Thursday, March 28, 2024

Island Resorts

Asia: Couple Flees Big City for Life on a Tiny Remote Island

The inspiring true story of a young couple who abandoned their high-flying lives in Dubai for a new adventure on an island in Cambodia.

(Image from www.nomadslandcambodia.com)

For all of the people who’ve ever dreamed of leaving the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle behind for the simple life on a secluded island, the story of Charlene Stubbs and Kevin Broad will be inspiring indeed. The British expat couple were working in Dubai in the media industry when they took a holiday to the backwaters of Cambodia – and discovered a whole new way of life. Exchanging Dubai’s glamor and glass-and-steel skyscrapers for country living may pose a challenge, but the young married couple are determined to not look back.

Their adventure started on a recent holiday to Cambodia, where they visited a remote eco-resort more than four hours from the country’s capital of Phnom Penh. The tiny, solar-powered Nomads Land resort was so appealing that when they heard the business was for sale, they couldn’t resist taking the plunge. The resort offers a rustic and environmentally-conscious experience for just US $20 or $30 per night, with guests sleeping in traditional bungalows and feasting on organic, locally-sourced cuisine.

Both Charlene and Kevin are outdoorsy by nature and enjoy camping, so the dramatic change of lifestyle won’t be a complete shock. That notwithstanding, there are things about running a resort on the virtually uninhabited island of Koh Totang that even this intrepid pair aren’t looking forward to. Topping the list – no flushing toilets. The eco-resort uses a composting system that means cleaning up waste is a manual process. “For me, the worst job is going to be emptying the toilet buckets,” Charlene confessed in an interview with a Dubai publication.

(Image from www.nomadslandcambodia.com)

She also said that the lack of convenience will be hard to adjust to. “I’ve always had a 4×4 in Dubai so to switch that for a small boat is a terrifying thought. Having a variety of things to do is so easy in Dubai. We’re moving to a really small island where we’ll have none of that. It’s not even like we’re moving to the outskirts of a city and we can still enjoy all the modern conveniences – we’ll be at least four and a half hours away from Phnom Penh so we’re really going to have to get used to providing our own entertainment!”

A simple life is what the couple are striving for, however, so no doubt they’ll find what they’re looking for on Koh Tatang. Kevin said in the interview that the couple are keeping their plans open, however, and have no set expectations about how long they’ll live at the resort. At the moment we have no idea how long we’ll stay. Our plan is to go there and enjoy the experience,” he said. And isn’t that just what having an adventure is all about?

Read more about this story: 7 Days in Dubai

Visit the website for Nomads Land resort: Link

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