Koh Rong - Monkey Island in Cambodia

Years ago when the first fishermen set foot on Koh Rong or Khao Rung as it’s sometimes spelled, they were greeted by a strange and eerie presence – as if they were being watched. As the night drew on strange sounds came from deep within the jungle and sometime after dark…. The “hairy big-man” came out to play…

Only one of the original 12 fishermen made it back to Sihanoukville to tell the tale, his boat was smashed but he managed to drift back to the mainland on piece of driftwood. The single survivor was washed ashore babbling the words “monkey”…”Island”…”Monkey…”Island”. It’s said that those brave fisherman were not mistreated, in fact they were treated like kings by the lonely giant, and kept as man size Barbie dolls in his jungle lair until their dying days…

The other popular legend is that Monkey Island actually takes it’s name from it’s founders – a band of hairy fellows who began their lives together in the cheesy 60′s pop group “The Monkees”. Apparently seeking refuge from the trappings of fame and fortune and discovered when on their final 1968 far east tour, band member Peter Tork decided he’d had enough and split from the band but one by one as their musical careers faded into the 1970′s they all went back to the place where they could be kings among men….. Monkey Island – Koh Rong.