positive influence on the area through tourism. Song Saa has been named one of the top 10 resorts in the world.

The wife of the team, Mel, designed the whole resort using eco materials found on the nearby island of Koh Rong. Every detail is so naturally beautiful, blending effortlessly with the tropical environment surrounding it.

Forty percent of the resort employees are from the nearby village. They are learning hospitality skills and gaining valuable experience, which leads to some errors on their part, yet their natural, service-oriented culture could not be taught through training, and more than makes up for any small mistakes.

The food is delicious, the villas breath-taking, the island peaceful and friendly, the marine life ALIVE with all sorts of spectacular fish and coral, and the pace just right to relax and hit pause on life.

Ok, here are some pictures that can hardly capture the beauty and natural elegance of this place.

The 45-minute speed boat ride to the private islands:

Approaching the islands:

A view of our villa from the water:

A view of the second island, a natural reserve with hornbills, which I saw! (There are also tarantulas on the island. Glad they stay over there...)

Lunch:

After lunch...

 

Front porch swing:

The casual restaurant:

And the over-water restaurant:

The nearby village is a fishing village, and those boats head out into the deep waters around 5:00PM and return at various hours of the night (we hear their loud, puttering motors!)

Looking at the colorful fish while waiting for the food to arrive:

 Such as a delicious Pad Thai, and sticky rice at every meal.

There is a certain element of submission when you have short, curly hair in humidity.

Tomorrow we're moving over to a less luxurious (as in no hot water, AC and spotty internet) hotel for at least a week. It will be a slap-in-the-face transition after this slice of heaven, but we're looking at it as a week of camping while we do a little work.  (I did write down the name of the down pillows...)

It has been a perfect five days. Thank you, Song Saa!