Picture an island paradise in the middle of the Mekong, opposite the sleepy eponymous capital of Kratie province, this island is just 8 kilometers from top to toe, with bountiful pomelo trees filling neatly-tended front gardens, the uninhabited center a checkerboard of rice fields, and trees and bamboo in every other spot, the island is gloriously green.
Welcome to Koh Trong, the King’s Island !
Just in front of Kratie, right across from the town’s riverfront, accessible through a short boat ride, is one of the most relaxed and genuine tourist destinations in the whole country.
A sort of ecotourism “Eldorado”, filled with traditional wooden homes, rice fields, opportunities to meet friendly locals, or simply chill at the beach and enjoy the view on the beautiful Mekong river.
Koh Trong is home both to a fishing and a farming village, with smiling peasants and craggy fishermen. Around the island are lush orchards where you can fully enjoy the atmosphere and scenes of rural life. There are about 400 families living on the island. The majority of the inhabitants here reside in the main village and live on small scale farming, with fishing as their subsidiary income, while some others, mostly Vietnamese, live on floating houses and earn their living from the waters of the Mekong River.
Koh Trong is home both to a fishing and a farming village, with smiling peasants and craggy fishermen. Around the island are lush orchards where you can fully enjoy the atmosphere and scenes of rural life. There are about 400 families living on the island. The majority of the inhabitants here reside in the main village and live on small scale farming, with fishing as their subsidiary income, while some others, mostly Vietnamese, live on floating houses and earn their living from the waters of the Mekong River.
Once there, a 9km concrete path running around the island will take you past undulating paddies dotted with palm trees and cows leisurely grazing around, charming wooden houses on stilts behind lush orchards.
You will have the chance to wander around the picturesque villages either by bicycle or on foot, visit local homes and farms, interact with friendly locals to learn about their traditional lifestyle, with the elders chatting sited on the front door, watching over the children playing outside. You can also swim like Robinson on the beach on the West side of the island, the East side being more popular…
Also known as ‘garden market’, the island is the place where you can try and enjoy some kind of local tropical fruits. The sunset view from the western side of the island is really particular but make sure that you have enough time to catch the last ferry that leaves at 18.30 (but, you know, no time is fixed in Cambodia so better ask around…).
Other things to see are a couple of pagodas, one of them Vietnamese, a beach with great views to the countryside on the other side of the Mekong river, and the Vietnamese floating village at the southern tip of the island where you can observe the traditional lifestyle of the fishermen.
As always, the best time to visit Koh Trong Island is in the morning or afternoon as the scenery is most vivid and the weather less hot. This activity usually includes a bicycle or ox cart ride around the village. For those who travel on your own, you can bring a bike over but maybe not necessary as they are also available on the island, either at the resort, but also from the community based tourism office, on your left just as you disembark the ferry.