When this couple moved their life from the USA to a tiny island in South East Asia, they thought they’d be there for a year. The opportunity came up when Rory Hunter was offered 12 month contract at marketing firm in the region.
Seeing the opportunity as the adventure of a life time, he and his wife Melita packed up and moved. While living there, the couple visited the tiny island of Song Saa, itself just a tiny satellite off the Kohn Rong island off the southern tip of Cambodia.
The pair were reportedly the first foreign people ever to set foot on the shores Song Saa, immediately falling in love with the island. The locals, spotting the opportunity to get off the island and explore the world themselves, arranged with the government to sell the island to the couple.
All of a sudden, the Hunters found themselves $15,000 (£9815) lighter, but with their very own island to call home.
However, they didn’t just sit around on hammocks all day, drinking coconut water and eventually going mad enough to befriend a volley ball. No, Mrs Hunter set about designing an exclusive get-away around the island. An experienced property designer, and with her husband’s background in development, they set about making the dream come true.
Where once stood a humble fishing island, is a stunning slice of paradise. Now a fully fledged holiday resort, the island boasts seven luxury villas where visitors can go and do all manner of painfully middle class looking activities, like yoga in white linen as the sun sets in the background, and smearing £80 worth of seaweed on their face in the name of vanity.
The Hunters have proved that, with a bit of luck, and a big old slice of seeing opportunity when it presents itself, the adventure of a life time can become a lifetime of adventure.
However, before you book flights, it’s worth noting that a spell on the island start at a whopping £568, which is a little heftier than that youth hostel in Berlin where somebody took a shit in the shower.
Of course, there will be people out there who make the argument that the most beautiful thing to have done would to leave the island alone completely. The couple, however, have ensured that the resort acts in a responsible and sustainable way, putting the safety of the islands ecology high on their priority list right from the start.
Steps include creating Cambodia’s first ever marine reserve, and the setting up of centre where people can go to undergo a program, learning about sustainability and ecology.
You may also like:
23 Signs That Prove You’re A Born Adventurer, Despite Living In The City