Song Saa Island … Everywhere Else Now Sucks

In that last post, I took the color out to better explain the poverty I’ve come across in Cambodia. It’s tough to notice at times because of all the bright colors … the intense smiles … the arts and culture … and the beauty of both the northern jungles and the southern ocean.

This is adorable, impoverished, colorful (and very-cut-off) place is called Pret Svay.

Pret Svay is a fishing village on a huge island off the coast of Cambodia called Koh Rong. Koh Rong is roughly twice the size of Manhattan, and you can stay in guesthouses on part of the island if you take a fishing boat from the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville. It takes close to an hour if you slam the throttle down on a dual-engine speedboat. Or, half a day if you take a normal vessel.

What’s interesting is that I stood last week on the beach in Pret Svay – one of the poorest places I’ve ever visited – and I looked out at the nicest place I’ve ever been in my entire life. Pret  Svay’s closest neighbor is an island resort called Song Saa.

Their slogan is “Luxury that Treads Lightly.”

It should be: “Song Saa – Everywhere Else Now Sucks.”

On Song Saa, each guest has a personal infinity pool and private beach, 24-hour fine dining, massages in an outdoor pavilion, and bathrobes that beg you to fall down on the floor and make guttural, animal noises.

So … you’ve got about a quarter-mile of choppy, brilliant blue ocean between one of the poorest places I’ve ever seen and one of the most luxurious. What’s the deal?

Well … Song Saa (which means “sweethearts” in Khmer) is owned/operated by a Rory & Melita Hunter, who purchased the island in 2006. As they began laying plans for their luxury-on-steroids sustainable resort, they went to meet their neighbors over in Pret Svay. Instead of seeing the poverty and pouring money into a damaged system, the Hunters asked the locals a question.

“What do you want?”

It’s not a question outside investors usually pose to locals in the part of the world. The village answer was “waste management.”

If you travel to impoverished places, it’s easy to look at all the flies, the rot and refuse and think “These people are destroying their pristine beaches with trash.” The truth is, they have nowhere to put it. They hate the waste far more than you do because they live in it. When you’re born into poverty – which most of the people on Pret Svay are – trash and disease are things you fight daily, but can never truly be rid of unless someone else comes to the rescue. It’s six hours by slow boat to the mainland, and even then, you’re still in a poor town in Southern Cambodia. Most of the residents of Pret Svay will never leave their entire lives. Where do we expect them to put their lifetime’s worth of waste? If our governments didn’t give us an option, where would we put ours?

So, in asking what the locals wanted instead of starting with what the outsiders “thought” they needed, Rory and Melita were able to lay a groundwork for real change in Pret Svay and the basis for actual friendship with the locals. They installed waste management systems first.

They then offered to teach the fishermen how to farm. The reefs had been destroyed and over fishing was evident. As such, the kids were growing up on bowls of rice with tiny scraps of protein. Today, Pret Svay has not only one large organic garden operation, but also tiny offshoots the locals have put next to their own homes. Sustainable fishing practices have also been put into place.

At the same time, Song Saa’s waters stretching 200 meters from the shore in every direction got Cambodian approval to become the country’s first Marine Park. The Hunters hired marine experts to install artificial reefs and coax the dying ones back to life. This year, that park will extend another 1200 acres and just a few months ago, they launched the Song Saa Foundation and the Boat of Hope Journeys.

You can make a reservation for an ocean villa at Song Saa and never leave your personal infinity pool. No one will judge you (even if you’re topless for days on end) and 2% of your stay goes back to the Foundation. However, you can also choose a Boat of Hope/Song Saa Foundation itinerary and your entire bill – roughly $3,000 for 4 days/3 nights all inclusive – goes back to these projects that aid Pret Svay, as well as the environment of coastal Cambodia. The Boat of Hope will take you to this village to meet the locals, learn about their cultures, drop off their monthly vitamin delivery and even help them tend the organic gardens.

The second day of my trip, I was able to visit the neighboring village that hasn’t had the help of Song Saa till this year. The difference is incredible. While the locals of Pret Svay still live legions below a Western definition of poor, they now have a new school, solar panels, annual medical visits, monthly vitamin supplies, organic farms and their initial request of waste management.

Most people born in Pret Svay over the last many generations would have had no hope of any future beyond subsistence fishing or raising children. Song Saa is giving them the gift of thinking about what they want instead of only what they desperately need. For many Cambodians, that’s a luxury that’s priced beyond reach.

My favorite part is that unless you go to Song Saa, it’s unlikely you will ever see Pret Svay. The efforts are not to turn this place into some Disney village for tourists, but to help it … simply because Pret Svay is a neighbor to those existing on Song Saa, and the Hunters are communicating that everyone on both islands wants ultimately the same things. It’s Cambodia’s future, and it’s a hard path that lies ahead.

As someone who’s fallen in love with Cambodia too, I’m so deeply thankful for the Hunters, and their continued efforts. And … ok … splashing around in my personal infinity pool and sucking down the delicious ginger detox tonics with my free truffle eggs every morning.

I do have something to say to Melita, though. Melita … if you are reading this, I still think your slogan needs work. You aren’t “Luxury That Treads Lightly.” You guys are making a big impact over there. Maybe “Luxury That Creates Hope” or something?

And some t-shirt somewhere on that island needs to read, “Song Saa – Everywhere Else Now Sucks.”

We can discuss that when I return. I plan to. You can’t go to paradise and never think of coming back. Now? Who’s got $3,000 they don’t need laying around?