Cambodia (Kampot)

We headed from Siam Reap with a stop over in Phonm Penh to a small riverside town called Kampot on the south coast of Cambodia. We arrived on a swanky minivan after paying the extra $2 dollars we were presently surprised the van had free WiFi plus you got a bottle of water which was handy. We didn't book anywhere to stay as we had read about a small guesthouse which is good and also cheap which cannot be booked before hand however on arrival it was full. The good news is over the road was another guesthouse which turned out to be really good and even cheaper. The room was massive with a huge bed, fridge, hot water showers and was relatively clean and well kept, not bad for $13 a night. We didn't do much the first night other than go for some drinks and we ended up meeting three French people, one couple and a young man about our age. We got drinking and talking and ended up beating them at pool which was a miracle as we are both usually terrible but still good as we beat the French. We all headed out for food to a local restaurant, all of us getting the local Luk Lac beef with Kampot pepper, pepper is the main produce of Kampot and can be found on most menus used heavily. The meal and evening was good and we spoke mainly about differences in culture both gave several small lessons on speaking French and English, however as is most often the case they spoke great English and we spoken nearly no French. English is the language of travellers and is spoken by nearly all, we sometimes feel bad about our language skills and when speaking about it with other nationalities you realise that they are taught English a lot earlier and with more emphasis on it, unlike in England with usually an hour or two a week only for a second language for only a  few years. Kampot is like a lazy river town, life is slow and relaxed and people are friendly and smile, you can walk round the central town in about 20 minutes so its very small with no large developments which is good. We have always wanted to hire a motor bike but the other places were usually too busy for me to have the confidence but this place was so quiet and slow we decided to go for it.

The next day we awoke and headed next door to rent a scooter, $5 for 24hr and then you need a few litres of petrol and then your off. I have ridden bikes before in England but not for a long time so I was nervous at the start. Our destination was Bokor mountain, about 1.5hrs away. The mountain is part of  a national park where there is an old abandoned French settlement complete with church, houses and a governors house. The settlement was destroyed and abandoned quickly when the Khmer Rouge came to power and has been left ever since. We headed out on the bike which we must have looked comical on, for one the bike looks tiny with me on it and let alone with izzi on the back. The drive up was great fun, the views also breath taking and just generally good fun. The road to the top was in very good condition and even quieter than the town which made for an easy drive. En route we took a slight detour to see a small water fall and took refuge in a local eatery to escape the midday down pour where we got some lunch. At the top we suddenly hit a thick wall of fog/cloud which slowed us down and created a very eerie feel and spooky feel as we meandered up the roads. We nearly missed the church for the fog and occasionally stumbled to a small tour group which freaked us out until we realised what they were, visibility was down to 10-15m at one point. The drive down was also good, we stopped at several points for pictures and to soak up the views. The best part of Kampot was the bike ride and generally the feel and slow pace of life that exists. One expat referred to it as the last place in Cambodia with a true soul and one that has not been ruined by tourism and the corruption. Next we head to the coast to see the beach and islands that Cambodia has to offer.