Kampot

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Backpacking Cambodia: Day 011 (22-Feb-2019) 

To Kampot 

I was at the common area by 7 AM.  My shoes were still wet. I had brought an orchid plant from the jungle and Lim gave me one more from his collection. He also gave me seeds of passion fruit. As the tea was very light, I chose to have some coffee with milk. Instead of milk, most places serve tea or coffee with condensed milk. It’s incredibly tasty. I am definitely going to carry a few cans of condensed milk when I head back. 

Our taxi arrived at around 8AM. The driver was a cheerful young boy. The Amercian and I were leaving together. I thanked Lim and his family before leaving. It had truly been one of the best experiences on this trip. 

At the village, our driver found a dead hen on the road. He decided to hand it to the butcher so that he could have some tasty dinner later that night. 

The drive back was interesting. I was sad to leave the mountains and the jungles. We again stopped at village homes as there were people who wanted something or the other bought from the town. We had one villager join us in the car as well. We drove past the hills and then past the dams constructed by the Chinese before reaching Koh Kong.

At Koh Kong, I almost immediately found a shared taxi to Kampot. I was sharing the ride with two girls, a boy monk and a man accompanying him. I informed our driver that I was a vegetarian. He assured me that he would help me find some food at where we would stop. But unfortunately, there was nothing vegetarian in these stalls that serve food. The lady offered to serve me some vegetable gravy by removing the meat from it. I refused that offer as that would not work with me. I had packed some biscuits anyway, so, I did not stay hungry. The boy monk seemed very curious to observe everything that was passing by as we drove. Occasionally, he would give me a smile. I wondered what life is like for these young monks. 

The weather was terribly hot. Men had their shirts folded above their stomach thus displaying their paunch. Many chose to drink packed cold drinks or frozen coconut. Another interesting site here are the animals. Most cats have their tails cut and the dogs look like they are cross between local and foreign breeds. 

At Kampot, I was dropped at my hostel- Mad monkey. Its a neat place; a bit away from the centre though. As I love to walk, it did not bother me. I freshened up and let my shoes and clothes dry in the balcony. My dorm mates were extremely reserved. I walked to the city centre, found a Capitol bus office and booked a ticket to Phnom Penh for the 24th. Again, booking directly at the office was $3 cheaper than what the hostel price. I simply loved Kampot. It is very classy with its river side restaurants. While on one end of the river is an estuary, on the other are the beautiful Bokor mountains. 

Kampot is truly another elegant town in Cambodia after Battambang. However, unlike the latter, it is a bit more touristy. There are a lot of shops and restaurants by the riverside. Since I had not had my lunch, I chose a nice restaurant and ordered some tasty spring rolls and a tea pot. I took a walk along the neighbouring streets, that are full of shops. I was hoping to find some interesting fridge magnets or something that I can carry back. Unfortunately, all shops here sell similar or rather same products.

I went back to the hostel, relaxed for a while, went to the night food market that is setup every night, very close to the Mad monkey hostel. At around 9 PM, I chose a nice vegetarian restaurant in the city centre. The food was yummy. Kampot has a very peaceful setup and no wonder travellers love this place. At night, the locals had gathered near the river side to relax. 

Continued Here